January 18SEFR cranking it in south-east NSW
South East Forest Rescue have taken some crackerjack action this morning, halting forestry operations with a giant tripod and tree sit structure to highlight illegal logging in the Yambulla State Forest, south of Eden. The logging compartment where breaches have been identified by SEFR contains records of nationally listed endangered species such as glossy black cockatoos, smokey mice, southern brown bandicoots, tiger quolls, eastern pygmy possums, bent wing bats, yellow-bellied gliders, gang gang cockatoos and white-footed dunnarts.
“The response from Forests NSW shows the complete lack of regard for the licence conditions that Forests NSW and their contractors must abide by. The licence conditions for threatened species and habitat conservation are not being adhered to, even though the conditions are grossly inadequate” said forest campaigner Lisa Stone.
“We have reported the breaches in this compartment to the Office of Environment and Heritage,” said Ms Stone. “We stated last time that the probability of further breaches in this compartment if harvesting continues is high given that this logging contractor is a repeat offender and that FNSW still is not complying with the licence conditions” said Ms Stone.
For more info and updates, check out SEFR’s website and facebook page.
January 16Tassie ‘conservation agreement’ fails to deliver
The wonderful Miranda Gibson, looking out over a logging coupe that was left out of the so-called ‘Conservation Agreement’, from her perch in the ObserverTree. Photo: Alan Lesheim
The Tasmanian and Australian Governments announced the signing of a conservation agreement on Friday afternoon in Hobart, which failed to deliver the first key conservation outcome of the controversial Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA), with almost 2000 hectares of high conservation value forest that was earmarked for ‘immediate’ protection in August 2011 left open for the chainsaws.
Some of The Last Stand’s favourite bits of ancient forest are on what Greens Senator Bob Brown has dubbed the ‘forest death list’, including pristine tracts of forest in the Styx, Picton and Weld Valleys, and in the Tarkine, Butlers Gorge and Counsel River areas, and Captain Bruce had what could be described as a serious man tanty on Friday arvo when he saw the details of the so-called conservation agreement.
Unsurprisingly, the response from crew who like trees has been ahem … not very positive. Here’s some of the soundbites of the day.
‘This forest that I’m sitting in was promised immediate protection as part of the 430,000 hectares ear-marked for future reserves. The Gillard Government today is breaching the agreement that was signed in August in order to lock out the Observer Tree forest and other high conservation value areas from the so-called conservation agreement’. Miranda Gibson, Still Wild Still Threatened. READ MORE »
January 12Three arrests on Hobart wharf as activists target Ta Ann Tasmania
The Last Stand are sending a huge roar of approval to the legendary activists from the Huon Valley Environment Centre, who took action against Malaysian forest trashers Ta Ann in Hobart. Three conservationists were arrested after attaching themselves to a truck that was in the loading area for a Ta Ann vessel that is transporting veneer from Tassie’s high conservation value forest.
‘Ta Ann is a company who is driving the ongoing logging high conservation value forests in Tasmania, they are exporting these forests to Japan and falsely advertising them as eco friendly. Today’s demonstration was to protest the loss of endangered species habitat and carbon dense forests for a Malaysian logging company,’ Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said.
‘Ta Ann are the major driver of logging in Tasmania’s wilderness forests, from the world heritage value forests of the far south to the threatened forests where Miranda Gibson is in the ObserverTree,’ Jenny Weber said.
‘The Prime Minister promised protection of forests that are still being converted in to veneer to serve Ta Ann’s insatiable appetite for Tasmania’s natural heritage assets,’ Jenny Weber said.
For more info, check the Huon Valley Environment Centre’s website and facebook page.