Untitled Document

NORTH EAST TASMANIA

Halls Falls
Halls Falls is located near Pyngana and only a few minutes off the main tourist highway. This area has been accesed by the local community for generations. Recently the local community created a walking track to the magnificent falls, an area of cascading water falls set in historical and pristine forest.

Forestry Tasmania have just announced their intentions to log the first of several coupes encompasing the walking track itself and all surrounding forest. This is an absolute kick in the face to the local community. Forestry tried to cut a deal with the community by offering them an 18 hectare reserve around the first part of the walking track on the condition that all other forestry activities in the region go unhinded by community opposition. Of course they refused as the other clearfells are all within sight of the falls and encompass the walking track itself.

The Halls Falls area lies within the proposed North East Highlands National Park that the local community has been working on for nearly 6 years. Trying to create employment, a timber industry, a tourism destination, a sustainable lifestyle and clean water ways is all part of this National Park proposal.

Halls Falls has been scheduled for logging since the 1st of January 2002.

Click to go to Halls Falls gallery

Recent good news is that the Halls Falls area has been postponed for logging. This however does not include the upper catchment area and surrounding area's. The local community should be highly commended for their outstanding work in helping to protect the Halls Falls.

Goulds Country.
Goulds country is a beautiful rural area only a few kilometres east of Pyngana. Berris who works with Water Watch keeps a close eye on her local area. Monitoring of water qualities is the first step in detecting when something is not right in the area.

The Blue Tiers National Park and surrounding state forest lies only a few hundred metres from her doorstep. This surrounding state forest is also within the proposed N.E.Highlands National Park. Unique Blackwood Forests and old growth forests make up much of the State Forest and much of this area is also a glacial refuge which survived the last ice age and is thought to have re-seeded the entire North East. This area was not protected under the RFA due to the fact that another glacial refuge somewhere else in the state of the same conservation value is already protected. It makes you wonder about the real longevity of conservation when we can destroy areas of forest that have survived an ice age.

Click to go to Goulds Country gallery

Weld Hill, the FAT trees.
Weld Hill has been a contentious area of logging for many years. Succesive actions by the local community and assistance with Tasmanians blockading the area in the past has not stopped the giant forest industry from moving in and destroying almost the entire place.

A new road just put in by Forestry has opened up an area containing some of Tasmania's 'Fattest Trees'. The local community has begun a classifacation system of the 'Fat Trees'. A V.B.T is a 'Very Big Tree' measuring a girth of 10-15 metres. then there are the F.B.T's a tree measuring a girth of anything over 15 metres, F*cking Big Tree.

This area is scheduled for logging. Quick community action has prompted Forestry into saying this area deserves some protection for the uniquness of the size of trees. Forestry also stated they had no idea that these enourmous trees existed here. They were just going to destroy it, as they do every where else without looking before they leap. These Fat Trees are often destroyed by dynamite as they are too big to cut down with a chainsaw.

Forestry offered a 3 acre reserve around the Fat trees that the community laughed at and rejected. The community is calling for all logging to stop on Weld Hill. Forestry have taken enough and caused enough damage. Old growth forests are being replaced by pine plantations.

Panama Forest.
The Panama Forest is a cherished area of forest in the Golconda region. Golconda is on the main tourist highway, and adjoins the site for the famous Tasmanian Circus Festival. It is now almost completely surrounded by logging activity and plantation establishment.

The Panama Forest is a 1000 hectare area of state forest. It is the only sizeable self regulating area of forest in the region. The Panama is tagged and ready for logging. Since the late 80's the local community has been battling to have this area left alone from industrial forestry. Submissions to the RFA have continued since 1990 to have this area recognised for it's potential. The community seeks not to have the entire region conserved, but managed in a sustainable manner comprising of selective logging for craft timber, tourism, wildlife refuge and an open public forest that the entire world can utilise as a destination for a natural experience.

The area is dominated by the clearfelling of native forest turned into plantation, predominatly pine. Slowly but slowly the forest industry has been eating its way into the Panama against all wishes of the local community.

click to go to Panama gallery

Mt Arthur.
An absolute horror story. The recent logging of pure rainforest on the highlands of Mount Arthur is a serious breach of the Regional Forest Agreement. This area was meant to be protected, not only for it's forest type but also for the threatened species that exist only in this region. The Mt Arthur Borrowing Crayfish only exists in this area.

