Janet and Justus Hagen's covenanted property was impacted by the Longwood fire.
More than 1000 hectares of land set aside for conservation has been impacted by the recent fires in the Strathbogie Ranges.
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The properties were on private land which had been set aside with perpetual covenants to protect vulnerable or sensitive species or plants, most commonly on farming land.
The covenants have been created by landholders wanting to protect the areas, supported by the Conservation Trust for Nature.
Trust senior manager of conservation science Laurence Berry described them as the unsung heroes of the conservation movement.
“We need to get behind them and give them support.”
He was referring to a fund that has been opened to support the recovery of the properties.
Although acknowledging the human cost of the fires, Mr Berry said there was a great deal of destruction of the natural environment.
“The Strathbogies include a lot of private properties in rocky, grassy landscape. About 95 per cent of the 136,000 hectares burnt in the fires is private land.”
Mr Berry said there were at least 39 covenanted properties burnt in the fires, plus one Trust for Nature reserve near Yarck.
Trust officers are waiting for the region to be declared safe before entering for a closer inspection.
The home of three vulnerable species of plants is known to have been affected by the fires. They include the critically endangered Fireweed Groundsel (Euroa variant) the vulnerable Hickory Wattle and the endangered Common Pipewort.
Mr Berry said that although not obvious, fish species were also at risk following fires, as the ash and debris was washed down into waterways, affecting oxygen levels.
Trust CEO Corinne Proske said the number ofconservation covenants impacted by the fires this month across the state was about 55.
One of the landholders impacted is Fiona Murdoch from Mallee Conservation. On Friday, January 9, about 160 hectares of her 500‑hectare conservation covenant south-east of Mildura burned.
“Some of the habitat that burned isn’t naturally resilient to fire. We’ve got trees hundreds of years old that have burned. It’s irreplaceable,” Fiona said.
Fiona and her family have dedicated more than 20 years to restoring this landscape, building a 13 km electric fence to keep pests out, replanting native vegetation and protecting habitat for threatened wildlife. The fires damaged 4 km of that fence, destroyed 53 hectares of revegetation and burnt critical habitat for the endangered Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly.
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