Update — 19 April 2026: A Facebook post is not accountability.

Forest Fire Management Victoria ignited the first planned burn in Snowy River National Park this week. After sustained public pressure, DEECA's response was a Friday afternoon Facebook post.

We reject that as adequate public accountability for a 'multi-year burning program' across almost 60,000Ha footprint in one of Victoria's most ecologically significant national parks. No burn plans have been released. No independent ecological assessment has been published. No credible case has been made publicly that this program will protect a single community.

The open letter signed by scientists and researchers stands in full. Our position has not changed.

What we are calling for

Transparency. Publish the full burn plans - including ecological safeguards, values assessments, and species mapping - before any further ignitions proceed. The community is entitled to that information. A social media post is not a substitute.

Strong science. Commission an independent ecological review of the combined 59,000-hectare program, conducted by researchers without institutional conflict of interest. If the science supports this burn, publish it. If it doesn't, stop.

Accountability. Refer both burns for federal assessment under the EPBC Act, given the likely significant impact on more than 21 nationally listed threatened species. Government agencies cannot mark their own homework on decisions of this consequence.

GECO supports fire management that is evidence-based, transparent, and genuinely focused on community safety. We support targeted fuel reduction near homes, investment in rapid detection and firefighting capacity, and the genuine integration of Traditional Owner cultural burning knowledge. What we are witnessing here is none of those things.

This program will continue to face scrutiny until it meets the standard our forests, our threatened species, and our communities deserve.

Update - 15 April 2026, afternoon

The burn is lit.

At 12:53pm today, FFMVic confirmed the Snowy River National Park burn is now in progress. The map shows the full 34,838-hectare footprint burning inside Snowy River National Park.

Shortly afterwards, the Victorian Government announced a ministerial reshuffle - Steve Dimopoulos has moved on and the Hon. Enver Erdogan MP has been appointed the new Minister for Environment. Welcome to the portfolio, Minister. We'll be in touch - we're putting together a welcome pack for you right now.

To every supporter who called and emailed Minister Dimopoulos's office over the past days: thank you. Genuinely. You showed up fast, you made noise, and every one of those contacts is now on the public record. That matters.

Now we need one more thing. If you already sent an email to Dimopoulos's office, please forward it to Minister Erdogan at [email protected]. Let's make sure the new minister hits the ground running. The second burn - another 24,000 hectares - is still to come. The campaign is not over. 

Minister Enver Erdogan - Minister for Environment Phone: (03) 9651 8260 Email: [email protected]

A group of leading ecologists, fire scientists, and researchers has signed an open letter to Victoria's Environment Minister calling for an immediate halt to a massive planned burn in Snowy River National Park. They are urging Minister Steve Dimopoulos to act before it is too late.

They may not have long. Victoria's fire management agency has placed the burn on its ten-day ignition schedule. The clock is ticking.

The open letter

The letter - coordinated by GECO and signed by some of Australia's most respected fire and ecology researchers - calls on Minister Dimopoulos to immediately pause two planned burns covering nearly 59,000 hectares of Snowy River National Park and commission an independent review before any burning proceeds.

Signatories include:

• Dr Philip Zylstra, Adjunct Associate Professor, Curtin University
• Professor Don Driscoll, Professor of Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University
• Dr Kita Ashman, Visiting Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU
• David Cameron, Honorary Fellow, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research
• Dr Sarah Bekessy, Industry Laureate Professor, University of Melbourne
• Professor Hugh Possingham FRS FNAS FAA, The University of Queensland

The letter does not mince words:

"The scientific evidence does not justify these burns - and proceeding without proper scrutiny would cause serious, irreparable damage to one of Victoria's most ecologically important landscapes."

You can read the full letter here.

Why scientists are so concerned

The first burn, GP-SNO-ORB-0211, covers 34,838 hectares of recovering national park south-east of Gelantipy. Together with a second burn proposed for 2028, these would see nearly 59,000 hectares burned - country that has already been through catastrophic fires in 2003, 2009, 2014, and 2019-20.

The open letter sets out why the science does not support proceeding:

• Prescribed burning provides no meaningful protection for houses beyond three kilometres. There are no major communities close enough to benefit from burns this remote.
• Under the extreme fire conditions that drive the fires we remember, prior fuel reduction makes almost no difference. Fire is driven by wind and heat, not fuel loads.
• Burning resets this landscape to its most flammable state. Dense post-fire regrowth is more dangerous than mature recovering forest.
• Research published in Nature found that where fires have occurred three or more times in the preceding 40 years, negative effects on wildlife populations are 87 to 93 per cent larger than in areas burnt once or not at all. Our maps show that much of this burn footprint has already crossed that threshold - and the scientists agree that burning again would not simply add to the cumulative toll, it would amplify it.
• More than 110 threatened species live here, including Greater Gliders and Sooty Owls. Alpine Ash and Mountain Ash - species that cannot resprout after fire - need around 20 years to accumulate enough seed to regenerate. A second fire before that point eliminates the next generation permanently.

What we and our allies have done

The science is clear. The community has spoken. And still the burn is on schedule.

GECO, after being denied detailed information on the assessments for this burn, lodged a formal FOI request with DEECA and FFMVic seeking the burn delivery plans, species assessments, and all related planning documents. This information should be public. It is not.

Environment East Gippsland has written formally to Minister Dimopoulos calling for these burns to be paused. EEG has also lodged a formal call-in request with federal Environment Minister Murray Watt under the EPBC Act - because with more than 21 nationally listed threatened species in the burn footprint, this burn should be referred for federal environmental assessment. It has not been.

Call the Minister today

A ten-day window is short. Usually it means there's less than 48h until incendiaries are dropped. But it is enough time for the Minister to act if he hears from enough people.

Please call or email Minister Dimopoulos today and ask him to:

• Pause the Snowy River planned burn immediately
• Commission an independent ecological review before any burning proceeds
• Release the full burn plans and species assessments publicly
• Refer these burns for federal assessment under the EPBC Act

Minister Steve Dimopoulos MP - Minister for the Environment Phone: (03) 8624 3101 Email: [email protected]

Every contact matters. Please make yours today.