Huon Valley Environment Centre

ANU's Green Carbon Report

The colour of carbon matters. Green carbon is the carbon stored in the plants and soil of natural ecosystems and is a vital part of the global carbon cycle. This report is the first in a series that examines the role of natural forests in the storage of carbon, the impacts of human land use activities, and the implications for climate change policy nationally and internationally. REDD (“reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation”) is now part of the agenda for the “Bali Action Plan” being debated in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009.
Currently, international rules are blind to the colour of carbon so that the green carbon in natural forests is not recognized, resulting in perverse outcomes including ongoing deforestation and forest degradation, and the conversion of extensive areas of land to industrial plantations. This report examines REDD policy from a green carbon scientific perspective. Subsequent reports will focus on issues concerning the carbon sequestration potential of commercially logged natural forests, methods for monitoring REDD, and the long term implications of forest policy and management for the global carbon cycle and climate change.

Visit the ANU's Green Carbon website to download the Green Carbon report.

Write to the Federal Government - Tell them to Save the Weld Valley!

Please write to the below people expressing your concern about planned logging operations in the Lower Weld Valley. Feel free to print and sign this letter, write your own (best) , or email Julie Collins, Peter Garret, and Kevin Rudd. Calling their offices is also very worthwhile. Remember, these people work for you!

If you do write a letter, please photocop two copies(or write separate letters) and send them to Peter Garrett and Kevin Rudd. It is important that both local members and cabinet decision makers are aware of the strength of community opposition to the destruction of the Weld Valley.

Email/Phone Contacts:

Julie Collins: Julie.Collins.MP@aph.gov.au (03) 6263 5050.
Peter Garrett: http://www.petergarrett.com.au/send-enquiry.aspx (02) 9349 6007
Kevin Rudd: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm (07) 3899 4031

Form Letter:

To: The Honourable Julie Collins MP, PO Box 61 Bridgewater, TAS 7030.

CC: The Honourable Peter Garrett MP, Minister for the Environment, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2600.

CC: The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister, Parliament House, Canberra ACT, 2600.

Dear Julie Collins MP,

Your electorate contains some of the most unique and valued forests on earth. While some of these are protected in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), many others are under threat from logging activities.

The Lower Weld Valley is the jewel in the crown of the Huon Forests. While the upper and middle reaches of the valley are protected in the TWWHA, the Lower Weld, which shares the same   World Heritage values, is being decimated by industrial scale logging. These values have been identified by the World Heritage Committee, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Federal Government commissioned experts.

In July last year, the World Heritage Committee in New Zealand passed a motion expressing concern over the impacts of logging on the integrity of the TWWHA, including in the Weld. The Committee also passed a motion regarding the impact a proposed bridge over the Weld River will have on the wilderness values of the North Weld Wilderness, a several thousand hectare section of pristine forest bordering the Snowy Range.

These concerns were deemed significant enough for the IUCN to send an official scientific delegation to assess these threats. This delegation arrives in late February.

Forestry Tasmania plans to construct a bridge over the Weld River in the immediate future. This bridge, to open up the isolated and pristine North Weld Wilderness for logging, will severely impact the wilderness values of this area. The situation is of the utmost urgency. Once these values are degraded, they cannot be regained.

Several other logging operations in old growth and wilderness areas in the Lower Weld are also planned in the immediate future.

The Weld also has significant recreational and tourism potential, with uniquely accessible wilderness. Forestry Tasmania recognises this potential, with it's as yet undeveloped “Weld Valley Touring Route”, however the permanent protection of this area would guarantee it's tourism potential remains undiminished.

In this age of climate change, it has been demonstrated that Tasmania's old growth tall eucalypt forests have the highest carbon storages of any of south east Australia's forests. The carbon storage potential and resilience to climatic changes of these forests is increased dramatically if they are left untouched.

The situation is extremely urgent. There is strong community opposition to the logging of the Weld. These forests are Tasmania's heritage, and the World's heritage. I urge you to immediately protect the Lower Weld, for all time.

Regards,

Address:

The End of the Weld, as we know it
a reflection on the Weld Valley by Tasmanian Tiger hunter Col Bailey

One of the least known and seldom visited wilderness areas of the state is Southern Tasmania's Weld River Valley. Up unto recently, there were no roads into this isolated and unpopulated region apart from a few logging roads entering from the Huon Valley via Judbury and Lonnavale. There was little intrusion west of the Huon River until recently constructed logging roads rudely intruded into this precious, untouched region.

Last year I was shocked to discover incursion had occurred from the Mueller Road to the west adjoining the already desecrated Florentine Valley and its heir apparent, the Styx. A hard slog that had previously taken several days to accomplish through dense bush and thick under-story was now possible in a matter of minutes by motor vehicle

Similarly, from the other side of the Weld, bulldozers have ploughed through roads into this invaluable and irreplaceable piece of our natural heritage ready for the clear fell madness they call progress..

