April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Logging within Cores and Linkages area. Hancock had stated to locals that they would not be logging on the western side of the logging track that runs through this coupe and is a boundary to the Cores and Links Reserve. Photo above is evidence that the company has logged within the Cores and Links Boundary area. This is the second time that Hancock Watch have found the company logging within this 'reserve' that Hancock publicly announced on October 29 2004. (see here)
In June 2004, the FSC certifier Smartwood conducted an audit of Hancock's operations in the Strzelecki Ranges. Hancock was issused with a new Corrective Action Request relating to the Cores and Links which was;
CAR-2004: GRP shall postpone plantation harvesting operations from the proposed Cores and Links identified in the Biodiversity Study until the process required under Condition 9.1.1 is complete, and/or there is broad stakeholder input on the specific precautions/strategies that should be put in place so that any harvesting which occurs in the proposed Cores and Links will maintain high conservation values.
Smartwood, FSC certifiers carried out an another audit of the company in February 2005. We are anxiously awaiting the results of this audit. The above coupe was logged just prior to this audit. Another breach of the CAR? Why on earth would a company wanting to be certified by FSC be so wreckless when they knew that FSC would be conducting audits in February?
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). More logging on the western side of the coupe track. Another breach of the Forest Stewardship Council CAR. The second breach to the Cores and Links CAR in 5 months. This area was supposed to be under a logging moratorium.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges: Hancock Cores and Links map. The areas marked with purple dots show the approximate location where logging within the Cores and Links 'Reserve' has occured in the Gunyah Shortcut coupe. The cores and links reserve is identifed by the light red pattern area. The red dot on the right of the map is another problem area for Hancock at Rytons Junction. see further down this page.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Recent logging of old mountain ash habitat tree, which was hollowing in the middle. This tree was not a plantation tree and it appears that Hancock are increasing the size of their plantation area at this location by logging native vegetation.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Gutting of cool temperate rainforest gully. A measely buffer of 20 metres had been granted at this location to Myrtle Beech within this gully, effectively leaving no rainforest buffer at this site.
In June 2004, the FSC certifier Smartwood conducted an audit of Hancock's operations in the Strzelecki Ranges. Hancock was issued with a new Corrective Action Requests which was;
"CAR 1 -2004: The Rainforest Management BMP shall be completed by 1 March 2005 including an independent peer review and further stakeholder input. The current accepted practice of stakeholder involvement in boundary marking is to continue with coupes where HVP/GRP harvests plantations adjacent to any areas of Cool or Warm Temperate Rainforest.
Observation 1 -2004: Given stakeholder concerns and limitations, GRP should explore short-term alternative mechanisms for ensuring that it can obtain stakeholder input into the design of rainforest buffers and related management activities until such time that the Rainforest Management BMP is completed and practices dictated by the new BMP are fully internalized by HVP/GRP staff."
Why haven't Hancock done this and where is the Rainforest BMP? Another breach to the Smartwood June 2004 audit?
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Gutting of cool temperate rainforest gully with effectively no rainforest buffers.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Gutting of cool temperate rainforest gully. Much of this gully should not have been logged. But its too late now and the area will most likely be replanted with Strzelecki non-indigenous Shining Gum.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Gutting of cool temperate rainforest gully. Much of this gully should not have been logged.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut Road (Morwell River catchment). Poorly constructed creek crossing.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges - Gunyah Shortcut coupe (Morwell River catchment). Logging within Cores and Linkages area. Hancock had stated to locals that they would not be logging on the western side of the logging track that runs through this coupe.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges: Hancock Cores and Links map. The red dot on the right of the map is another problem area for Hancock at Rytons Junction.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges Ryton Junction - Coupe located in the Albert River catchment between Minottis and Waack Track. Was this really a plantation tree?
