Fire revival

Our work is a collaboration between scientists and Pintupi
people, the traditional custodians of the Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), which spans the Gibson and Great Sandy deserts.

In the Pintupi language, these are our findings:

Desert people and ninu: a tangible connection

The bilby is a nationally threatened species. It's also culturally significant to many Indigenous groups. At least 20 language names for the species are still used, and the bilby is celebrated in song, story and dance. As late Kiwirrkurra Elder Nanyuma Napangati explained:

In addition to the spiritual connection, bilbies and desert people shared some staple foods: witchetty grubs and bush onions, and itakati seed which grows quickly after fire.

Big benefits from burning

Our new research explores the link between the presence of people, fire and ninu/bilbies in the Kiwirrkurra IPA.

We examined satellite imagery to track changes in the pattern, frequency, and size of fires after the Kiwirrkurra people returned to Country and restarted traditional burning practices.

So what did we find? Every year since 1985, more than 70 fires have been ignited across the 1,550-square kilometre Kiwirrkurra hunting zone. The average fire size was 83 hectares. Most fires were less than 5 hectares.

No large fires have burned in the Kiwirrkurra hunting zone since 2002.

The satellite images show this burning reinstated a vegetation mosaic that closely resembles patterns documented before Indigenous contact with Europeans. They reveal many narrow fire scars of different ages, in close proximity.

This pattern means when a bilby encounters a fox or cat and flees its feeding grounds – usually a recently burnt area – it can reach the cover and safety of mature spinifex without travelling too far.

Under the Pintupi fire regime, small but stable populations of bilbies have persisted in the Kiwirrkurra hunting zone since our monitoring began in 1999.

What about unburnt areas?

We also examined remote parts of the Kiwirrkurra IPA devoid of people, where there's been no traditional burning since 1980.

In these areas, fires occurred only two or three times a year. But they were much larger than the Kiwirrkurra's managed fires, each burning more than 2,500 hectares.

We also analysed satellite imagery for the area around Nyinmi, an outstation 100 kilometres west of the Kiwirrkurra community.

Several Kiwirrkurra family groups lived there between 1990 and 2000, before the outstation was abandoned. After they left, hot wildfires tore through the area three times between 1999 and 2007. When the area was next surveyed in 2012, no signs of bilbies could be found. They still haven't returned.

This suggests the persistence of ninu on the Kiwirrkurra IPA is related to the presence of people, and their activities on Country.

As well as traditional fire management, our previous research has also found people on the Kiwirrkurra IPA help threatened species by hunting feral cats that prey on them.

'Look after the land properly'

Indigenous Elders today grew up using traditional fire practices, and eating the plant foods it promoted.

They are passing their valuable knowledge to the current generation of Indigenous Rangers working to reinstate traditional fire patterns.

Late Nyinmi family member Johnny Nangagee once told how traditional burning helps Country to flourish, promoting balance and good health for both nature and people:

Authors

Editorial production

Disclosures

Rachel Paltridge previously worked as the coordinator of the Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area. This project was supported by a grant from the 10 Deserts Project. Rachel is currently employed by the Indigenous Desert Alliance and receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program Resilient Landscapes Hub.

Mantua Nangala James is a ranger with the Kiwirrkurra Ranger program.

Yukultji Napangati Ward is a ranger with the Kiwirrkurra Ranger program.