Why is the Weld River Valley so special? I asked well known veteran bushman the late Deny King that question many years ago, and his answer filled me with curiosity and wonderment for an area I that I then knew very little about.

Deny was a legend in his own time, a true blue gentleman who was passionate about the natural history of our island. His wisdom and appreciation of the bush was second to none, and in his own, quiet back-county drawl, he held me spellbound for some time as he shared his tales of the mysterious Weld Valley.

He told me of his early life in the Huon Valley, and especially of the family property, Sunset Ranch near Lonnavale. He spoke of the big bushfires that ravaged southern Tasmania in 1934, and the effect those fires had on his small community. He told of the explorations carried out by he and his father Charles, into the largely unknown backblocks of the Weld River Valley.

Deny revealed his father's hopes of finding gold in the Weld and of his secret forays into the hinterland, much to the curiosity of the locals. Charles King's success was invariably gauged by his payment with gold for the family's grocery bill at the local store. It was in fact his father's lust for gold that first drew the pair to the wilds of Port Davey in 1930 and eventually into the tin mining business for which they were later to become so well known.

Deny loved exploring, and the Weld was his classroom with much of his bush prowess and skills learned there. To him it was a vast untouched wilderness that begged exploring. He expressed his distaste of snaring, a sore point between him and his father, much as it had been between my father and I, for Deny, like myself, would rather sit and quietly observe the forest animals and birds than catch them in cruel traps and snares.

Beyond his boyhood intrusions into the lower reaches of the Weld, his hunger to investigate its beauties and dangers were at last to come to fruition. He and his father entered the region at the request of the Huonville Council in 1927 to seek out an alternate route to the old South Gordon Track. In doing so they would attempt to open up the way from the Huon through to the recently discovered osmiridium diggings along the Adams River to the north- west.

It was a daunting task and one that Charles King had deep reservations about. They plunged into the vast unknown on a harrowing journey that was to tax both men to the very limits of their endurance. Deny was then only 17 and his father 50, and should they come to grief, there would be no help or assistance forthcoming. They were completely on their own in that wild and untamed wilderness of the Weld.

Deny told me of dense stands of the dreaded horizontal, of deep and dangerous sinkholes with swift torrents of water pouring into their unseen depths, of vast river caves, of splendid waterfalls racing off the escarpment after rain and of huge cliffs adjoining the Weld River's erratic course.

He spoke of their locating a thylacine nest in a shallow crevice amongst the rocks, and of their suspicions that the nest had only recently been occupied by a mother tiger and her brood. This was an animal that frequented the Weld in reasonable numbers at the time, and Deny confided that they may still have been there, as up to that time, much of the region remained untouched by logging and like disturbances.

As they traversed the western side of the Jubilee Range as it sweeps down to join the Weld River, the inherent danger was obvious as one wrong move could have spelt disaster. They had a one chain tape and a compass to keep them on course, and within that short distance, they would often lose sight of each other, so dense was the undergrowth.

On another expedition into the Weld, Deny spoke of giant landslips with whole hillsides swept clean of trees, the aftermath of many thousands of tons of earth and rock crashing to the river far below. He described it as being like another world back in there, and both men felt honoured at the privilege of laying eyes on this vast untouched, pristine wilderness, that few had ever seen before. Little did he realise he was whetting my appetite for the Weld, so much so that I could hardly wait to get in there.

No doubt there have been many who have walked into the Weld in recent years, and many of them would have felt that they were the first humans to pass through certain areas, so utterly pristine is the landscape. It is a breathtaking experience; the natural history is superlative; the mesmerising marsupial lawn and moss patches, the brilliant diversity of flora and fauna, the pure mountain water, an air tinged with a glorious array of scents and fragrances this is a special place of beauty and reverence, the likes of which are fast disappearing in our island state.

It is reputed that there was a notice tacked to a tree on the South Gordon Track still readable in 1939 that said "Huon via Weld" but by then the Kings' track had long disappeared under the fast encroaching bush. Various tracks had previously been cut into the area by early surveyors and explorers by way of Mt Anne, but none had previously sprung from Lonnavale and traversed a route through to the South Gordon Track.

My early forays into the valley were cautious and restrictive, for there were few worn trails or walking tracks to follow. My reasons were obvious to anyone who knew me. For me it was like discovering a new country, an uninhabited land that was utterly fascinating every step of the way.

At first I entered from various sections along the Mueller Road between the Styx Valley and the Scott's Peak Road and the old Port Davey Track. In doing so I discovered many previously lost sections of the early trail, first blazed by Marsden in 1898. Much has now returned to bush, with large areas now heavilly overgrown with horizontal.

I sat alongside the remains of the old "Damper Inn" an historic hut first constructed by Marsden's party and in later years refurbished to provide shelter for walkers traversing the track. Sadly, it is now derelict and on the ground, the roof having caved in and taken the rotting walls with it.