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges Ryton Junction - Coupe located in the Albert River catchment between Minottis and Waack Track. Example of the native vegetation left on the site, which could be logged in the near future. The area just south of this coupe is within the Cores and Linkages.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges Ryton Junction - Coupe located in the Albert River catchment between Minottis and Waack Track. Example of the native vegetation left on the site, which could be logged in the near future. This is obviously a non-plantation area. The entire coupe area falls within the Ryton area of State Botanical Significance in Central Gippsland (1984) Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands. Reasons for the Designation included; "The area supports young, but good quality (i.e. little encroachment by weeds, high species number, no noticeable physical disturbances) Wet Sclerophyll Forest. This forest is dominated by E. regnans near the Grand Ridge Road and E.obliqua south of Beech Hill. In the gullies there is marginal development of Cool Temperate Rainforest. N. cunninghamii is common in the gullies but does not dominate the upper storey as it does in Tarra Valley and Bulga National Parks. This site is one of only two sites in the Strzelecki Range (outside of Tarra Valley and Bulga) supporting undisturbed Wet Sclerophyll Forest and Cool Temperate Rainforest...". Hancock under Forest Stewardship Council certification is converting this area of State Botanical significance into an area dominated by non-endemic Shining Gum.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges Ryton Junction - Coupe located in the Albert River catchment between Minottis and Waack Track. Gutting of cool temperate rainforest gully. A measely buffer of 20 metres had been granted at this coupe to Myrtle Beech within this gully, effectively leaving no rainforest buffer at this site. This site was logged during or just after the most recent audit of Hancock's operations carried out by FSC certifier Smartwood.
In June 2004, the FSC certifier Smartwood conducted an audit of Hancock's operations in the Strzelecki Ranges. Hancock was issued with a new Corrective Action Requests which was;
"CAR 1 -2004: The Rainforest Management BMP shall be completed by 1 March 2005 including an independent peer review and further stakeholder input. The current accepted practice of stakeholder involvement in boundary marking is to continue with coupes where HVP/GRP harvests plantations adjacent to any areas of Cool or Warm Temperate Rainforest.
Observation 1 -2004: Given stakeholder concerns and limitations, GRP should explore short-term alternative mechanisms for ensuring that it can obtain stakeholder input into the design of rainforest buffers and related management activities until such time that the Rainforest Management BMP is completed and practices dictated by the new BMP are fully internalized by HVP/GRP staff."
Why haven't Hancock done this and where is the Rainforest BMP? Hancock supposedly are now granting 40 metre buffers around cool temperate rainforest. What went wrong at this site?
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges Ryton Junction - Coupe located in the Albert River catchment between Minottis and Waack Track. Logging of exclusion zones has also occurred at this location.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges Ryton Junction - Coupe located in the Albert River catchment between Minottis and Waack Track.
Gutting of cool temperate rainforest gully. A measely buffer of 13 metres had been granted at this location to Myrtle Beech within this gully, effectively leaving no rainforest buffer at this site. This is a disgrace and an embarrassment for the Forest Stewardship Council.
April 2004: Strzelecki Ranges - Dingo Creek Catchment, just south of Christies. A previously unidentified stand of cool temperate rainforest has been located at this site.
April 2004: Strzelecki Ranges - Little Albert River Catchment looking south. The ridge in the foreground is dominated by native vegetation and extends for about 2 kilometres. This is included under the Cores and Links proposal. The ridge of pine plantations in the background extends for about 3km's. More information on this area can be found here.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 74C Parish of Willung (Toms Cap Creek/Bruthen Creek catchment). ex APM pine plantation, extending for almost 2km's recently clearfelled by Hancock. This site will soon be aerially sprayed and fertilised. View looks east.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 74C Parish of Willung (Toms Cap Creek/Bruthen Creek catchment). ex APM pine plantation, looking south.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 30C Parish of Willung (Waterholes Creek /Merrimans Creek catchment). Ex APM pine plantation, approximately 100 hectares in size. Will be sprayed soon. A plantation this size will use about 800 million litres of water per year whilst growing. This plantation lies in the domestic water supply for the community of Seaspray and is located in a groundwater recharge zone.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 75C Parish of Willung, (Toms Cap Creek/Bruthen Creek catchment). Landslip above culvert on Codas road.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 75C Parish of Willung, (Toms Cap Creek/Bruthen Creek catchment). Warm Temperate Rainforest species were located at this site in the remant vegetation growing near the creek. This plantation is about 50 hectares in size.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 75C Parish of Willung, (Toms Cap Creek/Bruthen Creek catchment). Warm Temperate Rainforest species were located at this site.
April 2005: Strzelecki Ranges Allotment 30C Parish of Willung (Waterholes Creek /Merrimans Creek catchment). Ex APM pine plantation, approximately 100 hectares in size. Hancock are supposed to supply details of herbicides used under FSC conditions.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Allotment 1K Parish of Willung - Bayliss Gully/Merrimans Creek catchment. New pylons being constructed for the controversial Basslink project on land owned by Hancock (ex APM land).
