The Five Forests: extend from Tilba, through Bermagui, Murrah, Wapengo and Tanja and form part of the Southeast Corner Bioregion.
NEWS ALERT 2011: November 20: In a recent press release 'chipstop' person Harriet Swift stated - “The woodchipping of Mumbulla Forest last year was a major blow to the survival of the koala as a species on the far south coast.(and) While it was a combination of factors such as fire, disease, land clearing for agriculture and predation that has brought the koala to its current dire situation, it is now logging for woodchips which has the potential to finish them off.” Unlike the current logging in Bermagui SF the logging on Mumbulla was not in forests growing on the Murrah Soil Landscape and not in the catchments defined in the nomination. Similarly and like the OE&H's management plan for Kooraban NP and other parks, Swift neglects to mention the threat posed by extensive canopy die-back. Even without further logging the deforestation process will definitely 'finish them off', so it's hard to believe that those who ignore this threat aren't indirectly supporting the logging industry, via their position in the OE&H's pocket.
November 15: Further to ABC radio's "Logging in the South East' segment available on the resources page is a document reproducing, as much as possible, the information from the Bega Catchment Land Degradation Study (1999). It didn't see the light of day because FNSW made sure it didn't although, on a positive note, the suppression of this information lends support to the notion that current arrangements are not consistent with 'Total Catchment Management' as required under the Act. Also on the resources page a large and perhaps unstable scanned version of State Forests (1997) Koala management plan written by Dr Jim Shields. This plan is essentially what the OE&H, Southern Rivers CMA and Bega Shire Council are implementing, based on the notion that the Koala Recovery Officer can determine if soils are 'fertile' without the need to consider credible soil science, just like FNSW do.
November 12: The Office of Environment and Heritage have confirmed that Forests NSW can now undertake whole compartment integrated logging so long as they call it thinning. In addition electronic copies of Harvesting Plans will no longer be made publicly available, rather they can be 'viewed' at FNSW's Batemans Bay Office. Of course even if one took on the 200+km round trip to BB there would still be the uncertainty of whether FNSW would just change the HP afterwards, because they can.
November 6: A couple of days ago the federal Minister for Regional Australia, Regional development, local government and the Arts, Simon Crean called on State and local governments to improve their science and 'harmonize' their actions with the feds. Minister Crean referred to the science behind coal seam gas and endangered species as two issues on which such harmony was required. Also a few days ago and as if to confirm the lack of harmony, regional parks manager Tim Shepard said he didn't have a problem with broad-acre 1080 baiting because he'd seen photos of quolls where they are baiting in Murrabrine. This unscientific appraisal is very similar to the approach FNSW take, we have a few endangered species somewhere and because we don't care about how ecosystems function, everything we do must be OK.
November 1: An AAP article in today's Sydney Morning Herald (available from media page)regrettably confirms that the Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has postponed the koala 'vulnerable listing' decision until next February. Minister Burke is quoted as saying "There are ways of dealing with different koala populations in different parts of the country." Problem is the State Government's 'way of dealing' with koalas means there may not be any left in this part of the country by February.
Who are Friends of Five Forests?
The Friends of the Five Forests (FOFF) are working toward implementing a scientific approach to catchment management on the south coast of New South Wales in Australia.
The Five Forests are home to the last few endemic Koalas in the South East Corner Bioregion (SECB). Koalas are a key indicator of forest health and the last few animals are constrained to forests growing on the Murrah soil landscape. This remnant population was nominated as endangered and likely to become extinct in 2001. Despite the fact that there have been no sightings of koalas outside of the Five Forests, the NSW Scientific Committee believed the claims of the NSW Government agencies, that koalas can be found everywhere and refused to support the nomination.
Native forests in these steep coastal catchments have been subject to intensive and unsustainable logging over the past 30 years. Reduced biodiversity coupled with logging and broad acre burning have degraded the soils and initiated the process of deforestation. Soil degradation leads to reducing soil water holding capacity on ridges and slopes causing tree dieback associated with dry weather and drought (DAD) and Bell-Miner Associated Dieback (BMAD) in gullies and along streams. Losing the last koalas and their eucalyptus forest is inevitable under current management.
FOFF are working toward a new paradigm to improve the way we manage our soil, water, flora and fauna in the SECB so that the environment, the community and the economy can all benefit.
Download FOFFs koala recovery plan (2.8Mb)
Review fact sheets on soils, koalas, catchments, dieback, and forest management claims.
Visit ABC local radio's 'Logging in the Southeast' series' and leave a comment.
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