Plans to burn red tingle trees temporarily suspended following treetop protest
Paul Jack camped in a tingle tree in WA's Valley of the Giants for six nights. (Supplied: Jason Fowler)
In short:
The Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions has abandoned its plans to burn three parcels of tingle forest on WA's south coast.
A 70-year-old man lived on a platform suspended from a giant red tingle tree for six days in protest against the burn.
What's next:
Opponents of the burn program say they are pleased with the outcome, but want red tingle trees permanently removed from the burn list.
A 70-year-old man who spent six nights camped 20 metres above a forest floor protesting the prescribed burning of giant red tingle trees in WA's south has succeeded in halting an "imminent" burn.
About 500 hectares of tingle forest at Mount Clare, in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park, 400 kilometres south of Perth, was due to be burnt by the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).
The protest was sparked after the DBCA began preliminary ground works at the Mount Clare block in October.
As part of a community protest action, Paul Jack spent six days living on a platform suspended in the canopy of a giant red tingle tree.
Paul Jack spent six nights on a platform suspended from a giant red tingle tree. (Supplied: Via Stidwell)
Man in tree was last resort
Mr Jack said placing himself in the canopy of the burn site was a last resort for the group.
"From past experience with all of the letter writing and the work that various people have put in over quite a few years to try and modify the DBCA's approach to burnings … nothing else was working," he said.
"This block was imminent, they'd done the scrub rolling already, they were all set to go. We had to do something."
Red tingles can live for more than 500 years and reach heights of 75 metres, and only grow in WA's famed Valley of the Giants.
'Operational priorities'
There have been repeated calls for the government to amend its prescribed burning program after a burn 12 months ago felled more than 100 trees, including a century-old red tingle.
Via Stidwell says the group will continue to push for the removal of tingle trees from prescribed burns. (Supplied: Via Stidwell)
Mt Clare Tingle Community Blockade spokesperson Via Stidwell previously told the ABC the group was prepared to man the platform until its demands were met.
However last Friday, the Mount Clare block and two others – totalling more than 1,000 hectares – were removed from the DBCA's 2025-26 burn plan.
In a letter from DBCA director-general Stuart Smith to protesters, seen by the ABC, Mr Smith said burns in Mount Clare, Nornalup and Coalmine containing tingles were being cancelled due to "operational priorities".
Mr Smith wrote the burns were expected to remain on the DBCA's three-year burn options list, but he was willing to discuss longer-term management of fire-sensitive ecosystems.
Paul Jack says installing the platform was a final effort to get the DBCA to listen to concerned locals. (Supplied: Via Stidwell)
Future protests expected
Mr Jack said while the department's decision was a temporary reprieve from burning, it was a positive outcome for the group.
"The prospect of having to keep the campaign alive and go all the way through Christmas and so forth wasn't a very happy one,"he said.
"I'm absolutely relieved that we've got extra breathing space now to negotiate further to get these particular forests, especially tingle, off the burn list."
As Mr Jack returned to the forest floor, a second protester took his place for one night before the group ended the protest action.
The Mt Clare Tingle Community Blockade opposes the burning of the tingle forest. (Supplied: Via Stidwell)
Ms Stidwell said the group would continue to protest future burns until tingles were excluded from all prescribed burns.
"The community has shown by the stand taken at Mount Clare, and with the broad community support received for it, that we are not willing to see any more tingle burns occur; not this year, not any year," she said.
The DBCA was sent a list of questions about the future of its burn program, including how many burn sites included tingle trees and if they would be removed from its burn list.
A DBCA spokesperson said prescribed burns were based on risk management, operational requirements and implementing government policy.
They said the department was committed to science-based fire management to protect community safety and the unique ecological values of the South West.
Jess Beckerling says DBCA's actions are a positive step forward. (ABC News: Cason Ho)
Greens MLC Jess Beckerling said the department's response was the most significant indication it was open to amending its burn program since it had been placed under the spotlight.
"It was heartening to read that DBCA recognises tingle forests are sensitive ecosystems and is willing to keep having the conversation with the community,"she said.
"Tingles must be added to the list of values that are protected from fire."