Name: NSW government resumes logging in bushfire-stricken native forests
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NSW government resumes logging in bushfire-stricken native forests

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Logging returns to NSW native forests hit by bushfiresWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementGovernment logging has resumed in fire-damaged forests in NSW despite warnings that devastated bushland and endangered wildlife are too fragile to withstand further disruption.Newly released documents from the NSW government’s logging agency – the Forestry Corporation – reveal that at least 85 per cent of harvestable native hardwood forests in the south coast region was burnt in the fires.Despite this, in a letter to wood supply contract holders – released during budget estimates – the corporation said it remains "optimistic" it can meet its supply entitlements.Independent NSW MP Justin Field said the government was acting as if the devastating fires had never happened. He said communities were "devastated to see logging return to burnt and unburnt forests across NSW."NSW Environment Protection Agency mapping shows about 92 per cent of the area set for logging was burnt in the fires.A NSW Forestry Corporation spokesperson said the state-owned logging company hadworked with industry regulator the EPA to develop "appropriate mitigation measures" for post-bushfire logging, including conditions specific to each site, which "substantially increase the area of habitat protected".In Victoria, that state’s government logging agency, VicForests, has revealed plans to log 3500 hectares of forests burnt during the summer fires in the next few years, saying salvage logging will occur in areas where "most of the standing trees have been killed".The agency’s chief executive officer, Monique Dawson, has also levelled extraordinary criticism at internationally-regarded Australian ecologist Professor David Lindenmayer, saying the agency "does not accept his ... opinions".AdvertisementConservationists, including Professor Lindenmayer, say salvage logging has a lasting effect on wildlife. They also say logging forests after bushfires increases future firerisk, damages soil and waterways."Salvage logging will have devastating consequences for forests and wildlife impacted by the fires," said Chris Schuringa, spokesman for the Goongerah Environment Centre in East Gippsland. Post-fire logging has already begun in a state park north of Dargo, in East Gippsland.In March, the Goongerah Environment Centre wrote to VicForests head Monique Dawson to inquire about logging in fire-affected forests, referring to research by Professor Lindenmayer on the impact of salvage logging.In her response, Ms Dawson said: "We do not accept the published opinions of Professor David Lindenmayer as reflective of evidence and do not consider him to be an authority in these matters."Professor Lindenmayer, a researcher at the ANU and one of the world’s most cited forest ecologists, described Ms Dawson’s comments as "outrageous".The most important news, in your inbox, at the start and end of each day. Sign up to and .Log in, or to save articles for later. is a senior journalist and Environment Reporter at The Age. is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Advertisement

Logging returns to NSW native forests hit by bushfiresWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementGovernment logging has resumed in fire-damaged forests in NSW despite warnings that devastated bushland and endangered wildlife are too fragile to withstand further disruption.Newly released documents from the NSW government’s logging agency – the Forestry Corporation – reveal that at least 85 per cent of...

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NSW government resumes logging in bushfire-stricken native forests

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