Indigenous rangers are burning the desert the right way – to stop the wrong kind of intense fires from raging
theconversation.com
Deserts in Australia burn – and burn big – if fuel is left to build up. But this year, Indigenous rangers across the deserts have burned huge tracts early to make Country healthier.

When the dry times come again, plants and grasses dry out and become potential fuel for massive desert fires.

Fire authorities are warning up to 80% of the Northern Territory could burn this fire season.

These areas are managed by Indigenous groups - and fire is a vital part of management.

Without Indigenous rangers expertly managing the deserts through landscape-scale fire management, these protected lands would be at risk of decline.

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in Indigenous fire management - especially after the devastation of the Black Summer fires of 2019-2020.

The goal is to shift from wrong-way fire - where fuel builds up until large, damaging bushfires ignite - to right-way fire, culturally informed fire regimes led by Traditional Owners.

These fires are done regularly, with small fires of varying intensity producing a fine-scale mosaic of vegetation at different stages of recovery and maintaining long-unburned vegetation as safe harbours for wildlife and plants.