Our new forest campaigner Steve has already been out to survey for endangered Greater Gliders in a forest slated for logging. Forest campaignersaround the state are having a direct impact on logging operations in NSW through their forest surveying. Read on for the whole story>>
I have just come back from a mission to find as many endangered Southern Greater Gliders and their den trees as possible in an area of the Styx state forest, which is slated for logging.
These surveys are supposed to be done by Forestry Corporation NSW but their goal is logging habitat and our goal is saving it. Unsurprisingly, the different intents have vastly different outcomes. The way FCNSW does forestry surveys has more holes than a 200-year-old habitat tree.
All around the state, citizen scientists are pulling up their hiking boots and heading out into the forests to ensure that as much habitat as possible gets protected in forests on the chopping block.
Each den tree identified results in a 50-metre logging exclusion zone and buys some time for this precious species and many others like it.
This critical work is about protecting as much habitat as possible, whilst we simultaneously push those in power to end native forest logging once and for all.
Did you know the native forestry industry is uneconomic and runs at a loss? That means your taxes are being used to prop up the decimation of our native forests, mostly for low grade products like woodchips.
The pressure is mounting for a transition for the industry, with the government starting consultations as part of their Forestry Industry Action Plan. This is a huge opportunity to chart a new way forward to a 100% plantation-based industry, but it means our movement needs to be at full power to see it through.
It can take over a century for tree hollows to form and these hollows provide shelter for many forest animals. Logging removes old, large trees with hollows and removes the trees that will provide the next generation of hollows. Over time logging degrades forests like the Styx, until it can’t support healthy populations of hollow-dwelling marsupials.
Our weekend survey identified 12 den trees and 92 Greater Glider sightings, adding to other recent surveys finding an additional 10 den trees. That’s 17.3 hectares of logging exclusion of key habitat. Not bad for a weekend’s work.
The Minns Government faces a stark choice: to end native forest logging or send species to extinction. It's that simple. We have an historic opportunity, but we need to work hard to make it a reality. The next six months are critical for the future of species that depend on healthy, mature forests for their continued existence.
Steve Ryan
Forests Campaigner
Nature Conservation Council NSW