As I sat in the quiet and serenity of the surrounding myrtle forest, I reminisced, thinking back to the old days when this was the only track into the south- west; when walkers on their way to the majestic Lake Pedder would spend the night safe from the elements within its humble slab walls. And of the couple I once interviewed who spent the first night of their bushwalking honeymoon there. They assured me it was a night to remember. If only those walls could talk!

And of that well organised tiger hunting party who back in the late 1950's set up their base camp in the hut as they scoured the surrounding countryside for their elusive quarry following several sightings in the area.

Perhaps my most productive time was east of Mt Bowes when I left the old track and blazed my way through to the Weld River as it makes its way towards the Huon. Tracing its journey past the Snake River as it winds its path past the Jubilee Range, I got some idea of what Denny King was talking about. Here the scenery was magnificent and untouched, in much its primeval glory. It would surely have been a massive undertaking for them to have traversed the area from Lonnavale back in 1927.

Although I refuse to say whether I actually seen a thylacine, I certainly found evidence that they were roaming the area, for there are suitable hunting grounds and an ample food supply along the valley. Denny had advised me where to centre my search, and he wasn't far wrong. I have little doubt the tiger, in its wide-ranging transient ramblings moves through these vast wilderness areas still.

Of course I expect many to scoff and snigger at my claim, but what would they know. To believe the animal still exists, it is imperative that one ventures into these areas and to see for oneself. For to see first hand the nature of this wilderness, is to believe implicitly that the thylacine could still survive.

I don't mean to fly over it in a helicopter and pass a judgement based on that alone. Or to sit in one's ivory tower in the city and with a wave of the hand over a map declare it impossible for the animal to still exist. Or to read a book or two on the subject and be led astray by what others may have foolishly declared. To do that is sheer ignorance.

It would appear that the future of the Weld River Valley, like so many other tracts of pure wilderness in Tasmania, is caught up in that much maligned culture of 'if it grows, chop it down' expediency, and it seems nothing we can do or say will change the Tasmanian Government's attitude. The inherent danger lies in the fact that both major parties share much the same agenda on this pivotal issue.

The State Government's on-going crusade to appease the pro-logging fraternity is winning it few friends. Meanwhile, the multi-national barons are having a field day at the expense of a most precious legacy that we can never, ever hope to replace.

While we are forced to stand and watch as our natural heritage leaves our shores on ships bound for Asia, the leading protagonists of this rape and burn culture assure us that it is all for the good of our state. The on-going profits they tell us far outweigh the loss of a few scrappy bits of bush perhaps in the same category as that 'leach-ridden ditch', the tag a previous Tasmanian Premier used to denigrate the majestic and now much exulted Gordon River.

Or maybe it is scarcely different to that insignificant little lake that lay, as its critics claimed, sandwiched between a toilet paper ridden stretch of low sand hills deep in the south west and a now belatedly flaunted as one of World Heritage proportions. Such an ecological tragedy, many declared would never be allowed to happen again but it has happened and will continue to happen infinitum unless the powers that be see logic in preserving our precious natural heritage.

Not true, you may be heard to say ' the Weld River Valley is nowhere in the same category as the fore-mentioned gems.'

Well to you I say, get out of your place of convenience, don some walking boots and a pack, and get in there and see for yourself what I am talking about, and I am sure you will soon change your mind.

But you had better do it fast for tomorrow may be too late, because the 'beavers' are already in there chipping away at it!

National Day of Action for Tasmania's Forests

On Friday 3rd August 2007 concerned citizens rallied all over Australia to raise awareness of the plight of Tasmania's native forests and the forest policy sell-out of the ALP. Activists gathered in Launceston, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Newcastle and Perth at the offices of Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett, Kerry O’Brien, Carmen Lawrence, Lindsay Tanner, Kate Lundy and the South Australian ALP branch office. Read the Tasmanian press release here. Click on thumbnails below for larger images of actions.

Launceston	Sydney	Newcastle	Melbourne
Canberra	Brisbane	Adelaide	Perth

Weld Valley for World Hertigate Campaign

The Huon Valley Environment Centre has been campaigning to highlight threats to the values and integrity of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) from logging and roading in the Lower Weld Valley and other areas for several years.
At the most recent meeting of the International World Heritage Committee in Christchurch, New Zealand, representatives of 21 countries voted to express their concern about these logging threats and determined to send a delegation to Tasmania in the next six months.
This recent decision vindicates the long standing concerns of the Huon Valley Environment Centre and Weld Valley activists, however, today logging and roading activities are continuing.

Download the 'Decisions Adopted at the 31st Session of the World Heritage Committee (Christchurch, 2007). Find the Tasmanian decision on page 73.

View: HVEC Press Release, ABC Online, Radio National PM audio story, The Mercury article

Download the report "The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: World Heritage in Danger" authored by the Huon Valley Environment Centre and The Wilderness Society, and submitted to the World Heritage Committee meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, June 2007. (In Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format)

Download the Crisis Report submitted (21.05.07) to the World Heritage Committee in Paris by the Huon Valley Environment Centre. (In Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format)

For more information on the Lower Weld Valley campaign please visit Weld Valley Online.

