Government ignores proposal to stop
logging within National Rainforest Sites of Significance in East Gippsland.

The Owl Story

Download and read the owl's storyof how the Victorian Government will allow clearfell logging near rainforest in East Gippsland even though the Government's own planning processes say these areas should be protected (or read about the issue below).

Click on any of the owls in Google Earth to read the story in the pop up window.

Also see photos of the magnificent forest of the Errinundra Plateau in before and after photos of clearfell logging at Dingo Creek which is in the East Errinundra Rainforest Site on National Significance.

Overview of government planning processes

For the past few years the Victorian Rainforest Network has been trying, through government processes, to have the buffers within Rainforest Sites of National Significance increased. Of particular concern have been six areas scheduled to be logged near rainforest on the Errinundra Plateau in East Gippsland.


Download hi res pdf image of this view. The orange areas mark the six logging coupes that VicForests want to clearfell near rainforest. The red area is the existing Errinundra National Park. The bright green areas are stands of Cool Temperate Rainforest. The pink lines (easier to see in pdf file) mark the boundary of the Rainforest Sites of Significance (RSOS).

In February 2006, a draft review of the Code of Forest Practices for Timber Production recommended that the buffers around core rainforest stands of National Significance should be increased to a sub-catchment level.

This would protect 480ha of very contentious forest located within ten National Rainforest Sites of Significance in the East Gippsland State Forest area.


Unfortunately much of the forest has already been clearfell logged

Although there was disappointment within the conservation movement over the extent of the increase, some increase was better than nothing. VRN put out a press release in support of the changes.

The Victorian government made maps available to conservationists in March 2006 that show where the new 480 ha protected area in East Gippsland (shown in purple or cross hatched) would occur.

You can see all these maps here.

These maps were titled "Potential Subcatchment Buffers in Rainforest Sites of National Significance" and an example one of these maps is shown below.

These maps revealed that within the 480 ha are six logging coupes on the Errinundra Plateau in East Gippsland that are on the current Timber Release Plan for VicForests to clearfell log.

When the maps of "Potential Subcatchment Buffers in Rainforest Sites of National Significane" are overlayed onto Google Earth, it reveals that most of the coupes marked orange fall within the new sub-catchment protection zone for the rainforest.


Download hi res pdf image of this view. The overlayed draft Code maps show that most of the six logging coupes (in orange) should not be logged. (easier to see in pdf file)

However in June 2006, the Victorian government decided to defer finalising the proposed changes to the Code until after the 2006 state election.

Then on the 3rd July 2006 VicForests announced its intention to clearfell log two of these areas before the Code review was completed. This announcement was done quietly by initiating the Safety on Public Land Act 2004 to make it an offence to enter these forest coupes for any reason except for logging. (See pdf map of Public Safety Zones dated 3rd July on government website.)

When this Public safety zone map is overlayed onto Google Earth the zones match two of the areas the Code review say should not be logged.


Download hi res pdf image of this view. The pink squares are the areas that have been declared public saftey zones for clearfell logging to proceed. Two of these pink squares match the logging coupes that also maps the draft Code map.(Easier to see in pdf image.)

It should be noted that less than a few kilometres from the logging planned with RSOS 81 is the largest stand of Cool Temperate Rainforest in Victoria. See fire, logging and rainforest case study.

What needs to be done?

There should be no logging that pre-empts the outcome of the Code review process. The Victorian Government must publicly announce that all logging is suspended (within these six logging coupes) until the Code review processs is completed some time in 2007.

Also see the latest update on what the Victorian Government is going to do.

What can you do?

The more people who are made aware about what is the more likely governments will listen and ban clearfell logging.

Help educate people by emailing this web page to your friends, family, work mates etc.
or send an email to the Victorian government leaders .