Bryony Horton

I am now working with NSW Parks and Wildlife as World Heritage BMAD (Bell Miner AssociatedDieback) Project Officer.

This project is funded federally for two years with the intention of mitigating the effects of dieback across two World Heritage Areas (WHA), the Gondwana Rainforests which extend from south-east QLD to north of Sydney, and the Greater Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. BMAD and othereucalypt dieback is a serious threat to the conservation of our eucalypt forests causing ecological degradation including biodiversity loss and has further economic and social impacts. This is a great role challenging me as an ecologist and project manager. I am working toward mappingdieback and forest health in parts of the WHAs and I am also looking at management options to prevent and treat BMAD. These management options include fire and weed control.

There are many ecological and operational considerations for planning and implementing fire for this type of landscape scale ecological burning.

I feel my research and affiliation with the Bushfire CRC has helped prepare me for this challenge.