Forests

This page last updated 5th April 2002

I'd arranged to meet my Dad at Forests Forever, in Goongerah, East Gippsland. Having seen some of my photos and video footage, he had an aidea of what to expect, but there is something powerful about standing next to a forest giant that cannot be conveyed on film
We met at GECO, the Goonerah Environment Centre and looked about for somewhere to stay. Hmm, the woodshed taken, the office busy, the tee-pee still a bit of room... yes! The old Landrover will do fine for me. Dad decided to camp down at the campground.
Friday morning we toured Jill's farm. It's an amazing showcase of farming, wwoofing and organic gardening, that embodies the dream of so many of us; to escape the city and become self-sufficient.

Then Dad, Leonie and I went to Dingo Creek.

We proudly supported the Bonang Store and topped up fuel, then went up onto the Errinundra Plateau. Due to the locked gates everywhere, we walked 4km before getting close to Dingo Creek, but it was a nice walk that revealed some ecological history, dotted with remant forest giants.
"Oh O", there was a trashcavator and a few caravans parked on the log landing. We walked discretely aroud, but suspected that no-one was home. Curiously, it seemed that the coupe had been scraped to the boundary, with the exception of the western end, which had been makred across with red flagging tape. Was that because I had been right, and that implemeting a 53ha clearfell, when a 35ha SMZ coupe had been approved, was illegal? Had they therefore reduced the size to a more allowable 40ha?

The clearfell on the right was a rich aboreal mammal site, densely populated with Sugar Gliders, Yellow-Bellied Gliders, Greater Gliders, and presumably other species. The Powerful Owl roamed this place, its deep woo-hooo used to be heard after dusk.
Now that forest is dead. The gliders in their hollows flattened as the trees hit the ground, foxes scavenging the carrion. Soon it will be burnt by a helicopter dropping napalm, ensuring the complete destruction of rainforest species and propogating the eucalypt crop.
In the rear right of the above photo you can just see a distant lone of trees. The remaining glider population I saw looking across the clearfell, still wanting to fly through their corridor and reach that forest. It too, is being clearfelled. ONly a 100m buffer on distant Yandowne Creek will be retained, as I found an Orbost Spiny Crayfish there in 1995. It takes over 200 years for the eucalypts to mature and dvelop hollows. The planned "harvesting" rotation is 80, plus thinnings. The loss of this old-growth forest as habitat is permanent.

This part of Dingo Creek was undisturbed old-growth. No-one had ever cut this forest, burnt this forest and until recently, even walked through this forest. I counted 310 growth rings on one tree, up to the hollow through its centre. It was probably over 400 years old. There were no blemishes, burn lines or any indications of disurbance in its growth. It had a long, perfectly healthy life until one day, the NRE decided to cut it dwon adn leve it as "waste". Even the 1939 fires skipped this spot, so all the trees were huge, the understorey well developed and the rainforest mature. Notice the line of pointy trees on the right? They're Sassafras. They indicate Cool Temperate Rainforest, which you can see extends along the gully and into the background, and has been bulldozed with no buffer. Recommended is a buffer of "two tree lengths", in this case that would be 140 m, but the Code of Forest Practice states only 40 m, the East Gippsland Mangement Plan cuts it to 20 m for linear rainforest, and in the field as you can see, it has been marked at ZERO m. Can you see Dad and Leonie on the fallen giant? Most of the hollow-bearing, habitat trees are felled and left as "waste" like that. This is despite the NRE's obligation to write and implement a "threat abatement plan" to prevent their loss. The NRE claim these giants must be felled to allow proper regeneration of the forest; what a load of shit! Examples of successful fire regen in mixed-age forests, that retain habitat and old trees, can be found across the state.

The truth is the industry is woodchip driven, and that clearfelling creates lots of "waste" which is woodchipped. In northern NSW and far-north Queensland, loggers select and cut only the trees they need for milling and leave the rest, with no waste and no woodchipping.

