Weed & Fire Management

On the West Coast privately owned and West Coast Council land make up a comparatively small percentage of the Municipality. The largest land areas are under the management of Parks and Wildlife Service who oversee the lands protected by World Heritage Area listing, in addition to Reserves, Protected Areas and Unallocated Crown Land.

Forestry Tasmania, also manage large areas of State Forest and Forest Reserve and there are lands under the control of the Hydro and many mining companies with mining leases throughout the Municipality.

Due to the number of land managers within the West Coast Municipality, the most effective way to manage weeds and fire is as a cooperative approach between all parties, through the development of a practical and operational management group.  The requirement of such a cooperative approach led to the creation of the West Coast Weed and Fire Management Group.

The group aims to halt the further spread of weeds, raise awareness of the priority weeds on the West Coast and the way they spread, and to instigate a cooperative system enabling stakeholders to coordinate efforts to control infestations.

Weed and fire management is an essential requirement of all landowners and managers in the West Coast Municipality, from private house block owners to broad scale land managers.  Without the input from all West Coasters, weed and fire management is difficult or even impossible.