Friday, March 29, 2024

Branching out – Part two of forestry conversations

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In Branching Out part one, we looked at the regulation surrounding the last three remaining working red gum forests in NSW – Campbells Island, Koondrook and Perricoota State Forest.

A conversation was started which saw industry, community members and forestry discuss harvesting, management, rules and sustainability.

With more than 110,000 hectares of red gum forests now put into National Parks, red gum reserves or Indigenous protected areas across the state, open dialogue can ensure active management remains to manage the aggressive regeneration of these red gum forests and balance the social, economic, cultural and ecological aspects.

Where do they harvest, when and why?

There is no hard and fast rule for tree sizes to be harvested. There is, however, a regulation that prohibits the harvesting of trees with a diameter at chest height of 120cm or greater. It’s about proximity and growth rates. Assessments are made based on inventory data collected from the permanent growth plots across the entire forest estate to determine the growth rates of the forest.

Koondrook and Perricoota have approximately 40 compartments in each forest and Campbells Island has 12. Each compartment is treated in order of works as required based off the assessment criteria with contingencies also in place for natural flooding or environmental water inundation.

Growth rates across the landscape can vary dramatically depending on the height on the floodplain, tree density, access to groundwater and soil type. Different parts of one compartment can be treated differently depending on what is specifically required.

The forest harvest management plan outlines to the harvest operator or contractor where and how the harvesting operation is to take place, identifying the exclusion zones for flora and fauna protection, as well as along wetlands and waterways, areas of cultural significance, areas available to harvest and the various ‘site quality’ of the area to be harvested. 

The machines used to harvest the trees are tracked via GPS, which ensures harvest operations are conducted within the approved areas and not conducted within proximity limited to rivers and creeks.

Why is there so much timber left on the forest floor?

Volumes of timber taken is allocated to customers through wood supply agreements, which include volumes and specifications. People often ask about the timber left behind. Minimums for the retention of hard, woody debris stipulate that a minimum of 40 tonnes per hectare must remain on the forest floor and specifications in the wood supply agreement must be met. Minimum log lengths of 2.1m are stipulated in many agreements due to the safe transport of timber along roads. Firewood left on the floor is later opened up to community firewood collection after a safety period allowing the forest to settle.

Contributions to fire fighting

Part of wood supply agreements is the provision of firefighters, plant and equipment by timber harvesters to combat fires and also maintain fire trails. Between Gelletly Red Gum Firewood and O’Brien Red Gum, up to 800 hours per year is provided to Forestry Corporation in firefighting and machine hours. Often the closest and most readily available machines to fight fires are forestry machines.

One such example of this was the 2019 Marywood Road fire in Koondrook Perricoota where, between the efforts of industry, Forestry Corp and RFS, only approximately 4-5 hectares were burnt during the scorching 44-degree temperatures. In total, for the 2019/20 season, there were five separate fires with only 20 hectares being burnt. 

Next week, we will hear from community members on their thoughts and concerns.

The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper 11 August 2022

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 11 August 2022.

Related story: Branching out – Part one

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For all the news from The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, go to https://www.thebridgenews.com.au/