NSW WILDERNESS RED INDEX
Published by the Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd (September 1999)
2/332 Pitt Street Sydney 2000 ph 02 9261 2400; fax 02
9261 2144
email keith@colongwilderness.org.au web site colongwilderness.org.au
| NAME: | Coolangubra |
| NOMINATED BY: | Total Environment Centre and The Wilderness Society - Sydney Branch (December 1987). |
| LOCATION: | 45 km west of Eden and 200 km south of Canberra. |
| SIZE: | 24,340 ha (several areas degraded) |
| TENURE: | Nominated Identified Existing NPWS Estate (Oct. 1993) New NPWS Estate (Oct. 1993 to Sept. 1999) Other tenure |
Wilderness Declared:
None
Wilderness Not Declared:
South-East Forest National Park;
| Size: | 24,340 ha. |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 88% |
Coolangubra and Nalbaugh State Forests;
| Size: | 2,100 ha. |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 12% |
DESCRIPTION:
Coolangubra Wilderness, on the eastern escarpment of the Monaro Tableland, contains a number of steep and massive bluffs rising to over 1,000 metres, including Wog Wog and Coolangubra itself. The south eastern section, with its many tributary creeks, is very rugged, while the area bordering the Monaro Tableland is less heavily dissected. North of Mount Coolangubra the landscape features many granite boulders and waterfalls, the north eastern Myamba Falls being the most spectacular.
The area contains three major geological zones: Coast; Tableland and, in between; the Bega Batholith - a broad granitic belt of Devonian age, running north-south and comprising most of the underlying geology of the wilderness area. It is a complex of granite, granodiorite, adamellite and tonalite.
A considerable range of plant communities exist including: dry rainforest; warm and cool temperate rainforest; temperate layered forest; Brown Barrel (Eucalyptus fastigata) forest; mixed highland forest; alluvial herb forest; swamp forest; gully forest; riparian scrub; dry western woodland; escarpment gorge woodland; sandstone plateau forest; moist ridge forest; white ash forest; hinterland heath; montane heath; yertchuk heath woodland; tableland ridge woodland; montane sclerophyll forest and upland swamps. Coolangubra contains extensive stands of Shining Gum (E. nitens) as well as a previously undescribed eucalypt species, E. polyanthemos. The southern most population of the heath Allocasurina nana, occurs near White Rock River.
The south east region contains at least 60 recorded species of mammals. Over 26 of these are to be found in Coolangubra. These include the Long-footed Potoroo (Potorous longipes), listed internationally as endangered, and the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua). A high concentration of arboreal mammals is located in the area around Waratah Creek. Of the ten arboreal mammals of the south east region, nine are to be found in Coolangubra. As early as 1986 scientists working with the Forestry Commission (FCNSW, now known as State Forests) contended that Coolangubra wilderness contained possibly the greatest abundance and diversity of arboreal mammals in the world.
LAND USE HISTORY:
| Logging | The accessible native forests of the far south coast stretching from the Victoria-NSW border to Merimbula in the north were logged selectively for many years, while the forests of the hinterland and escarpment were left relatively undisturbed due to their remoteness from main markets and lack of commercial interest. |
| 1932 | Australian Paper Manufacturers express an interest in establishing a pulping plant in NSW and the company investigates the potential of Crown land between Twofold Bay and the Victorian border. It was hoped by foresters at the time that such operations would lead to the conversion of such "degraded" and "depauperate" forests into pulpwood areas free from "overmature" trees unsuitable for sawlogging. Cleared areas would regenerate into even-aged forest suitable for timber production. In the event, a pulpmill was established instead in Maryvale in the Latrobe valley. Interest continues. |
| Mid '60s | Japanese entrepreneurs begin canvassing the
possibilities of obtaining Australian eucalypt fibre for their burgeoning pulp and paper
industry, which already drew heavily on suitable sources of raw material from around the
world. Eden was examined as a possible source area. M.R. Jacobs, Director-General of the
Forestry and Timber Bureau testifying to the Select Committee of the Legislative Council
Inquiry into the Timber Industry (1965-67) expresses the opinion that the
"Bombala-Eden-Twofold Bay district is the region" for "forestry
purposes". Until the advent of woodchipping and related integrated logging in the early 1970's the forests surrounding Eden constituted the "wildest and most unspoilt coastal area in south-eastern Australia". |
| 1969 | Woodchipping begins in Eden with the NSW Askin Government approving a scheme (first announced publicly in 1967) tendered by the Harris Daishowa company, which at the time was 51% owned by Harris Holdings (an Australian Company) and 49% owned by the Japanese Daishowa Paper Manufacturers. The company had indicated it could build a pulp mill. |