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Allotment 4B of B Parish of Willung - Bayliss Gully/Merrimans Creek catchment. New pylons being constructed for the controversial Basslink project on land owned by Hancock (ex APM land). This site is located within the domestic water supply for the town of Seaspray. The southern portion of this plantation also is situated above the Stradbroke Coalfied. The Stradbroke Coalfield apparently contains about 500 Mt (Megatonnes) of brown coal. Much of the crown land forest in this photo lies above the Coalfield.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Allotment 12 M Parish of Willung - Bayliss Gully/Merrimans Creek catchment. Fire damaged pine plantation on land leased from the Crown. This allotment is 676.2 hectares in size and is covered by a 35 year lease, signed on the first of January 1985. The lease costs $14000 per year. It is almost without question that biodiverse Yertchuk and Banksia native forest was cleared for this lease to come into effect by APM in 1985. The Land Conservation Council in 1977 recommended that the land be leased due to numerous factors including; "An important factor influencing the Council's recommendations is the possibility that the area . . . will be greatly changed by fire protection measures needed to protect future coal open cuts to the south. Council notes that bushfires near Yallourn in 1944 caused the brown coal open cut to ignite. Leasehold of the land is preferred to freehold because of the possible compensation problems should the land be required by the State in the future".
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Crown land adjoining Allotment 12 MParish of Willung - Bayliss Gully/Merrimans Creek catchment. This is the type of Banksia woodland which would have been cleared to establish a portion of the APM pine plantation. This area was included as being of Regional Botanical Significance in Central Gippsland (1984) Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands. Mullungdung Forest. According to the Land Conservation Council Final Recommendations Stradbroke 1977; most of the cleared forest on this leasehold consisted of Yertchuk (E.consideniana), with Saw Banksia (Banksia serrata), Prickly Broomheath (Monotaca scoparia), Pink Heath (Epacris impresia), Pink Beard Heath (Leucopogon ericoides) etc.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Basslink pylons at Allotment 56A of A, Parish of Stradbroke in the Merriman Creek catchment. This land reverted back from APM ownership to Crown ownership in 1999.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - The Basslink project just off Clement Road near Monkey Creek. Quite large sections of native vegetation have been removed here, although this site is not on Hancock land. This land reverted back from APM ownership to Crown ownership in 1999.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - The Basslink project just off Clement Road near Monkey Creek. Quite large sections of native vegetation have been removed here, probably on Crown Land. This land reverted back from APM ownership to Crown ownership in 1999.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Allotment 1A Parish of Coolungoolun. ex APM pine plantation of about 100 hectares which has been recently logged. This photo shows the boundary of the plantation and native vegetation in very close proximity to Holey Plains State Park near Buxtons Resection Monument. This plantation is also located in very close proximity to Merriman Creek - less than 100 metres in places.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Allotment 1A Parish of Coolungoolun. ex APM pine plantation of about 100 hectares which has been recently logged. Decent enough buffer of native vegetation on Merriman Creek tributary.
April 2005: Central Gippsland - Allotment 1A Parish of Coolungoolun. Emus looking for a feed. What impact does spraying of herbicides in plantations have on browsing emus?
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges. Cable logging of extensive pine plantations in the Albert River catchment.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges. Cable logging of extensive pine plantations in the Antonio Creek catchment/Jack River catchment.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges. Cable logging of extensive pine plantations in the Antonio Creek catchment/Jack River catchment.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges. Cable logging of extensive pine plantations in the Antonio Creek catchment/Jack River catchment.
April 2005 Strzelecki Ranges. Cable logging of extensive pine plantations in the Albert River catchment.
April 2005: Log truck carrying recently cut pine. Log trucks make driving in the Strzeleckis a very hazardous business. Not only do locals and tourists have to contend with dust, but the trucks move at very high speeds. Trucks carry CB Radios, but how many tourist vehicles do? It is a common occurence for cars to be very nearly run off the roads by these vehicles, who come roaring around bends often taking up the entire road.