What You Can Do
to help protect Tassie's native forests

Click here to download the fantastic booklet that shows how you can help the campaign for protection of Tasmania's threatened native forests. Can be easily printed double-sided and made into booklets. Booklet is in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format and is 1.4mb

Xavier Rudd visits Arve Valley
Supports campaign to protect Tasmania's threatened southern forests

On Saturday 7th April 2007 singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd visited threatened old-growth forest in the Arve Valley with workers from the Huon Valley Environment Centre. In Tasmania for the Southern Roots music festival, Xavier took time out of his busy schedule to connect with the forest and the people campaigning to protect it.
It was a glorious autumnal day in the forest, walking amongst 400 year old tree ferns, ancient Sassafras trees and towering Eucalypts. Not far away was El Maestre, the sixth largest tree found in Tasmania (see 'Southern Tasmania's Grieving Giants' for more info). At the Southern Roots festival that afternoon Xavier had two forest banners up behind him on stage for the length of his gig and gave an inspiring and well received talk to the crowd about the importance of protecting the trees.
Please check out the press release and Mercury article here. Visit Xavier Rudd's website. Click on image thumbnails below to view larger photos.

Still Wild, Still Threatened
Southern Forests campaign

The Huon Valley Environment Centre is part of a team of individuals and groups working to protect Tasmania's threatened southern forests, particularly along the eastern boundary of the World Heritage Area.

Huon Forestry District - High Conservation Value forests under threat from Forestry operations.
To go and see these areas, please contact Warrick Jordan at HVEC on 62641286. It is extremely valuable to have the community going to these areas, as it needs to be realised what stands to be lost by our our local communities, and there is the constant possibility of finding special values that may see areas recieve protection. The GPS co-ordinates of these coupes can be obtained from the 3 year Wood Production Plan, available from Forestry Tasmania. Many of the coupes are also listed on FT's website - www.forestrytas.com.au.We will be posting these on the web shortly as well.

Forestry Tasmania is obligated under the terms of it's timber certification program, the Australian Forestry Standard, to actively consult the community regarding it's operations. If you have concerns or would like information regarding these areas, or any other in the Huon District, please call the FT District Office at Geeveston on 62970012. The District Forester is Steve Davis, and the Community Liason Officer is Peter Pepper. Remember, Forestry employees are employed to manage our public forests. We pay them to look after our forests. Visit the forests below and you can decide for yourself wether they are earning their wages.

This list will be constantly evolving so please keep an eye on it.

Key To Terms

Evaluation - The process undertaken by the FPO to prepare a coupe for logging.

Forest Block - State Forest is divided into Forest Blocks. These are specificed areas often coinciding with topographical features, often based around ridges.

FPO - Forest Practies Officer

FPP - Forest Practices Plan. The Forest Practices Officer, employed by the FT district office, is required to create a plan for any logging or roading operation in State Forest. This plan must adhere to the Forest Practices Code and take into account any special values. These are publicly available( for a $20 fee) from your local office, in this case, Geeveston. The HVEC has copies of a number of these plans also.It is important that the community is consulted in this process, which unfortunately, occurs seldomly in the Huon. It is also important to ensure that community members carry out independent audits of operations, to ensure the inadequate provisions of the code are being adhered to.

FT - Forestry Tasmania

HCV - High Conservation Value

HVEC - Huon Valley Environment Centre

OG - Old Growth

WHA - World Heritage Area

Forests Under Threat!

Coupes of Significance, Huon District, November 2007

ARVE VALLEY

Coupe: AR2B/ Bennett's Spur 7.
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Crib Hill Rd. South off Arve rd before Hartz Rd. Also Bennett's Spur 7 off Bennett's Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: Roading investigation being undertaken. No planning currently undertaken but work may begin in near future. Roading 2007, harvest 2008.
Notes: Close to WHA, possibly contiguous , adjacent to AR2C which is adjacent to Hartz N.P.ARN.38ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ar002b.pdf

Coupe: AR9B
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Wyena 2/2. From Geeveston – drive along Arve Rd, turn left on Hartz Rd, Take Wyena 2 spur and drive to end past quarry along rough rd. No gates.
Roading/Forestry Status: Unsure. No roading works/tags. On plan for 2007.
Notes: Adjacent to Hartz NP. Appears to be previously logged regrowth but unsure of most of coupe. Tagged track for previous research work. ARN.30ha.4km rd.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ar009b.pdf

Coupe: AR26C
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Conways Rd. From Huonville, travel to Southwood, left on Southwood Rd, Conways Rd on right about 1km before connects with Arve Rd. Gate on Conways.
Notes: Adjacent to Arve river. Giant trees located previously on Conways Ridge and directly across the Arve River on Arve Spur 3.007 (giant located very close). CLF.48ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ar026c.pdf

Coupe: AR29A/ Arve 3/2 Ext.
Location/Access: Opposite eastern entrance to Arve Loop Reserve. Off Arve Rd.
Notes: Coupe borders Arve River. Next to Arve Road. Giant trees located previously on Conways Ridge and on Arve Spur 3, which is very close. See above.