| 1970 | July: Major land use decisions regarding the south east forests of New South Wales were made by the Ministers for Conservation and Lands, Messrs J Beale and T Lewis. About 90% or 200,000 ha of Vacant Crown Land were allocated to the Forestry Commission without prior public or parliamentary debate. The State Forests of Bondi, Coolangubra, Tantawangalo, Cathcart, Yambulla and Timbillica were dedicated, as well as major extensions to Yurammie, Nadgee and Nullica. These were to become the most contentious of the state forests managed by the Forestry Commission for integrated logging. |
| December: First shipment of woodchips leaves for Japan. Since then export quotas had risen from 450,000 to 850,000 tonnes per annum in 1977 and peaks at a million tonnes in 1989. | |
| 1971 | Federal legislation passed to allow the
company to become entirely Japanese owned. Federal involvement hinged upon their control
of export licences. Between 1971 and 1978 the company paid no tax. Large areas of forest clearfelled, with areas of more than 1,000 ha taken at a time. |
| 1973 | Senior Research Fellow (ANU) Richard Routley claims NSW Government is "effectively subsidising the Japanese wood pulp industry". |
| 1975 | Partly as a result of criticism from the
Australian Conservation Foundation and media debate, the NSW Forestry Commission claims it
will order environmental controls for woodchipping industry. First Management Plan issued
by NSW Forestry Commission, 60 years after its establishment. October: Senate Standing Committee on Science begins enquiry into woodchipping. |
| 1976 | October: Federal Government approves export
licence for 12 month interim period. Alternate coupe logging announced. |
| 1977 | May: Senate Standing Committee recommends no
curtailment of current operations, but no new licences to be issued until
"environmental problems ... are satisfactorily resolved". June: Harris Daishowa releases its first Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), heavily criticised for its omissions and inadequacies relating to the true economic picture in the region and its environmental research. July: Federal Government extends Harris Daishowa's export licence by a further 12 years and increases quota to 850,000 tonnes per annum. |
| 1980-81 | Major bushfires over the summer period damage 45,000 ha of forest: 17,000 ha in Nature Reserves and National Parks, the rest in State Forest and private property. Forestry Commission acknowledges that 44% of all fires resulted from escapes from burning bark heaps associated with areas logged for pulpwood and sawlogs. |
| 1983 | Logging trials proposed for Tantawangalo forest catchment. |
| 1986 | Harris Daishowa prepares its Draft- and Final
Environmental Impact Statement in which it applies for a further extension of its 850,000
tonnes per annum export quota to 2009. Statement rejects Coolangubra as a wilderness area. Forestry Commission commences construction of Stage I of Wog Way Forest Road to provide major access into the wilderness for logging trucks. |
| 1988 | March: Land and Environment Court (NSW)
suspends Forestry Commission operations in Coolangubra. June: NSW Minister for Natural Resources, the Hon Ian Causley, guarantees Harris Daishowa 20 year supply of south east forests. |
| December : Federal Minister for Resources, Senator Peter Cook, proposes a 17 year woodchip licence. | |
| 1989 | February: New logging begins and logs
extracted from National Estate areas apparently in breach of Harris Daishowa's 1989 export
licence. April: Tantawangalo and Coolangubra placed on Register of National Estate. July: Federal-NSW agreement signed, involving six month Biological Resource Study - by a Joint Scientific Committee, but approving 70% of remaining logging planned for National Estate, Wog Way Road and "trial" logging in Tantawangalo. August: Forestry Commission commences bulldozing of Coolangubra for construction of Stage 2 of Wog Way Road. Logs unlawfully extracted from National Estate Areas in Coolangubra and those previously impounded are sent for chipping and export by secret Federal decision. September: Court challenge by South East Forest Alliance (SEFA) regarding objection to Wog Way Road upheld in Land and Environment Court. Forestry Commission undertakes to cease construction of Wog Way Road until an environmental impact statement is completed. October: Forestry Commission recommences logging for construction of Wog Way Road. November: Senator Peter Cook agrees to a seventeen year export woodchip licence commencing from December 1989 and grants the company a further 150,000 tonnes per annum. December: Land and Environment Court rejects injunction to stop Forestry Commission activities in Coolangubra associated with logging for construction of Wog Way Road. Australian Conservation Foundation loses its case under Section 30 of the Heritage Commission Act to stop production of woodchips from National Estate Forests of Coolangubra and Tantawangalo . |
| 1990 | January: Harris Daishowa threatens to close its NSW operations if the Federal Government bans logging in National Estate areas. Harris Daishowa's export licence deferred for 1990 and issued for 6 weeks only, prior to outcome of decisions between NSW and Federal Governments. |
February: Forestry Commission's 1990 EIS, advocates completion of Wog Way Road and additional logging of National Estate in the south east, endorsed by NSW Minister for Natural Resources, the Hon Ian Causley. Support echoed by Commonwealth Minister for Resources, Senator Peter Cook.