"It's about winning," said an NRE officer. That's why the Government has spent over $420 000 enforcing an "exclusion zone" around Goolengook, likely at greater cost than they stand to make from the timber & woodchip sales!
Winning by clearfelling Dingo Creek BEFORE the Magistrate could rule on whether the operation is lawful.
Winning. Defeating the Greenies. Cheer them on as they WIN!!! Wow, what winners, that demolish irreplaceable old-growth, Sites if Significance, threatened flora and fauna and for WHAT? To supply the Japanese with paper cups? To blow a few more breaths into the dying timber industry? The answer is a mystery to me, but ask these idiots:
Premier Steve Bracks, woodchipping has doubled under his control, the most important biological sites demolished, only he can take the stand to change this. Bracks proudly announces his Government is "open and accountable" and "listens to the public", but doesn't take calls or respond to emials, refuses to meet anyone and makes no public statement on the issues.
Peter Rutherford, the man who made the decision to go into Goolengook. He's standing by the claim that the "Regional Forest Agreement involved extensive public consultation", even though none of the submissions were considered, and that a "Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve" has been established, even though critical habitats, rainforests and Sites of Significance are unprotected while old clearfells and fire regen is.
Executive Director Ken King, the man responsible for all NRE"s actions and policies. I can't tell you much about him, he refuses to speak on the phone, answer a letter or attend any meeting. Probably ASHAMED, he should be.
Regional Manager Peter McHugh, has the trucks cart loads of timber past his doorstep in Barinsdale, then sens them on the train to Geelong for woodchip export. In a 3 hour meeting I had with him and protegee Brett Peters, none of their "facts" were right, none of their "offers" were ever made good and none of the documents, maps or information we asked for from them ever arrived! He wanted me to map areas we wanted protected, so I asked for a cd-rom with GIS data layers, including old-rowth, rainforest and the JANIS Criteria, to make that mapping possible. He never delivered and instead had GAV from TWS draw up a crayon map. The truth is that everytime we've nominated an area is an icon to be protected, such as Gooelngook, they've immediately gone in and destroyed it!
Senior Forester Wayne Long, the most honest, open and decent bloke of this bunch; at least Longy is relatively open about the NRE's plans. He also scheduled the clearfelling of Dingo Creek, supervised the torture of protesters at Survey Rd and patrols the "exclusion zone" at Goolengook.

The stand of Sassafras seen at right is continous downstream, and extends as Mixed Forest up the opposite slope. This rainforest was declared a "Filter strip" by the NRE and has no protecting buffer. Recently a coalition of environmental groups asked Environment Minister Sheryl Garbutt to increase buffers to 350m, to ensure their protection. "No," her reply was, "rainforest is protected by prescriptive buffers, and all sites of significance are protected". Ahah, that'd explain why this National Biological Site of Significance and tract of rainforest has been bulldozed?

Yes, yes, enough already about Dingo Creek.

On Easter Saturday, at Forests Forever, I joined a party that was going to lay hair-tubes and search for big trees near Brown Mountain. Yay! A good positive action that could save part of the forest. The hair-tubes are plastic tunnels, with sticky stuff on each ends and a bait in the middle, so critters attracted to the bait get a few hairs stuck, which can be alter identified. Finding a Quoll or Long-Footed Potoroo could save part of the forest, but then again known Quoll and Potoroo habitat is being clearfelled at Goolengook right now.

Easter Sunday a small convoy set off from Forests Forever to visit Goolengook blockade base camp. Amusingly, Senior Constable Peter Males (the Bendoc Cop), stoppped us all for a breath test, licence check and vehicle inspection. On a dirt road, miles from the highway, adjacent to one of their gates blocking public access to the National Park and Flora and Fauna Reserve. Undeterred, we met up with the blockade crew at the camp on Glen Arte Rd (off Murrungowar Forest Drive, joins the highway near Cabbage Tree). The crew and put on an amazing feast, with pasta, salads, fresh baked cakes, and lots more. Everyone seemed in good spirits and the Arte River gurgled happily beside us. During the brief lunch stop, an NRE 4WD with 2 NRE Officers and one Police Constable, then later a Police 4WD with 2 cops drove through the camp. Such as blatant waste of tax-payers money, employing these bozos to drive around hassling Greenines at a picnic! All of them were on overtime rates, in new 4WDs, yet the Government can't afford to employ someone to carry out pre-logging surveys. Curiously, the NRE wanker I spoke to knew my name and asked how my art business was going, yet we had never met before. I'll bet he can't identify a rainforest tree or find a single forest mammal, but he can "enforce the exclusion zone" and keep the public from seeing what is being done to the forest.

