2009 July
College Creek: Site of National Conservation
Significance being logged now by Hancock.
(next 17 images)
July 2009: Sunset on old growth tree at College Creek.
Will this tree survive the onslaught?
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Recent clearfelling
of 34 year old Mt Ash in this site of National Conservation Significance.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Another view
of the logging in the central south of the catchment.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek containing regenerating cool temperate rainforest.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek. Under a deal brokered by Minister Gavin Jennings and Hancock
in August 2008, the community had been promised rainforest buffers of 60m in
College Creek. The above image shows vanishingly small 'buffer', with logging
only 25m away from Myrtle Beech.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek. Myrtle Beech inside regenerating rainforest. Hancock have attempted
to get round the 60m buffers by redefining what rainforest actually is, contrary
to scientific opinion. FSC auditors Smartwood have also decided to ignore scientifically
based rainforest definitions.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek. If this isn't rainforest, perhaps Hancock would like to explain
what it is?
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek. Logging has come within 30m of this rainforest, which according
to Hancock does not exist.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek. Inside the rainforest showing how close the logging has come.
Logging disturbs the fragile microclimate inside rainforests, making them more
prone to dry out.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Tributary of
College Creek. Myrtle Beech tree only 25m away from logging. Person in photo
is holding the measuring tape that measured the 'buffer'.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Track 32 which
is a public road. Hancock have removed Crown Reserve from the road, a practice
they have been doing for 10 years. This practice is most likely illegal, yet
Latrobe City Council ignores the issue.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Track 32, more
roadside reserve gone.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Track 32 Crown
Reserve destroyed.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Track 32 Crown
Reserve destroyed. This was prime koala habitat.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/College Creek: Track 32 Crown
Reserve destroyed. Botched roading at head of rainforest gully, most likely
breaches Code of Forest Practice, but Latrobe City Council aren't interested.
Asplenslip Track (Tarwin River Catchment headwaters) next 8
images
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
Inside Cores and Links Reserve. Note burnt log dumps in supposed rainforest
reserve.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
ditto.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
ditto.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
More logging carnage inside rainforest reserve.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
A poorly formed logging track was pushed into this site inside the cores and
links reserve, in order to log only a handful of logs. Logging took place within
metres of Cool Temperate Rainforest species.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
Mother Spleenwort, a rainforest indicator species, growing only metres from
recent logging.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Turtons Creek Asplenslip Track:
Another rainforest indicator species, growing only metres from recent logging.
Craig Court (Morwell River West Branch headwaters) next 16
images
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Logging commenced at this site in June 2007. Craig Court was one of the
first areas logged under the Cores and Links Rainforest Agreement. It was also
suggested that spraying with herbicides also occurred at the site sometime in
late 2007, which would have delayed regeneration. The Cores and Links agreement
allowed a once only logging in some areas with the logged areas immediately
retired and allowed to regenerate into native vegetation and added to the reserve
system. For some reason Hancock went into these sites and hand planted eucalypts,
probably as a carbon sink ruse. This photo shows one of their plantings (in
the foreground) with naturally occurring eucalyptus regrowth growing better
than the planted trees.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Regeneration slowly occurring on site most likely sprayed with herbicides
18 months earlier. Regeneration is not occurring on logging track almost two
years after the logging took place.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: More eucalypts naturally regenerating on the site less than two years
after logging.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: More proof that natural regeneration is more successful than hand plantings.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Poor regeneration occurring on track that was heavily compacted by logging
vehicles. Regeneration of eucalpyts in the distance of this site are non-plantation
trees logged by Hancock in 2007.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig Court: Healthy
colonising species coming back, 18 months after area was sprayed for whatever
reason.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig Court: Regenerating
Mountain Hickory Wattle Acacia obliquinervia after logging. The species is
rather rare in the Strzeleckis with a few records in the Tarra-Bulga area
at the eastern end and in the headwaters of the Morwell and Franklin Rivers
at the SW end of the ranges. The species typically has quite blue-grey leaves
but this is due to a waxy coating which can be literally melted away by the
heat of the fingers or by leaving in a hot atmosphere. Why did Hancock log
this species habitat in 2007?
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Browsed planted eucalypts, eaten by wallabies.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Dead planted tree surrounded by healthy native regeneration. Was the
hand planting essentially a waste of time and money? Nature knows best?
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Healthy 18 month old natural regeneration inside rainforest reserve.
None of this was planted.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Naturally regenerating eucalypt, possibly 18 months old, with rainforest
gully in distance.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Colonising species mainly snowy daisy-bush, Olearia lirata, growing in
logged coupe in rainforest reserve. 18 months after logging.
ditto
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Craig
Court: Noxious Weed Arum Lily inside rainforest reserve, spread by Hancock.
Grey Gum Track (Morwell River headwaters) next 4 images
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Grey
Gum Track approximately 2 1/2 years after logging. Note poor regeneration on
compressed soils on logging tracks and log dumps. Silver Wattle starting to
dominate this disturbed site.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Grey
Gum Track approximately 2 1/2 years after logging. Healthy signs of regeneration.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Grey
Gum Track approximately 2 1/2 years afyer logging. More piles of slash have
been dumped at this site, further retarding regrowth near the track.
Annes Track (Morwell River West Branch) next 6 images
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Annes
Track. Approximately 12 months after logging. Poor Regeneration inside Cores
and Links Reserve.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Annes
Track. Recent bulldozing activity in the rainforest reserve has set back coupe
regeneration by at least 6-12 months, with natural regen being destroyed in
the process. This bulldozing took place over several hectares, what for?
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Annes
Track. Headwaters logging inside rainforest reserve.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Annes
Track. Non plantation stump, probably ended up at local sawmill.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Annes
Track. No protection for Slender Tree Ferns, another rainforest indicator species.
Morwell River West Branch Road next two images
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Road,
about 22 months after logging by Hancock in rainforest
reserve.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Road,
about 22 months after logging, regeneration not so prolific at this site. Site
was also hand planted.
Radburns Road (Morwell River headwaters)
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Off Radburns Road about 30
months after logging in rainforest reserve. Patchy regen.
Trease Track (Morwell River headwaters) next 4 images
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Trease
Track. More bulldozing of young regen, inside cores and links rainforest reserve,
thereby undermining regen for some time.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Trease
Track. More bulldozing of young regen, why? At least a hectare of this logging
coupe has been bulldozed about one year after logging had stopped at the site.
July 2009 Strzelecki Ranges/Morwell River West Branch Trease
Track. Slash left on old logging coupe inside rainforest reserve, what will
grow on this?
Until next time...