July: Forestry Commission begins construction of the new Mataganah Road into Coolangubra.
Joint Scientific Committee (established by Federal Government and containing five scientists out of six with forestry interests) reports on its six months examination into south east forests, claiming that 50% of the area's National Estate Forests can be logged without compromising biological values. The report recommends 10,000 ha of 290,000 ha of State Forest be set aside as conservation areas (In addition to 20,000 ha on private land recommended for protection by voluntary acquisition). University of New England releases a contradictory report one week later in which it claims that a minimum of 80,000 ha is essential for the long-term conservation of forest fauna of the area and further recommends that all significant wilderness areas be fully reserved. Opposing reports are backed by opposing Federal camps - the Hon Alan Griffiths (Resources) and the Hon Ros Kelly (Environment). CSIRO also criticises Joint Scientific Committee report.
September: Federal Cabinet agrees to approve a further 15 logging compartments in National Estate areas of the south east forests. Six are criticised by Ros Kelly and are located in Coolangubra and Yowaka Forests . The Forestry Commission stalls on providing the information Kelly requires to determine which areas should and should not be logged. Kelly backs down in order to obtain the information.
8 October: Federal and NSW Government reach consensus on logging of Coolangubra. Approximately 12,800 ha of Coolangubra State Forest, in the wilderness area and proposed (1985) national park and flora reserves, set aside from logging. Three days later the Forestry Commission sets out to finish construction logging of Stage 3 of the Wog Way Road. By the end of the month Coolangubra wilderness is finally cut in two by a forty metre-wide logging road.
| 1991 | May: Forestry Commission releases 1991 Environmental Impact Statement for the Eden Native Forest Management Area. Plans include the burning of 76,646 ha (one third) of the region's State Forests, construction of 300 km of new roads and the logging of 5,000 ha of native forest per annum. |
| 1992 | August: Supplementary EIS released, including a Fauna Impact Statement (FIS) in order to comply with the requirements of the Endangered Fauna (Interim Protection) Act 1991. The FIS must meet the requirements of Section 92D(1) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and will be determined by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). |
| 1993 | 15 October: Deputy Director of NPWS writes to the Managing Director of State Forests listing 5 major shortcomings of the EIS on forestry operations for the Eden Management Area. These were : 1. a failure to demonstrate that present wildlife management would ensure long term conservation of fauna; 2. definition of old growth at variance with those of other land management agencies therefore NPWS considers subsequent discussions and conclusions invalid; 3. does not address deficiency of information on several groups of fauna; 4. no regional assessment of the biological values of the Area and comparison to other forested areas; and 5. the inadequacy of the reserve system in providing a representative and viable system of habitats , particularly in old growth habitats, has not been sufficiently considered. |
| 1994 | October : Forestry Commission releases a 1994 EIS, This recognises the NPWS identified Coolangubra Wilderness Area and excludes logging activities from the area. This EIS was the first to be determined by the Department of Planning. All previous EIS reports had been determined by the FCNSW. |
| 1995 | May : Commencement of the State Government’s implementation of forestry reform. Identified wilderness and selected high conservation value forest deferred from logging pending regional assessments. Woodchipping cut to half a million tonnes. |