Coupe: AR34C
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: Arve Loop 2. No gates.
Roading/Forestry Status: Most coupe finished. 10 ha remaining. Not to be logged until after burn season in Autumn.
Notes: Massive almost giant E.regnans. Adjacent to Arve Loop Reserve. Part of reserve logged in 2007.CLF, cable.8ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ar034c.pdf

Coupe: AR41A
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Arve Loop 3. Gated.
Roading/Forestry Status: Finished by November.
Notes: Adjacent to Arve Loop Reserve. Contiguous with large pristine forest areas in AL reserve, Hartz NP, and Picton Valley. Beautiful old growth. Ugly massacre. CLF.105ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ar041a.pdf

Coupe: AR41B
Operations Expected: 2007/2008
Location/Access: Arve Loop 3. 10kms on Arve Rd from Geeveston, left onto Arve Loop Rd , 2nd spur on right. Some confusion as to where the cope is accessed from - possibly straight off Arve Rd. Gate at start off Arve Loop 3.
Roading/Forestry Status: Needs roading works. On plan for 2007, however FT says no immediate plans.
Notes: Adjacent to AR41A( several actions staged at this coupe). Mature/old growth dry/wet obliqua close to Arve Loop Reserve. ARN.45ha.0.9km rd.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ar041b.pdf

Coupe: AR50F / Arve Loop 8
Operations Expected: 2007/2008
Location/Access: Off Arve Loop Road, close to western end, turn left off Arve Loop Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans
Notes: Adjacent to Arve Loop Reserve. The creek which borders the AL Reserve also runs along the eastern boundary of this coupe. This creek crosses Arve Rd a few hundred metres before the Edwards 2 turn off.CLF.26Ha.1.6km rd.

BARNBACK

Coupe: BB16E
Operations Expected: 2007/2009
Location/Access: North Weld Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: FT planning to build bridge over the Weld , could happen any day. According to FT some further surveying required. May be held up by wet conditions. Roading 2007/early 2008. Harvesting 2009.
Notes: Obliqua wet forest old growth/rainforest. First coupe over river in the North Weld Wilderness(largest section of unprotected rainforest in the Southern Forests).Group Selection(new form of harvesting).1.5km rd. Cable.20ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb016e.pdf

Coupe: BB18A
Operations Expected: 2007/2008
Location/Access: Eddy Spur 2.
Roading/Forestry Status: Extension of Eddy Spur 2 beyond Eddy Creek. Could see roading and harvesting at any time. FT says more road surveying/special values assessment required and that operations are several months away, at least next year.
Notes: Pristine unlogged predominately E.Obliqua dominated forest, mature/old growth/fire regrowth mosaic, contains blackwood wetlands,Melaleauca/leptospermum heath, rainforest sections. Habitat for Little Denison Crayfish, Karst potential. Adjacent to Eddy Ck and Fletchers Eddy/Weld River. Previously pristine catchment.ARN 40ha.0.6km rd.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb018a.pdf

Coupe: BB19C
Location/Access: End of Barnback Rd
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans.
Notes: Adjacent to WHA. Headwaters of Barnback Creek Creek.

Coupe: BB19D
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: End of Barnback Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: Could be any day, dependent on South Weld Rd being open.
Notes: Wilderness under Snowy South, borders. WHA,Obliqua old growth with Myrtle understory. SEL(selective harvesting, unsure as to this meaning), Cable.15ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb019d.pdf

Coupe: BB20A
Location/Access: Eddy 2/3 not yet constructed. Runs off eddy 2, through clearfell BB22C, opposite old Weld Ark.
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans.

Coupe: BB21C
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: Eddy Spur 2. Behind Old Weld Ark.
Roading/Forestry Status: Possible harvesting after Autumn burns.
Notes: Old growth/fire regen forest in the viewfield of Glovers Bluff.

Coupe: BB24A/ Barnback Spur 1.
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: Barnback Spur 1.Several gates. Located off end of Barnback spur 1, off Barnback Rd Little Denison. Gate at beginning of Barnback Rd( approx 7kms) and gate at beginning of BB Spur 1(approx 2kms away).
Roading/Forestry Status: Extension off Barnback 1 down towards former Weld Ark site. Rd location marked, FT only in initial stages of evaluation. Access road currently closed.
Notes: Large and regrowth E.regnans in Pristine Barnback creek catchment. Waterfalls, lush creek ecosystem, Little Denison Cray habitat. This coupe will wreck Barnback Ck valley ecosystem. Geo morphological features in area, such as cliff faces and unnamed/mapped waterfalls. Steep topography, likely cable logged. Around 1 km from former Weld Ark site.1km rd. CLF.26ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb024a.pdf

Coupe: BB25A
Operations Expected: 2008/2009
Notes: FT is planning numerous coupes in the dry forest of Barnback. This area is significant, contains waterfalls and rock formations.CLF, 35ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb025a.pdf

