Bell-Miner Associated Dieback Conference Report
Around 70 people attended a National forum on Bell-Miner Associated Dieback (BMAD) held over three days in Lismore on the NSW north coast. The first day involved a field trip out to previously forested areas on National Parks, State Forests and private land, with severe BMAD. Most of these infestations and the decline of eucalyptus occurred after various logging treatments. Over the years all eucalyptus species have eventually succumbed to dieback and lantana has thrived. The areas in decline are extensive, with one NPWS Park manager suggesting she was ashamed to go to or call some areas National Parks.
Although the focus was forests in the Northern rivers area, a review of literature prepared for the forum, covered research from the south coast, particularly the Eden forestry region. This literature included a publicly funded paper written by State Forests called Eucalypt dieback in SE Australia: a simple model (Juskis and Turner 2002).
State Forests Silvicultualist Vic Jurskis co-wrote the paper and attended the forum. Importantly Vics research included observations of eucalypt die-back at 47 sites in the Eden forestry Region, 15 of the sites were observed in Five Forests catchments.
Perhaps ironically State Forests released their generic ESFM plans for public comment the day before the forum. In the Eden and Southern forestry regions (Bateman Bioregion) an area of 2,500 ha is suggested to be in decline and there is no mention of Bell-miners. Similarly there is no mention of the forests turning brown in 1998 and 2002-03 (Jurskis 2004).
It was pointed out to Vic that there is more than 2,500 ha of Bell-miner die-back in the Murrah catchment alone. After some hurried mobile phones calls Vic scribbled out the figure in the ESFM plan and replaced it with 22,500ha.
Also attending the forum was SFs roving ecologist Dr. Jim Shields apparently representing the NSW Scientific Committee. Some may recall Dr. Shields attended the recent public meeting held at the Murrah Hall where he claimed to have no influence on local forest management and one hundred hectares is left for every Koala. Dr. Shields failure to identify himself as a Scientific Committee member only adds to his apparent lack of ethics, particularly since he was apparently the only person attending who could have shed some light on the whereabouts of the undocumented other Koala population.
Keynote speaker at the forum was Dr. Bernard Borman a public forest manager from the North-west Pacific coast of America where they practise adaptive management. The aim of native forest managers is to return native forests, previously developed as plantations, to their pre-European state. As this had never been attempted before, there are several uncertainties surrounding the various management approaches aimed at achieving this outcome.
On the question of community input into forest management decisions Bernard indicated that if their proposals did not have the support of local communities they would not do it. Reflecting community aspirations is a fundamental aspect of adaptive forest management.
State Forests ESFM Plan (approved and operative from 1/7/2004) proposes to continue logging at the current rate and increase forest health . . The potential impact of insect pests and diseases will be reduced by reinstating more natural low intensity fire regimes and by thinning in timber production areas to reduce stressful competition. This burning regime is proposed for all tenures and . . . wont be fully effective unless we work in conjunction with the community and other agencies.
The now completed thinnings operations of 55 year old fire regrowth in Cuttagee (Cpts. 2056-57), while nowhere near as destructive as integrated operations are not aimed at increasing species diversity and are unlikely to reduce stress on retained or surrounding trees. Post logging and other burning will reduce growth rates of retained trees many, of which have been damaged during the operations. Koala feed species like Woollybutt and Stringy bark have been pushed over and left to be burned. A large proportion of dead trees have been retained in some thinned areas and species retained are mostly Silvertop Ash, that is most susceptible to fire and drought, is not a Koala feed species but is suitable for pulp.
The literature review has found that State Forests ongoing management stems from opinions based on casual observations that have no scientific data to back them up. There were several calls from forum attendees for a moratorium on logging in forests with BMAD.
The forum also provided the opportunity to propose a forest management model employing credible science and based on the apparently successful American model. Under this model forest management is left largely to a interdisciplinary team with a focus on local expertise, that is an interface between the Government and the community on forest management issues.
For example, over the past 50 years in the five forests most areas of timber production forest have, for all practical purposes been developed into plantations. Despite the uncertainties around whether reversing this change is possible, it is clear that unless there are changes to management things can only get worse.
In one of his papers Options Forestry; acting on uncertainty Dr. Borman proposes responding to uncertainty by diversifying management, emphasising learning and integrating research and management. While there is much rhetoric from the land management agencies about their capacity to adopt adaptive management it is clear that the NSW Forestry Commission have no intention of modifying their management practises or shifting from their data free science. The NPWS has adapted to sustained timber quotas so their capacity to move is similarly uncertain.
However in 1999 the Commonwealth and State Governments funded our scientifically based forest management project in the Five forests and the science behind this project has grown and improved and is now beyond any challenge the agencies could mount. The way seems clear to continue and complete this project without threats of legal action and extend the science behind the management to the rest of the Five forests. Thankfully the tools exist to achieve such an outcome and with community support provides a practical way forward.
Another positive outcome from the forum was several of the BMAD Committee members expressed interest in visiting the area to gain an appreciation of the extent of eucalyptus decline and assist in developing a state-wide approach to the problem.