The state regulator is failing to deter farmers from planting crops on public land, Shire of Esperance documents claim.
Key points:
- The Esperance Wildflower Society has called for the unauthorized clearing to be removed
- There is concern that the cleanup will destroy vital wildflower habitat and wildlife corridors
- The Shire President believes the clean-up is to manage pests and prevent fires
There have been 39 reports of alleged unauthorized clearing of native vegetation submitted to the Department of Environment and Water Regulation (DWER) by the Comarca d’Esperance since 2018.
Shire chairman and farmer Ian Mickel said this equates to approximately 78 kilometers of roadside, or 114 hectares.
None have resulted in fines or prosecutions.
Many of the county reports, seen by the ABC, allege the clearing is for “financial gain to farm additional land within the road reserve.”
Some reports also allege that the state regulator is not acting.
“Unauthorized clearing of county road reserves has become common place due to lack of prosecution by DWER,” stated a report written on February 16 of this year.
A photo taken in 2019 was in a report that claimed crops had been planted on the side of the road. (Supplied)
Environment Minister Reece Whitby has declined an interview on the issue.
A spokesman for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation said its officers would be on the ground in Esperance inspecting the reported areas in the coming weeks.
He said all reports and allegations of unauthorized clearing of native vegetation were assessed by the department.
He said exemptions could be offered to allow native vegetation to be cleared, and were taken into account when investigating reports of illegal clearing.
“Not all compensation is illegal, and not all illegal compensation results in prosecution,” he said in a written statement.
“Each case is evaluated individually, and in determining enforcement action, the department considers a number of factors, including the seriousness of the offense, the behavior of the offender and whether the offender has a history of non-compliance” .
He confirmed that no fines or prosecutions had been initiated as a result of the allegations in the Esperance region.
“The tip of a much bigger iceberg”
Esperance Wildflower Society president Ken Mills wrote to Mr Whitby on June 30, asking him to end the practice, but said he had yet to receive a response.
Ken Mills wants the government to act. (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)
He worried that the clearing was destroying vital habitat for the region’s 2,500 species of wildflowers, some of which were found only on roadsides.
“Being an agricultural area, large amounts of original vegetation have been cleared,” he said.
“So these roadside reserves are really important reservoirs for a number of endangered species and provide corridors for animal movement.”
He also feared that the allegations so far were “only the tip of a much larger iceberg”.
Ken Mills says clearing will put wildflowers under extra stress. (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)
“The department’s response so far has been underwhelming, with the only action taken being the issuing of warnings to some offenders,” he said in his letter to Mr Whitby.
“Not only is this an inadequate response to the seizing of public land for the generation of substantial private profits, it serves as an incentive rather than a disincentive to other farmers.
“Minister, we implore you to take strong action to ensure this issue is effectively addressed before we see more avoidable additions to the threatened and extinct species list.”
Call for education, not sanctions
Mickel said there were other reasons why landowners were clearing the reserves, suggesting it could be to help manage pests or weeds.
Ian Mickel was “shocked” by the amount of alleged unauthorized cleaning in the county. (ABC News: Emily Smith)
He also said many farmers were trying to reduce fuel loads and clean up after previous wildfires, particularly the deadly ones in 2015.
“Honestly, I don’t think they’re trying to grow more crop acres,” he said.
He was also surprised the regulator hadn’t been more active, noting the county was fined $50,000 in recent years for cleaning outside a permitted area.
But he said he was “flabbergasted” by the amount of clean-up allegedly taking place and believed action needed to be taken.
An image taken in 2018 was in a county report alleging unauthorized cleanup. (Supplied)
“It’s disappointing to me … that we’re dealing with this problem to this extent,” he said.
He said the government should tackle the problem by focusing on education rather than prosecution.
“I’m not cheering [the government] to go and charge all these farmers at this level,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to going and getting these people together and having a meeting and seeing if we can find some way forward that we could do some rehab and help fix the environmental issues that are there.
“And I can only hope that we can find good solutions in the future.”