Coupe: BB25B
Operations Expected: 2008/2009.
Location/Access: Griggs 1.No gates.
Roading/Forestry Status: 3km rd extension onto Barnback ridge. Long way off. Roading 2008, harvesting 2009.
Notes: FT is planning numerous coupes in the dry forest of Barnback. This area is significant, contains waterfalls and rock formations.3.1km rd. CLF. Cable.25ha.
BB21C
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb025a.pdf

BLAKES OPENING (MIDDLE HUON)

Coupe: BK1A
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: At end of Manuka Rd - first left over the Tahune bridge. gates at Tahune.
Roading/Forestry Status: FT conducted some evaluation.Previously told HVEC was shelved for a year however appear to have re-evaluated.
Notes: Wilderness adjacent to Huon River. Large karst system and potential cultural heritage. This coupe has been on the backburner for years. Possibly most contentious coupe in the District, a number of community stakeholders have strong concerns.CLF. 24ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bk001a.pdf

LITTLE DENISON

Coupe: DN8E.
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: Straight off Mcdougall's Rd over Wallaby Ck bridge.
Roading/Forestry Status: 3 sections done.one remaining for after autumn burns.
Notes: Some sections of old growth, otherwisemature/regrowth adjacent to L. Denison and Wallaby Creek. Swift Parrot feeding site in close proximity.

Coupe: DN1Q/Macdougalls 10 Ext.
Operations Expected: 2009
Location/Access: Macdougalls 10. Ungated
Roading/Forestry Status: Long way off.Logging not on 3 year plan plan.
Notes: Old growth obliqua and regnans forest, adjacent to Little Denison River. Contiguous with large section of old growth in RU1 coupes on other side of river.0.5km rd.

Coupe: DN19H
Operations Expected:
Location/Access: Barnback Road.
Roading/Forestry Status: Contingency coupe. No plans.
Notes: Wedge Tailed Eagle habitat.Adjacent to Wallaby Ck. Near DN19D(harvested winter 2006 and winter 2007). CLF, cable,44 ha.

Coupe: DN20B
Operations Expected: 2009
Location/Access: Barnback 4/1.
Roading/Forestry Status: Long way off.Roading 2009.
Notes: In similar area to BB25B. Dry forest.2.4km rds.

Coupe: DN 24C
Operations Expected: 2008/2009
Location/Access: Off Denison Rd or Old Weld Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: Early stages of evaluation.
FT is planning numerous coupes in the dry forest of Barnback.FT undecided as to whether road will come from Old Weld Rd or Denison Rd.
Notes: This area is significant as large block of dry sclerophyll with significant vegetational species composition.Also contains waterfalls and rock formations.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb024a.pdf

ESPERANCE

Coupe: EP30B/ Peak Rivulet 5 Ext.
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Peak Rivulet 1, can access Peak Rivulet from Esperance River road (coming from Herman's Rd and Bennett's Rd) or Strathblane (creekton Rd)
Roading/Forestry Status: "Not on FT radar", however on plan for 2007.
Notes: Potential eagle nest site..Continguous with WHA-adjacent pristine forest.Creeks on east and west boundarie s that run into Peak Rivulet.1.5km rd.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/bb024a.pdf

Coupe: EP31E
Operations Expected: 2007/ 2008
Location/Access: Peak Rivulet 1, can access Peak Rivulet from Esperance River road (coming from Herman's Rd and Bennett's Rd) or Strathblane (creekton Rd)
Roading/Forestry Status: Road completed.Currently being evalauted. Could be logged soon.
Notes: Potential eagle nest site..Continguous with WHA-adjacent pristine forest.Wilderness.ARN.50ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ep031e.pdf

FRANKLIN

Coupe: FN29B
Operations Expected: On hold
Location/Access: Behind Franklin.Travel up New Road in Franklin, there is a gate at the start of the SF. Follow road to left. Coupe is the first patch of decent bush after clearfell, runs to Creek at bottom of coupe and finishes at end of mature forest block. Also access from Lidgerwood Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: Road dissects coupe.No more major roading required. Shelved because of coupe dispersal (ie putting coupes next to each other). Possibly because of close proximity to Franklin community.
Notes: Forest – E.Obliqua dry sclerophyll, some trees up to 150 y.o., remainder trees 50-100 with some younger stands.68 ha contingous with few 100ha of similar forest surrounded on three sides by logged regrowth.

KERMANDIE

Coupe: KD15B
Operations Expected: Was on previous three year plan for 2009, not on current plan.
Location/Access: Bennetts 1/1. Drive up Arve Rd from Geeveston(7kms), turn left onto Bennett’s Rd. Turn left onto Bennets 1 (approx 5kms).Turn left after second quarry(2.5km from bennetts rd turn off).
Roading/Forestry Status: Road constructed to edge of coupe.).0.7kms of road needed for harvesting, noseperate roading FPP. No sign of tags or roading preparation. Long way off.
Notes: Nice old growth obliqua with some E.tenuiramus and E.pulchella (peppermints).Significant section next to Kermandie River/Falls/Hartz Track.0.7km rd.

