Often we don’t get to see the vast tract of forests that are protected by citizens who have camped deep in the remote Tarkine forests for months.  This film footage captures the very forests in Frankland River that have been saved from logging for the past two years by frontline non-violent direct action.

Ancient rainforests and tall trees in the Frankland River forests, in the north west of the Tarkine, are still standing thanks to two years of frontline action. More than 250 citizens joined our vigil camp from February to June this year.  For two years the loggers have wanted to destroy these rainforests and tall eucalyptus forests but our Foundation and citizens have intervened to stop them. We moved into the forests in February 2017 and again in 2018. These forests have now been vacated so the endangered Wedge-tailed Eagles nesting there can breed.

Here is a photograph of some of the Tarkine Defenders celebrating day 143 in camp.  Just a few more to go until the camp was another success at halting the logging for the season.

The regular passers-by at the Frankland River Vigil Camp this year included a rare opportunity for Tarkine Defenders to see a Spotted-tailed Quoll. These images by Tania Wilby of the quoll are outstanding depictions of this rare species that rely on the intact forests for their habitat. Tania was one of our coordinators at the camp, a volunteer who lives in north-west Tasmania, who gave up a lot of her time to help us coordinate more than 250 people who visited the camp.

Dave Reynolds, a musician and photographer from Cygnet, Tasmania is one of our generous artists with Tarkine in Motion. Dave was a member of one of the first groups to visit and occupy Frankland River threatened forests in 2016 and returned this year to the camp. His photographs of the Spotted-tailed quoll and the moody river are below.

Not really knowing what to expect, I left Bendigo and headed to Tasmania to take my turn helping guard this precious patch of Tarkine rainforest. All I knew was that the takayna rainforest had a profound effect on me and that I wanted to do my bit to help defend it. So I set off determinedly with a camp stove, dehydrated food and reading matter to see me through a week of perhaps doing little but sit in my tent in the rain.

Lydia Birch joined our Frankland protest camp in the final weeks of June.  Here are some of Lydia’s photos of winter in the Frankland forests.

A conservationist has been arrested today for defending Tarkine rainforest from logging. The woman, who spent the day in a tree sit, has been taken to Smithton Police station.

“Citizens stalled the logging in Australia’s largest temperate rainforest today in an urgent plea to the State and Federal Government. Rainforest logging in the Tarkine needs to cease and protection of takayna / Tarkine in a World Heritage listed National Park,” Bob Brown Foundation’s Jenny Weber said.

“There are ancient rainforests and tall eucalyptus forests rich with habitat for the endangered Masked Owl, Grey Goshawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle, all shamefully being lost to logging,” Jenny Weber said.

Bob Brown Foundation is calling for an immediate end to logging in Tasmania’s Tarkine rainforests after independently and scientifically dating a logged celery top pine from the same area at 350 years old. A cross-section of the pine is on display at the foundation office.

Since February 2018, citizens have been peacefully occupying the ancient, threatened forests of takayna / Tarkine. Two areas of forests proposed for logging are being protected by the Frankland Forest Vigil Camp. Recently, the camp reached the 100 days mark for these brave citizens and the forests are still standing.

You can join our camp as we hold it until 1st of July, when the Wedge-tailed Eagle breeding exclusion zone is placed back over these forests and they are safe from logging until February 2019. So only a few more weeks now to save these forests from logging for another year.