Despite rhetoric on the importance of Victoria’s forestry industries the Victorian Labor Government proposes locking up 79,000 hectares of state forest. Source: Timberbiz
Forests around the Pyrenees, Welsford forest and Wombat forest in the Macedon region would be affected with timber workers as well as others such as firewood collectors being shut out of 90% of the state forests in that area.
Only 10,000 hectares of state forest would be available for timber harvesting and other uses which is bad news for the timber industry in general but particularly for those who have set up their livelihoods around those areas – mill owners, timber workers, contractors and others.
According to the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC), in March 2017 the Victorian government asked the VEAC to carry out an investigation into public land in the central west of Victoria, including the Wellsford, Mount Cole and Pyrenees Range forests. It has been more than 30 years since most of this public land was last assessed by VEAC’s predecessors.
Under the terms of reference, VEAC was to identify and evaluate the values and current uses of public land in the investigation area and make recommendations for the balanced use and appropriate management arrangements to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural values.
The draft public land recommendations include introducing three new national parks, two new regional parks, 30 new or expanded nature/bushland reserves and retaining around 80% of state forests in the Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, Beaufort and Glenmona areas for timber harvesting and other recreational activities.
Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, Musical Gully-Camp Hill and Trawalla-Andrews state forests near Beaufort will be retained for harvesting of commercial sawlog. The report says that this “is expected to provide close to sufficient supply of sawlogs for the Chute mill”. However, whether ‘close to’ is close enough is yet to be seen.
Under the draft recommendations for parks and reserves in the Pyrenees and Wellford forests, sawlog harvesting would cease. There would be no resumption of sawlog harvesting in the Wombat forest, where it ceased in 2006.
Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the Government would consider the final report once it was lodged with government in March, the year after November’s state election.
Submissions on the draft proposals close on 31 October 2018. More information is available at www.veac.vic.gov.au or you can phone 1800 134 803.
