Forestry

The government’s own research on the north coast has confirmed that forestry does not affect koala numbers ... New data from field surveys of 1000 sites, trumpeted by the incoming Environment Minister and commenced a year ago, will not be released in time to stimulate or inform public submissions on the Koala Strategy ... The result is preordained.

When I started as a young forester in the late 1980s, I yearned for the opportunity to work in our native forests. While assessing a coupe to plan for a tree harvesting operation, I knew I was inheriting a forest structure that benefited from silvicultural practices adopted by foresters a few generations before me. Foresters aim to make the forest more productive by applying scientific principles to aid in the regeneration of the next crop of trees and to encourage the best growth of the retained trees. My responsibility was to continue that tradition for foresters a few generations ahead of me.

Local CFA brigades attended a fire at Walkers sawmill in Corryong on Friday night which destroyed electrical equipment, necessary for the production of kindling. Two on-site mill workers heard a series of popping noises, similar to gunshots, around 10.30pm before noticing flames coming from the main processing area.

Victorians have a landmark opportunity to help design the future of the state’s public land estate – which now includes more than 1.8 million hectares of forest previously used for timber harvesting. To inform the future use and management of Victoria’s forest estate the Allan Labor Government has established the Great Outdoors Taskforce…

Forestry Australia has welcomed the decision by the Federal Court to allow planned prescribed burns in the Strathbogie Forest ... Forestry Australia President Dr Michelle Freeman said prescribed burning recognises Australia’s fire-dependent ecosystems, and fire-adapted flora and fauna that have evolved through the long tradition of indigenous caring for Country.

"The decision regarding the proposed Great Koala National Park does not belong to a single voice but should involve many voices, mostly from the Mid North Coast. The Labor Government is attempting to blindfold us. Rather than using its chance to engage in authentic discussion with the community, it chooses to undermine us by including carefully curated elitists pretending to be our community representatives": Michael Kemp MP ... A good point that needs to be spelt out in more detail.

“Under the bark of trees are powerful solutions”. This year’s International Day of Forests celebrates the role of trees in providing powerful solutions for a better world.

About 40 salaried jobs at the Maryvale Mill will be gone by June as Opal moves to slash further positions across the company in a bid to stabilise its financial performance. The 40 are believed to be among about 220 salaried company-wide employees who will be made redundant, adding to the more than 300 workers who lost their jobs when Maryvale's white paper production plant was closed late last year.

Monique Dawson. Recent public commentary about the closure of VicForests has included numerous false and misleading claims. VicForests knows there are individuals and organisations who are opposed to native timber harvesting who will be celebrating VicForests’ closure ... The most offensive category of false claims being made is the suggestion VicForests is “rogue” or a “cowboy agency”.

Walk out your front door and look down the street.  If you are in the regions or in suburbia, then you will look at a tall wooden pole that carries the cables that gives you electricity. Have you taken much notice of them?  Probably not, but the pole is native hardwood harvested from a native forest where, through the application of science, it was encouraged to grow that straight.  Timber power poles are selectively harvested from regrowth or working forests.

VicForests, the Victorian Government’s own forestry agency, is being treated deplorably as it braces for a June 30 shutdown ... Peter Walsh, Leader of The Nationals, said it seemed the government was intent on wiping VicForests from the history books.

A scientific survey is being carried out in the Perth Hills, near Mundaring. Scientists are seeking to better understand the health of the forest through the simple art of listening. Using the emerging science of eco-acoustics, researchers are monitoring forest soundscapes to better understand and benchmark ecosystem health.

More jobs are likely to be lost at the Maryvale Paper Mill, where more than 300 workers have already been made redundant as the parent company Opal continues a major shutdown to transition to a packaging paper manufacturer. White paper production - the well-known Reflex copy paper brand - ceased before Christmas, 2023. "This unfortunate situation has led to more than 300 redundancies to-date at Opal," a company spokeswoman said.

The Delburn Wind Farm developer, Osmi Australia, has allayed speculation that the project would be affected by the federal government's rejection on environmental grounds of the Port of Hastings as a construction site ... Delburn involves the construction of 33 wind turbines each about 250 metres in height on plantation forest land owned by HVP Plantations ... recently deployed new fire detection technology that it said was a first for Australia and the wind farm industry.

Australia’s farm, fisheries and forestry sectors are set to rebound in 2024-25. The most recent Agricultural Commodities and Australian Crop reports are predicting that the gross value of production in 2024–25 will again increase after poor seasonal conditions affected outcomes in 2023-24.

Forestry Corporation is monitoring state forests in the Bathurst area after a recent spate of illegal dumping incidents. Forest rangers have found piles of plastic coating that has been burnt off cabling ... “A key concern for Forestry Corporation is the risk that the fires will spread into the pine plantations."

One of the most invasive Australian weeds is being touted as a potential economic crop, with benefits for the construction, mining and forestry industries, and potentially many First Nations communities. The prickly paddy melon weed, which costs the agricultural industry around $100 million a year in lost grain yields, cattle deaths, and control measures, could turn into an unlikely money spinner...

Effective collaboration across the timber industry and learning the lessons from past fire salvage efforts have been highlighted as key factors underpinning the success of the record salvage program in the Tumut and Tumbarumba regions following the Black Summer fires in a report commissioned by Forestry Corporation of NSW.

Roger Underwood. There was an unusual event in Dryandra Forest in Western Australia in November 2023: a commemoration of 100 years of forestry management. At a large gathering in the forest, beneath the shade of a 100-year-old brown mallet plantation, speeches were made, a plaque unveiled, and this book on the history of the forest was launched.