The
Sydney Morning Herald,
13 November 2023, p.3:
Forestry
activists allege the NSW government-owned Forestry Corporation has
breached regulations more than 1200 times in recent logging
operations in Tallaganda State Forest, one of the last strongholds of
the endangered greater glider.
AAP
General News Wire,
14 November 2023:
The
Forestry Corporation of NSW has been slapped with a new stop work
order, amid concerns about efforts to protect endangered greater
gliders.
Logging
has been shut down in a second NSW forest amid claims the Forestry
Corporation failed to properly look for den trees an endangered
glider needs to survive.
The
Environment Protection Authority has ordered the state-owned
corporation to immediately halt harvesting work in parts of the Flat
Rock State Forest near Ulladulla.
The
watchdog has accused the corporation of failing to conduct detailed,
thorough searches for den trees used by endangered southern greater
gliders, as well as vulnerable yellow-bellied gliders.
It's
the second time the Forestry Corporation has been accused of
incompetently conducting habitat searches in recent months.
Harvesting
has also been shut down in the Tallaganda State Forest, southeast of
Canberra, after the EPA found multiple den trees in an area where the
Forestry Corporation said there was only one.
The
corporation later admitted it looked for den trees during the day
when nocturnal greater gliders would have been asleep.
EPA
officers went to Flat Rock this week after receiving a complaint from
conservationists who went to the area to do a den tree search.
Members
of South East Forest Rescue said no den trees were recorded by the
Forestry Corporation but they spotted a greater glider leaving what
appeared to be a hollow-bearing den tree on Sunday night.
When
the EPA officers arrived on Monday, they also identified what
appeared to be a greater glider den tree within 30 metres of logging.
“The
EPA alleges that FCNSW has not conducted detailed and thorough
searches necessary to identify all Greater Glider and Yellow-Bellied
Glider den trees within the Flat Rock State Forest compartment,"
the watchdog said on Tuesday.
The
EPA also said the Forestry Corporation had identified 137 glider sap
feed trees, making it likely a family of yellow-bellied gliders was
active in the area.
"Yet
no den trees were identified," it said.
“Den
trees and their surrounding habitat are critical for the gliders’
feeding and movement and removal of habitat removes shelter and food,
making the gliders vulnerable to harm."
AAP
has sought comment from the Forestry Corporation.
South
East Forest Rescue staged a protest Flat Rock on Monday, after
discovering the den tree.
"Again,
conservationists have shown the absurdity of the Forestry Corporation
looking for nocturnal species during the day," spokesman Scott
Daines says.
Kita
Ashman is a threatened species ecologist with WWF Australia and says
there are alarming similarities between Flat Rock and Tallaganda,
where conservationists also identified unlogged den trees.
"In
both cases it’s been left to citizen scientists to record greater
glider den trees. A deeply disturbing pattern of behaviour is
emerging that cannot be allowed to continue."
Greens
MP Sue Higginson says it's time for the NSW government to step in.
“It
is clear that Forestry Corporation are either wilfully disregarding
their legal obligations to operate consistently with their approvals
or they are too incompetent to adequately conduct operations in a
lawful way,'' she said.
1
Earth Media,
14 November 2023:
A
magistrate dismissed a charge of ‘enter a forest w/o permission if
prohibited by notice’ after the police failed to provide prima
facie evidence to prove their case against Susie Russell. She has
called the police action a S.L.A.P.P. – Strategic Lawsuit Against
Public Participation.
Veteran
forest defender Susie Russell defended herself in the Forster
magistrates court on Tuesday November 14. The judge’s ruling meant
that Ms Russell did not have to provide her evidence and she can now
put the long drawn out matter to rest.
Ms
Russell, a member of the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) had been
arrested at the 9 January 2023 protest at Bulga Forest, west of Port
Macquarie.
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