| 1998 | December : Federal Junior Minister for Forests Wilson Tuckey threatens to withhold Commonwealth funding of 40 million dollars for industry adjustment in the Eden region. Mr Tuckey is insistent that a large part of Coolangubra should be available for logging rather than protected as National Park. |
HISTORY OF CONSERVATION MEASURES:
| 1969 | Tom Lewis, Minister for Lands, establishes an expert scientific committee to recommend a comprehensive system of parks and reserves for New South Wales with the coastal area as its first priority, recommending that reserves should not be smaller than 50,000 ha and that wherever possible they should be amalgamated rather than separated. Although much information was imprecise and at times inaccurate, one area identified was the Mount Wog Wog-Mount Imlay proposal. This proposal covered about 88,000 ha, and | |
| contained an unidentified wilderness area. Despite its shortcomings, this report should have had a major influence on the areas of vacant Crown land set aside for woodchipping and national parks. This was not the case. | ||
| 1972 | Following the woodchip decision a number of wholly inadequate parks were gazetted. These included the 3,764 ha Nalbaugh National Park, embracing rocky outcrops, entirely within the wilderness nomination. | |
| 1975 | Australian Museum warns that National Parks west of the Princes Highway are inadequate. | |
| 1977 | Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) calls for dedication of a national park to link Nalbaugh and Nungatta National Parks in its submission to the State Government Advisory Committee on the Environmental Aspects of Woodchipping and Logging Operations on the South Coast. At the same juncture Ecology Action called for the conservation of tableland forests including NCC's proposals In a number of submissions between 1977 and 1980 the National Parks Association (NPA) advocated the joining of these two parks, referring to the area as the "Bondi link". This would have taken in the section of the wilderness nomination south of Nalbaugh, although Coolangubra wilderness was overlooked. | |
| 1980 | Eastern section of Bondi State Forest clearfelled and replanted with pines. | |
| 1985 | Total Environment Centre proposes Coolangubra and Tantawangalo National Parks. A year later, the Cathcart National Park is proposed to link the two proposals. These submissions mention an Eden Highlands National Park incorporating: Crown lands linking (and including) the Tantawangalo National Park proposal to Wadbilliga National Park; Glenbog State Forest (including Werrinook Forest Reserve and Brown Mountain Flora Reserve); the Cathcart National Park proposal and the Coolangubra National Park proposal (including Nalbaugh National Park, Bondi State Forest and Nungatta National Park). This large reserve was based on arguments that the greater an area of undisturbed vegetation, the lower the extinction rate of species high in the food chain. Such arguments had their origin in the biogeographic studies of the 1960's and 1970's. This would create a Reserve of over 270,000 ha. The TEC Coolangubra National Park Proposal first details the Coolangubra Wilderness Area: "The Area is approximately 28,000 ha and covers the Rockton section of Bondi State Forest north from the Imlay Road, including the Coolangubra State Forest and Nalbaugh National Park." These park proposals were endorsed by over 130 groups. | |
| 1986 | May: Australian Heritage Commission lists
Coolangubra (47,000 ha) on the Interim Register of the National Estate. Bondi State
Forest, originally included, is subsequently withdrawn, as a result of Forestry Commission
objections and salvage logging operations after a wildfire. Coolangubra Wilderness recognised by the Wilderness Working Group in its Report to Bob Carr, Minister for Planning and Environment and Consumer Affairs. |
|
| Long-footed potoroo bones discovered in fox
droppings around Sheep Station Creek inside the Wilderness Area (Bondi State Forest).