Coupe: KD23E
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Head up Hermans Rd , 5kms south of Geevston on right past reservoir.Travel 6kms, Hermans 5 on right opposite quarry.4.8 kms to coupe.
Roading/Forestry Status: Logging now. Finished by December 2007.
Notes: Mature /o.g with celery and myrtle understory.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/kd023e.pdf

Coupe: KD1A
Operations Expected: 2007/2008
Location/Access: Travel down Arve Rd, first left after Geevston onto Oigles rd, first right onto Oigles 3. Road ext. comes straight off end of rd.Walking access staight off Bennett's rd 300m on left up from Arve rd junction.
Roading/Forestry Status: Roading planned possibly before new year or just after., roadline tagged.
Notes: The El Maestre block - seven FT recognised 'official'giants in block(see "the grieving giants, a fairy story"), and numerous almost giants. Beautiful tall regnans forest with rainforest understortand giant Dicksonia's. . Excellent tourism potential, only metres off Arve rd and some of the most beautiful forest in the Huon.CLF,30ha.

PICTON VALLEY

Coupe: PC13D
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: 30kms up Arve Rd. Left onto Picton Rd. First left onto Picton Spur 4.Atend of Spur. Gate 1km up.Coupe 4kms up
Roading/Forestry Status: Cable logging now.
Notes: Previously unlogged wilderness on the western side of Arve Loop Hill.On the edge of a large threatened wilderness area. Previously part of the Hartz National Park.CLF, cable, 45 ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/pc013d.pdf

Coupe: PC 15B/Picton 4 ext
Operations Expected: 2007/2008
Location/Access: 30kms up Arve Rd. Left onto Picton Rd. First left onto Picton Spur 4.Atend of Spur. Gate 1km up.Rd starts 4kms up.
Roading/Forestry Status: Exploration track in, survey done.No FPP as yet.FT say not in next six months.
Notes: Roading beginning access to several thousadn hectares of wilderness.Contiguous with large pristine forest areas in Arve Loop reserve, Hartz NP, and Arve Valley. This area was previously in Hartz N.P. 3km rd.

Coupe: PC27A
Operations Expected: 2008/2009
Location/Access: Near end of Riveuax Rd( Riveaux 5)
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans.No signs of work observed.Road not used for some time.FT say could happen in next six months.
Notes: Unlogged wilderness forest under Mt Picton.Large karst system and potential cultural heritage in area.Adjacent to Huon River. Opposite BK1A.CLF, 35ha.1.4km rd.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/pc027a.pdf

Coupe: PC84G
Operations Expected: 2007/2008
Location/Access: 30kms up Arve Rd. Left onto Picton Rd. Over Picton bridge. Right up Riveaux Rd. Left up Pear Hill Rd.Gates on Riveuax Rd and start of Pear Hill.
Roading/Forestry Status: FPP done before Xmas.Work starting soon after?
Notes: Previously unlogged wilderness forest under Mt Picton.CLF.30ha
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/pc084g.pdf

Coupe: PC85A / West Picton short spurs and West Picton 21
Operations Expected: 2008/2009
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/pc085a.pdf

RUSSELL

Coupe: RU1G
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: Drive from Huonville along North Huon Rd. Right down Denison Rd, drive up Mcdougall's Rd/Russel Forest Drive - first right over bridge.
Roading/Forestry Status: Roading within FPP. Currently being evaluated, but no FPP as yet. Logging early 2008.
Notes: Spectacular Old Growth E.Regnans with Sassafras understorey.500 ha patch of remant o.g. surrounded by heavily trashed forest in the Russel and Little Denison. Adjacent to Little Denison River, obrastaciodes denisonii and eagle habitat. Incredible mountain views of Snowys and Mt Picton from top of block.Tagged walking tracks from end of middle spur.CLF, cable, 26ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ru001g.pdf

Coupe: RU1M
Operations Expected: 2008
Location/Access: Drive from Huonville along North Huon Rd. Left on Lonnavale Rd.Drive through Lonnavale, straight ahead onto Compton Rd at intersection.2kms up Compton Rd.Coupe at end.Alternative access to top of block from Russel Forest Drive - first right over L.Denison bridge.Alternative Rd access to Compton Rd from Barnback /Denison Rd intersection
Roading/Forestry Status: .Road finished 9/2007.Being evaluated, no FPP as yet.Logging early 2008.
Notes: Spectacular Old Growth E.Regnans with Sassafras understorey.500 ha patch of remant o.g. surrounded by heavily trashed forest in the Russel and Little Denison. Adjacent to Little Denison River, obrastaciodes denisonii abd eagle habitat. Incredible mountain views of Snowys and Mt Picton from top of block.Tagged walking tracks from end of middle spur.CLF, 25ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ru001m.pdf

Coupe: RU3B/ Russell 6 Ext.
Operations Expected: Not on current plan.
Roading/Forestry Status: Adjacent to Little Denison. Old growth In same block as RU1s .

