Cobb Hill (site 78)
National Rainforest Site of Significance

General Description

Contains the best example of Cool Temperate Mixed forest mosaic in East Gippsland growing with some rare flora. See photo

Mostly reserved, only upper Delligate River section outside Errinundra National Park.

Proposed Code Review subcatchment buffer area

This DSE draft internal working map was provided to VRN to show the approximate sub-catchment buffer area (in purple) in the headwaters of the Delegate river that will become unavailable to logging once adopted into the new revised 2006 Code.

Note: only core areas N1 (as determined by DSE ) are shown on this map and do not necessarily represent the total area covered by the Cobb Hill RSOS.

VRN believes all the west side of the upper Delegate river catchment to Alstergren Road should be coloured in purple. The justification for this is the fact the rainforest straddles the headwaters of the Delegate rive, something the GIS mapping does not show. DSE claim that this may be the case but the GIS mapping is what will be followed until an DSE flora and fauna inspection of the area occurs.

In January 2005, VRN conducted such a site inspection with DSE botanist Steve Henry to confirm that not only does the rainforest in fact straddle the upper Delegate river but also grows into many side gullies running down from Alstergrin road. Hence there needs to be full sub-catchment protection.
See photo below.

Logging within proposed subcatchment area

The 2004 Timber Release Plan(TRP) has three coupes totaling 44 ha as being available for clearfell logging within the proposed sub-catchment buffer area. They are:

07-890-504-0010
07-890-503-0009
07-890-503-0017

It is expected these coupes will all be deleted from the TRP.

Mixed Forest "Rainforest" Photo

This photo had an old growth eucalypt on the left and a rainforest sassafrass tree on the right. This combination is typical of the rainforest growing in the Upper Delegate river.

Where an old growth eucalypt overstorey in growing in combination with rainforest character species, the whole ecosystem is classified as "mixed forest". Mixed forests are still rainforests.