After lunch, a bit over a hundred people went to the gate on Greens Rd, requesting public access to public land. The NRE refused of course. The axe wielder seen was splitting wood for their fire, which smouldered away smokily all afternoon. Typical NRE approach, they piled more wood on, but only made the problem bigger. (The trick is to mix wattle with the eucalypts; it burns hotter and faster, raising the overall fire temperature and burn efficiency).

	We met a few of the NRE's stars, Senior Forester Chris Marshall was there. He led the attack on protesters at Survey Rd, which included eye gouging, kneck twisting, kneeling on collar-bones, ribs and legs, chinese burns, ankle twisitng and even a nipple cripple! When the NRE & Police couldn't drag the protesters out by force, they inflicted pain and injury on people until they consented into leaving! Isn't that torture? These days Chris spends most of his time at blockades, paid to oppress people. Why aren't you reviewing your area's forest management to be "environmentally sound, socially just and economically efficient", as the law dictates, Chris?
	Tim Collins, "the enforcer", who'se about as scary as Goofy, seems to be employed to direct violence on protesters, and set the role model by punching a documentary film maker twice in the stomach! Naturally the Police have refused to take action and Collins continues to persecute protesters. Gosh, makes one proud to be an Australian, eh what?
	Senior Sergeant Martin Dorman, his aim is to resolve the friction between loggers and greens with Police intervention. Well he's successful at that; he's placed patrolled, locked gates to keep peaceful protesters away from those poor victims, the loggers. Under Dorman's supervision was the attack on protesters at Survey Rd, the busting of Fort Goolengook, the creation of the "exclusion zone", the deprivation of food and water to people in tree-sits and the denial of support or liaison people at blockades. Is it still winning if you gain the earth, but lose your soul?

The group masses at the gate as more people arrive. (Fire continues to smoulder).

In proud defiance of the NRE, the public reclaim public land.

While the group had a look at the regen forest on Greens Rd, two people had locked onto an NRE vehicle. Ha ha gotcha! In this shot Tim Collins is passed a leech, while Sergeant Dorman looks on. The lock-on consisted of two women, each with an arm in a metal pipe, a chain around their wrists, both locked to a pin deep inside the pipe. Why should the NRE get paid to drive around everywhere in brand new 4WDs, while the public is denied access, persecuted and works tirelessly at its own expense to protect the forest?

But wait, there's more! Tim Collins discovers another lockon.
He decided to leave them there, hoping they'd un-lock and go away.

But what about Forests Forever camp?
The David Cameron slideshows were as informative, amusing and brain overloading as ever. His enthusiasm for forest ecosystems and species was inspiring to us all.

On Monday we went on a walk near Martins Creek, with an impressive turnout of 40 or so people trecking through the forest on an exploratory walk. We learnt much about the various flora species and ecotones, noting the vegetation changes as we went. On about the mid-slop we found this particularly impressive tree:

You may notice the rays of the sun already becoming long in that shot. With the large, diverse group and the frequent narration it was slow progress. Eventually we made it to a stand of Warm Temperate Rainforest, which was beautiful.

Perfectly timed, we walked out to the road at dark. Naturally some stress-heads were complaining, but what's an adventure without an element of risk?

That night the slideshow explored Cool Temperate Rainforests, and I learnt more about the nature of the flora species.

Everyone's experience of Forests Forever would have been different, with the many walks and options to choose from.

Thanks to Environment East Gippsland, the organisers of Forests Forever.

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