Australia's Prehistoric Wollemi Pine Trees Saved From Bushfires Thanks To Government Plan

Jan 19, 2020 by apost team

The Australian wildfires are an ecological disaster that is nearly unprecedented in human history. The fires have been ravaging Australia’s once pristine landscape since September, according to Insider. The deadly blaze has wreaked terrible harm on Australia’s famed flora and fauna.

It is estimated that over a billion animals have died in the disaster and over 5 million acres of land have burned, reports the Guardian. Recently, the Australian government has released information detailing their heroic efforts to save a grove of prehistoric trees.

The Wollemi Pine grove has existed for over 200 million years, according to the American Scientist. Ancestors of the one of a kind species stood when dinosaurs roamed the area during the Jurassic Period. The grove is located in the 5,000-square-kilometer Wollemi National Park, which is northwest of Sydney in New South Wales.

Fossils from the grove have dated back as far as 90 million years ago. Before the grove was discovered in 1994, the rare pine trees were thought to have been extinct. To prevent contamination, the Australian government keeps the precise location of the grove a secret from the general public.

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As the fires zeroed in on Wollemi grove, officials in New South Wales knew that they had to do everything in their power to save the historic location. As much of Wollemi National Park had been scorched by the blaze, officials had to act quickly. The task, which retained a degree of secrecy to still keep the grove’s location confidential, first saw firefighters drop tons of fire retardant liquid on the grove from planes.

Next, specialists were brought to the remote area using helicopters. These specially trained firefighters were lowered to the area using winches as they established an irrigation system designed to keep the fire at bay, confirms a statement from the government.

While some of the trees were damaged in the fire, thanks to the Australian government and the diligence of the firefighters, the grove was saved from the blaze. Matt Kean, who serves the people of New South Wales as the state’s environment minister, said in a statement that an extraordinary level of commitment from those involved helped save the trees.

In his statement, Kean further revealed that with "less than 200 of the species existing in the wild, it was the responsibility of the Australian government to preserve the grove." Moving forward, Kean says that New South Wales will conduct a study to determine how much the grove was damaged by the fires.

What do you think of how the Australian government planned to keep the grove of prehistoric trees safe from the wildfires?