Coupe: RU 17D.
Operations Expected: 2007
Location/Access: Off end of dolerite Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: "Not on FT radar", however on plan for 2007.
Notes: Adjacent to a huge informal reserve, which itself back onto the Snowy Ranges in the WHA.CLF.13ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ru017d.pdf

Coupe: RU17F
Operations Expected: 2008
Notes: Adjacent to large area of pristine forest contiguous with the WHA.CLF.65ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/ru017f.pdf

Coupe: RU19C
Location/Access: Off Dolerite Road(Off Russell Loop)???
Roading/Forestry Status:
Notes: Adjacent to a large area of apparently unlogged forest.ARN,30ha.

Coupe: RU30B
Location/Access: Off Plenty Link Rd.

WELD VALLEY

Coupe: WR3B/South Weld Spur 15
Location/Access: South Weld Rd, on right before Fletchers Road turnoff.
Notes: Old obliqua forest.

Coupe: WR12C
Operations Expected: 2007/2008.
Location/Access: Warra Rd.
Roading/Forestry Status: Been comprehensively annihilated in a cable logging operation. Several sections to be done after autumn.
Notes: Old growth obliqua forest, horrific cable coupe that cab be seen from southwood and most of the Weld. 120+ha cable logged clearfell. A great example as to why cable logging of old growth should be banned. Also very close to WHA boundary.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/wr012c.pdf

Coupe: WR13B
Operations Expected: Not on current plan, however was on previous plan.
Location/Access: Fletchers Rd, on right hand side, just over the Weld Bridge.
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans.
Notes: Old obliqua forest adjacent to Weld River, adjacent to Glovers Plains.

Coupe: WR16A
Operations Expected: Not on current plan, however was on previous plan.
Location/Access: South Weld Spur 4. Take the left at the end of South Weld Rd, and the last left at the end of the spur.
Roading/Forestry Status: No plans.
Notes: Near the headwaters of Isabella Creek. Isabella Creek feeds Reubens Falls and flows from an alpine lake on Mt Weld. Very close to WHA and surrounded on three sides by a WHA – bordering informal reserve. ARN.20ha.
Map Links: http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/3yp/huon/wr016a.pdf

Coupe: WR19D
Operations Expected: Not on current plan, however was on previous plan.
Roading/Forestry Status: On previous three year plan there was a road opening up the wilderness block next to the WHA at the end of South Weld Road. It is not on the current plan.
Notes: Adjacent to WHA. Pristine Wilderness under Mt Weld.

Southern Tasmania's Grieving Giants

Tasmania's Giants - Where Size Does Matter

El Grande - Killed by Forestry Tasmania. Was it Manslaughter? or Murder?

The hypocrisy of Forestry Tasmania (FT) is no where more inevidence than in it's policy regarding our "Giant" trees. FT has a non-binding policy of protecting those trees over 85 metres in height or 280 cubic metres in volume. This protection provides a 100 metre buffer around the tree. As renowned big tree hunter Wally Hermann notes -
"Nominal protection of individual giant trees in small (100-m radius) management decision classifcations zones, or stands of trees in reserves of a few hundred hectares surrounded by production forest, does nor provide effective protection in the long term. Numerous historic and recent examples in Tasmania and Victoria show the failures of these well-intentioned small-scale conservation efforts. Giant tree conservation requires very long-term preservation of large areas of forest in which the frequency of wildfire is very low;it is incompatible with current Tasmanian forest harvesting and regeneration practices".

The demarcation of a height limit is somewhat arbitrary - at the time of the formulation of FT's big trees policy, the ten tallest trees in the state were over 85m. Is a tree which stands at 84.99 metres any less valuable? Does a gnarly old growth tree which stands at 40 metres and provides habitat for innumearable creatures have less importance than one measured at 280 cubic metres. For that matter, does an old growth Musk, Myrtle, or Satinwood have less value? These trees are obviously amazing and unique, but we need to protect entire eco-systems to keep biodiversity and integrity intact.

World Rated Giants

The five tallest species of giants are listed below, with the largest known example listed (sourced from Wikipedia). Tasmania's floral emblem, the Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus) is tentatively listed as the sixth tallest.

1. Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 115.55 m (379.1 ft.), Redwood National Park, California (Gymnosperm Database)

2. Coast Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii: 100.3 m (329.1 ft.), Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon (Gymnosperm Database)

3. Australian Mountain-ash Eucalyptus regnans: 97.0 m (318.2 ft.), Styx Valley, Tasmania ( Tasmanian Giant Trees)

4. Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis: 96.7 m (317.3 ft.), Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California (Gymnosperm Database )

5. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 94.9 m (307.1 ft.), Redwood Mountain Grove, Kings Canyon National Park, California (Gymnosperm Database)

The Tasmanian experience with tall trees is by no means isolated, with a similiar situation regarding inadequate buffer zones existing in the California's Forest Service.

Beyond the Airwalk

Tall Forests, Wild Rivers, Ancient Landscape