Forestry Tasmania's accidental logging in forest reserves

The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc
Media Release
6 June 2008

Forestry Tasmania’s admission that they have accidentally logged forest that should be reserved is not an isolated incident and comes on top of numerous similar instances over recent years, according to the Wilderness Society.

“Forestry Tasmania’s most recent admissions of accidental logging are a further indictment on the forests practices system and highlights systemic failures in their logging operations,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for The Wilderness Society.

“These latest failures are not isolated incidences and come on top of the burning of El Grande, Australia’s biggest tree in 2003; the cutting down of an eagle’s nest in 2006; the logging of part of the Arve Forest Reserve in 2007; and  the illegal logging of Swift Parrot habitat at Wielangta despite the scrutiny of the Federal Court.”

Logging coupe GC 104A is on the Blue Tier and contains forest of incredibly high conservation value, as it is habitat to threatened species such as the Simson’s stag beetle. Special Values reports that have been prepared for the area indicate that logging “will likely impact negatively upon Simson’s stag beetle.”1

“Many of these logging coupes are in forests that should never be logged at all. There has been significant community protest to call off the logging and the unique natural values are clear,” said Mr Bayley.

“We urge the Forest Practices Authority to carry out a full and thorough investigation, including the impact of illegal logging on supposedly protected special values, such as the Simson’s stag beetle.”

“These incidences, on top of so many others before, reinforce calls for additional forest conservation, especially around existing reserves where logging operations currently compromise the values inside those reserves.”

“This latest admission further erodes community trust in Forestry Tasmania’s ability to properly manage publicly owned forests,” concluded Mr Bayley.

1 Nicholas Fitzgerald, SPECIAL VALUES REPORT FOR LARSEN CREEK COUPE GC104A , February 2007