Tarkine logging blitz uncovered by conservationists
Two areas of ancient tall eucalyptus forest and rainforest have been destroyed in the past months by logging in Tasmania’s Tarkine. Conservationists have uncovered the logging and called for immediate protection of the Tarkine’s forests.
Read moreLogging protest returns to Tarkine eagle forests
Bob Brown Foundation has today announced their protest vigil has expanded to a second area of threatened forests in Tasmania’s Tarkine. Community members have set up a camp in the Frankland River forests, saved from logging last year by the Foundation. These forests are now available for logging again after the Wedge-tailed Eagle breeding exclusion zone was lifted. This second camp comes after conservationists have been in the nearby Sumac forests for the past two weeks in a tree-sit vigil.
Read moreProtest camp continues in Tarkine old growth forests
As tree-sitters continue to occupy threatened old growth forests in takayna / Tarkine, Bob Brown Foundation has released maps to counter false accusations aimed at misleading the community about the age of the forests due to be logged.
Maps today that show the Sumac forest, scheduled to be logged by the organisation formerly known as Forestry Tasmania, is old growth. These forests were mapped as old growth by the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA).
“Shamefully, Tasmania is still logging old growth forests after decades of rampant forest loss across the island. It is total nonsense that the forests, where conservationists are currently protesting imminent logging, have previously been logged. What a farce that Tasmania continues to lose old growth forests and detractors continue the tired old arguments that distort the truth,” Bob Brown Foundation Campaign Manager Jenny Weber said.
“Old growth forests generally have large overstorey trees, a well-developed understorey of other tree species and shrubs, and ecological features such as dead standing trees and large logs on the forest floor. Wildlife depends on these attributes of an old growth forest as they provide a range of nesting hollows,” Jenny Weber said.
“While operating their protest camp, conservationists recorded a juvenile Tasmanian Devil in these forests threatened by logging. We are using remote sensor cameras to record the wildlife that relies on these intact old-growth forests for habitat, proving that when the bulldozers arrive they destroy the homes of endangered species,” Jenny Weber said.
“Bob Brown Foundation is calling on Premier Hodgman and Opposition Leader Rebecca White to commit to permanent protection of takayna / Tarkine in a National Park, listed for its World Heritage values and returned to Aboriginal ownership. It takes a real leader to see the value in protecting such a vast tract of remarkable wild and ancient country for future generations, rather than destroying it,” Jenny Weber said.
We will be hosting an open day tomorrow, Sunday 28 January, for members of the public to visit the threatened forests where the protest camp is being held.
Conservationists return to Tasmania’s Tarkine to defend forests
Bob Brown Foundation and community members have set up camp in a threatened forest canopy in Tasmania’s Tarkine. Four climbers are camping in the canopy of an area of old-growth rainforest, that was recently scheduled to be logged.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Today, Wednesday 24 January, 11AM
Level 4 / 116 Bathurst St Hobart
“Logging in Tasmania is destroying unique wildlife-rich forests, sending species towards extinction and contributing to climate change,” Bob Brown Foundation Campaign Manager Jenny Weber said.
Read moreHistoric Hobart Sign Lives Again
The 1930s McCann Bros Music sign, two storeys high, on the brick wall of ‘Loretto’, corner of Macquarie and Warneford Streets in Hobart, has been restored. The restoration, by Tasmanian master craftsman Michael Bremer-Trainor, took three weeks. It will have a public launch today at 12.30 pm, with a jazz band on hand to play period music.
Read moreWoodchip port proposal gets packed public meeting in Dover
Dozens of people were left standing at a packed public meeting at Dover school last night, where Southwood representatives presented the case for a woodchip port opposite Dover in Port Esperance.
Read moreLogging advocate apologises to Bob Brown
Pro Tamar Valley Pulp Mill (PTVPM) advocate Brett Lucas has made a written apology to Bob Brown for breaching Tasmania’s laws against discrimination.
Game Body Mix-Up
The Hodgman government’s new Tasmanian Game Council (TGC) will mix deer control with killing of native species such as wallabies, possums, cockatoos, and native hens, Bob Brown said today.
Read moreCheap Deer Plan
The Hodgman Government’s deer policy is long on talk but short on action, Bob Brown said today.
Read moreMedia Release: Tarkine BioBlitz finds biggest freshwater crayfish in almost 40 years
On the first day of the Tarkine BioBlitz, ‘lobster man’ Todd Walsh found the second-biggest Tasmanian Giant Freshwater Crayfish he’s ever caught.
“I was lucky enough to trap a massive male Giant Freshwater Crayfish. This big boy weighed over 3 kilos with only one full-size claw. With 2 full-size claws, he would have tipped the scales at close to 5 kilograms. This large male is the biggest I have trapped in almost 40 years”, Todd Walsh said.
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