Once the community found out about the logging operations on Mt Arthur, it was already too late. The local community formed the Mt Arthur Protection Group to try and protect the rest of the forest on Mt Arthur. The group then began a community audit of the clearfell and exposed scores of Forest Practice Code breaches. Serious breaches were recorded and a full audit presented to the Forest Practices Board and Tribunal. The Forest Practices Board carried out their audit in response and found nothing wrong with the area. Over 60 breaches were documented in the communty audit.

click to go to Mt Arthur gallery

Plantation establishment;

in residential/rural areas; Derby, Weldborough, Ringarooma, Golconda, Lilydale, Mt Arthur.Plantations are making their mark everywhere and the North East is no exception. Problems associated with plantations in this region are:

The takeover of prime agricultural land, both crop land and grazing. Beginning operations without a Private Timber Reserve (PTR), invasive weed takeover and poor management of property. Forest Enterprises Australia (FEA) are one of the major plantation companies in the region.

FEA are a tax incentive company, "invest in us you'll receive 100% tax back on your investment." There primary concern seems to be tax recovery and property deals, not growing trees. The company is under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commision (ASIC) on many different levels of dodgy corporate behaviour.

FEA use helicopters to spray roundup and brushoff, polluting water ways and destroying drinking water sources such as dams and spring systems with their over use of chemicals. 1080 is used to destroy native wildlife that will eat their monoculture crop. Once FEA have used roundup to poison all living plant matter, they plant out nitens, a Genetically Enginered super tree species, in their new wasteland. The native animals have lost their food source and have nothing to eat but newly planted fertilised young trees which has been proven to be of a high desirability to possums and wallabies.

Investigations were carried out on a FEA operation just outside of Derby. Peter Coxhead, was the plantation tour guide. ASIC had just released it's concerns of investor security regarding the vunerability of plantations from poor weed management and the associated fire risks. The weed problem was extensive, this area is only one example of what most industrial plantations look like across the state.

Undisturbed weed seed comes to the surface after the mounding of rows for tree planting. Thistles blackberries and a vast array of introduced weeds find their way to germinate in the newly turned soils. This inturn infects adjoining land owners with weed problems and turns once productive agricultural land into a scarred and disfigured wasteland of weeds. The once prosperous potatoe farm this plantation was on is still very evident as the old crop still grows amongst the 18 month old tree crop. Local farmers are angered to see prime land going to the trees.

click to go to FEA gallery

If your community has concerns over a forestry development or something of interest in your area then please send us your story at:

tasforests@yahoo.com.au


Home Articles Gallery Maps Links	NORTH EAST TASMANIA Halls Falls Halls Falls is located near Pyngana and only a few minutes off the main tourist highway. This area has been accesed by the local community for generations. Recently the local community created a walking track to the magnificent falls, an area of cascading water falls set in historical and pristine forest. Forestry Tasmania have just announced their intentions to log the first of several coupes encompasing the walking track itself and all surrounding forest. This is an absolute kick in the face to the local community. Forestry tried to cut a deal with the community by offering them an 18 hectare reserve around the first part of the walking track on the condition that all other forestry activities in the region go unhinded by community opposition. Of course they refused as the other clearfells are all within sight of the falls and encompass the walking track itself. The Halls Falls area lies within the proposed North East Highlands National Park that the local community has been working on for nearly 6 years. Trying to create employment, a timber industry, a tourism destination, a sustainable lifestyle and clean water ways is all part of this National Park proposal. Halls Falls has been scheduled for logging since the 1st of January 2002. Click to go to Halls Falls gallery Recent good news is that the Halls Falls area has been postponed for logging. This however does not include the upper catchment area and surrounding area's. The local community should be highly commended for their outstanding work in helping to protect the Halls Falls. Goulds Country. Goulds country is a beautiful rural area only a few kilometres east of Pyngana. Berris who works with Water Watch keeps a close eye on her local area. Monitoring of water qualities is the first step in detecting when something is not right in the area. The Blue Tiers National Park and surrounding state forest lies only a few hundred metres from her doorstep. This surrounding state forest is also within the proposed N.E.Highlands National Park. Unique Blackwood Forests and old growth forests make up much of the State Forest and much of this area is also a glacial refuge which survived the last ice age and is thought to have re-seeded the entire North East. This area was not protected under the RFA due to the fact that another glacial refuge somewhere else in the state of the same conservation value is already protected. It makes you wonder about the real longevity of conservation when we can destroy areas of forest that have survived an ice age. Click to go to Goulds Country gallery Weld Hill, the FAT trees. Weld Hill has been a contentious area of logging for many years. Succesive actions by the local community and assistance with Tasmanians blockading the area in the past has not stopped the giant forest industry from moving in and destroying almost the entire place. A new road just put in by Forestry has opened up an area containing some of Tasmania's 'Fattest Trees'. The local community has begun a classifacation system of the 'Fat Trees'. A V.B.T is a 'Very Big Tree' measuring a girth of 10-15 metres. then there are the F.B.T's a tree measuring a girth of anything over 15 metres, Fcking Big Tree. This area is scheduled for logging. Quick community action has prompted Forestry into saying this area deserves some protection for the uniquness of the size of trees. Forestry also stated they had no idea that these enourmous trees existed here. They were just going to destroy it, as they do every where else without looking before they leap. These Fat Trees are often destroyed by dynamite as they are too big to cut down with a chainsaw. Forestry offered a 3 acre reserve around the Fat trees that the community laughed at and rejected. The community is calling for all logging to stop on Weld Hill. Forestry have taken enough and caused enough damage. Old growth forests are being replaced by pine plantations. Panama Forest.* The Panama Forest is a cherished area of forest in the Golconda region. Golconda is on the main tourist highway, and adjoins the site for the famous Tasmanian Circus Festival. It is now almost completely surrounded by logging activity and plantation establishment. The Panama Forest is a 1000 hectare area of state forest. It is the only sizeable self regulating area of forest in the region. The Panama is tagged and ready for logging. Since the late 80's the local community has been battling to have this area left alone from industrial forestry. Submissions to the RFA have continued since 1990 to have this area recognised for it's potential. The community seeks not to have the entire region conserved, but managed in a sustainable manner comprising of selective logging for craft timber, tourism, wildlife refuge and an open public forest that the entire world can utilise as a destination for a natural experience. The area is dominated by the clearfelling of native forest turned into plantation, predominatly pine. Slowly but slowly the forest industry has been eating its way into the Panama against all wishes of the local community. click to go to Panama gallery Mt Arthur. An absolute horror story. The recent logging of pure rainforest on the highlands of Mount Arthur is a serious breach of the Regional Forest Agreement. This area was meant to be protected, not only for it's forest type but also for the threatened species that exist only in this region. The Mt Arthur Borrowing Crayfish only exists in this area. Once the community found out about the logging operations on Mt Arthur, it was already too late. The local community formed the Mt Arthur Protection Group to try and protect the rest of the forest on Mt Arthur. The group then began a community audit of the clearfell and exposed scores of Forest Practice Code breaches. Serious breaches were recorded and a full audit presented to the Forest Practices Board and Tribunal. The Forest Practices Board carried out their audit in response and found nothing wrong with the area. Over 60 breaches were documented in the communty audit. click to go to Mt Arthur gallery Plantation establishment; in residential/rural areas; Derby, Weldborough, Ringarooma, Golconda, Lilydale, Mt Arthur.Plantations are making their mark everywhere and the North East is no exception. Problems associated with plantations in this region are: The takeover of prime agricultural land, both crop land and grazing. Beginning operations without a Private Timber Reserve (PTR), invasive weed takeover and poor management of property. Forest Enterprises Australia (FEA) are one of the major plantation companies in the region. FEA are a tax incentive company, "invest in us you'll receive 100% tax back on your investment." There primary concern seems to be tax recovery and property deals, not growing trees. The company is under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commision (ASIC) on many different levels of dodgy corporate behaviour. FEA use helicopters to spray roundup and brushoff, polluting water ways and destroying drinking water sources such as dams and spring systems with their over use of chemicals. 1080 is used to destroy native wildlife that will eat their monoculture crop. Once FEA have used roundup to poison all living plant matter, they plant out nitens, a Genetically Enginered super tree species, in their new wasteland. The native animals have lost their food source and have nothing to eat but newly planted fertilised young trees which has been proven to be of a high desirability to possums and wallabies. Investigations were carried out on a FEA operation just outside of Derby. Peter Coxhead, was the plantation tour guide. ASIC had just released it's concerns of investor security regarding the vunerability of plantations from poor weed management and the associated fire risks. The weed problem was extensive, this area is only one example of what most industrial plantations look like across the state. Undisturbed weed seed comes to the surface after the mounding of rows for tree planting. Thistles blackberries and a vast array of introduced weeds find their way to germinate in the newly turned soils. This inturn infects adjoining land owners with weed problems and turns once productive agricultural land into a scarred and disfigured wasteland of weeds. The once prosperous potatoe farm this plantation was on is still very evident as the old crop still grows amongst the 18 month old tree crop. Local farmers are angered to see prime land going to the trees. click to go to FEA gallery If your community has concerns over a forestry development or something of interest in your area then please send us your story at: tasforests@yahoo.com.au