ABC Radio Wednesday, April 13, 2005. 9:34am (AEST)
Four face court accused of stealing thousands of ferns
Four men charged with stealing tree ferns from the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria's Gippsland will appear in court again next month. Michael Caldwell and his son Kelly Caldwell from Traralgon appeared in Moe Magistrates Court yesterday on charges of conspiracy to steal and trade native vegetation. The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) allege the pair stole tens of thousands of tree ferns from public and private land on York Road, Boolarong, 20 kilometres south of Boolarra. The men, along with Traralgon's Terrence Lee Meers, 22, and Adam Post, 35, from Berwick, are alleged to have sold the $200,000 worth of ferns to private and retail nurseries. The DSE also alleges the harvesting of the ferns, including the use of bulldozers, over the past five years has caused $12 million damage to the site and nearby waterways, and it will seek damages to rehabilitate the site over the next 10 years.
also see this link: http://www.hancock.forests.org.au/directory/strzeleckis/LEGL93-83.html
Airing of ‘cores and links’ bid to protect forest 6/04/2005 Leongatha Star Local News
A public meeting in Mirboo North has cleared confusion about the bid to increase forest reserves in the Strzelecki Ranges. But while there appears to be consensus for a ‘cores and links’ proposal, the process of making this a reality remains a huge challenge.
The meeting, attended by about 75 people, gave opportunity to explain and gather more support for the ‘cores and links’ proposal. "Heartfelt opinions were expressed among the audience, particularly on the issue of reserves," Cr David Lewis said. "Everybody exposed the issues very well, the main issue being that that Strzelecki Ranges are very much under-reserved. "Only about 2 per cent or 5000ha of the whole Strzelecki bio-region is under reserves, which is the lowest for any bio-region in Victoria". A bio-region, Cr Lewis explained, was "the way the State is classified for environmental assessment purposes, taking into account characteristics such as trees, plants and fauna".
The push for greater reserves in the Strzelecki bio-region had led to two basic proposals. "One proposal is for a national park," Cr Lewis said. "This would involve an extra 25,000ha of reserves. "The second proposal is for a series of reserves called ‘cores and links’ which would provide an extra 8800ha of reserves. "I think everyone has agreed that this latter proposal is the key to improving the level of reserves." "Developed by the Strzelecki Working Group, it covers the most scientifically important areas of bio-diversity.
"The Strzelecki Working Group is a very wide ranging group, comprising timber companies, conservation groups, local residents, councils and catchment management authorities. "Its cores and links proposal would link the Gunyah Gunyah Reserve with the Tarra Bulga National Park, which run basically run along Grand Ridge Rd. "Trust for Nature in collaboration with Grand Ridge Plantations, the fully owned subsidiary of Hancocks Victorian Plantations, is also pursuing the cores and links proposal."
The next step, Cr Davis said, was to obtain some compensation for Grand Ridge Plantations, which had purchased timber harvesting rights from the State Government back in 1998, in the proposed cores and links area. "There is agreement that Grand Ridge Plantations are entitled to compensation if they are to lose rights to the reserves and it was hoped the State Government would buy the rights back. "But the Government has refused to do this."
"Plan B" therefore had been put into place, with the Trust for Nature and Grand Ridge Plantations signing a memorandum of understanding to work on ways to achieve the goal of raising funds and turning the forest areas into reserves. "Grand Ridge Plantations meanwhile agreed to a moratorium on logging in the cores and links for one year, starting late 2004," Cr Lewis said. "This has given us a little time, but we don’t have long to act.
"People had been hearing about a national park proposal and had heard about the cores and links proposal, and weren’t sure which was which. "The meeting was called to explain each proposal along with the process involved in turning important forest areas into reserves, and to allow for public feedback and stakeholders to explain their position. "There is a willingness to do something, all we need to do now is decide on the process. So this is very positive. "A key ingredient is that there needs to be fair compensation for Grand Ridge Plantations."
Cr Lewis said he hoped the intent of the memorandum of understanding could be carried out. "It would be a tragedy, when we have this wonderful level of agreement between all major stakeholders, if we are unable to protect our valuable forest areas," Cr Lewis said.
* Cr Lewis reports that Grand Ridge Plantations made a ‘slip’, in its presentation to the Mirboo North meeting when it asserted it was the largest ratepayer in City of Latrobe and South Gippsland Shire. "I’ve discovered this is not so," Cr Lewis said. "Grand Ridge was trying to give information about their operation and effects on economy and the shires they work in, and were saying they were the ‘biggest’ and paid more rates than anyone else. "They figured they were the biggest landholder, which may be so, but they’re not the biggest ratepayer. "Rate levels depends on the improved value of the land."