Claims for its existence in the area rejected by the Forestry Commission but later
substantiated. South East Forest Alliance (SEFA) formed with support of local and state environment groups. |
||
| 1987 | The Wilderness Society and Total Environment Centre submit Coolangubra and Genoa Wilderness nominations under Sections 6 and 8 of the Wilderness Act 1987. | |
| NPWS assessment of Coolangubra Wilderness
concludes that the area contains "a mosaic of land systems which are poorly
represented in existing parks and reserves". December: In Land and Environment Court Jarasius v FCNSW (1987) interlocutory injunction restrains FCNSW from logging activities in certain areas, including the construction of the Wog Way Road, until EIS process is complete. |
||
| 1988 | March: Land and Environment Court
Jarasius v FCNSW (1988) finds against Forestry Commission and requires an Environmental
Impact Statement to be prepared under Part V of Environmental Planning and Assessment Act
1979 where a new logging activity is proposed or a new area is to be logged which has not
been assessed and which is likely to cause a significant environmental impact (eg. Logging
in wilderness and National Estate). July: In a letter to NPWS concerning Coolangubra (and Genoa) Wilderness Area the Forestry Commission records the following: "The policy of the NSW Government is that the State Forests included in the wilderness proposals will continue to be managed under the provisions of the Eden Management Plan. This management involves the harvesting of sawlogs and pulpwood, with adequate safeguards for the protection of general and specific environmental values. Although the Forestry Commission contends that wilderness identification is not justified in their present state, the roading and harvesting intended will put the issue beyond doubt". October: Australian Heritage Commission criticises the Forestry Commission's Environmental Impact Statement and claims that proposed operations in Coolangubra area would damage its national estate values by severely disturbing largely unlogged forests. |
|
| 1989 | January: Federal Environment Minister Senator Graham Richardson comments that there should be "no logging whatsoever" in the National Estate areas of Coolangubra. | |
| Premier of NSW Nick Greiner pre-empts NPWS recommendations that Coolangubra Wilderness be gazetted by commenting that no new National Parks or Wilderness Areas would be created in the region. | ||
| 1989 | February: NPWS recommends gazettal
of Coolangubra wilderness assessing it as "the largest remaining forest fragment in
wilderness condition in the region; it has a very high level of biological diversity which
has been maintained for more than a century. … If not protected it will be
eroded". The recommendation is rejected by the NSW Liberal/National Government. First Blockade Base Camp opened in Reedy Creek, Coolangubra with 20 arrests. April: Coolangubra placed on Register of National estate. 160 arrests in Sheep Station Creek, Bondi State Forest, habitat of the endangered Long-footed Potoroo. May: Arrests up to 500. June: 2,000 people congregate in Coolangubra in opposition to logging. |
|
| July 13: Six-month Biological
Resource Study of south east forests agreed to by State and Federal Governments. The
emphasis of this study is the National Estate, with wilderness not in the terms of
reference. August: Stage 2 Wog Way pushed through Coolangubra. The first tree platform is raised to draw attention to and prevent, further roading. Te platforms remain until October 1990. |
||
| September: Land and Environment
Court extracts promise from Forestry Commission to cease construction of Wog Way Road. October: 500 people begin re-seeding Wog Way Road. Total of 800 charges laid against protesters since January. |
||
| 1990 | January: Commonwealth/NSW agreement, January
to June 1990, defers Stage III Wog Way. February: Logging in National Estate Forest reduces its area from 9% to 5.4% in south east region, including logging in Coolangubra. July: Biological Resource Study released. Report widely criticised by scientific community. October: 12,800 ha of Coolangubra State Forest recommended as a new national park and flora reserves as a result of Commonwealth/State Joint Agreement. Area is largely on escarpment inaccessible to logging and does not include the core of the wilderness. A substantial section of this area already contained in previously proposed reserves (Coolangubra Escarpment Forest Reserve 2,900 ha, Mount Perico Flora Reserve, and existing Waratah Creek Flora Reserve 800 ha). Wog Way Stage 3 pushed through in the early hours of October 11. Tree-sitters are removed from their platforms. |
|
| 1991/92 | Protests continue as the Coolangubra targeted for intensive roading and logging. | |
| 1992 | January 13: The South East Forest Alliance and The Wilderness Society apply for a Stop Work Order under the provisions of the Endangered Fauna (Interim Protection) Act 1991 on FCNSW roading and imminent logging activities in Compartments 1313 and 1402 in the Coolangubra Wilderness. | |
| 1992 | January 30: A stop work is granted in
Compartment 1402 as "the actions may affect the viability of populations of a number
of fauna and the FCNSW proposed mitigating prescriptions are inadequate." September: Clover Moore, independent MP, introduces the South East Forests Protection Bill. The Bill would have protected 138,800 ha of the South East Forests, including a 30,500 ha Coolangubra National Park. However, the Labor Opposition would not support this legislation without a Federally funded compensation package. This package, although promised prior to the March 1993 Federal election, was not forthcoming. July: Coolangubra Wilderness included in the Earth Foundation's Far South East World Heritage Assessment Report. The Prime Minister and the Premiers of all Australian states, except Tasmania, sign National Forest Policy Statement. This Statement declares "until the assessments (of forests for conservation values) are completed, forest management agencies will avoid activities that may significantly affect those areas of old-growth forest or wilderness that are likely to have high conservation value". |
|
| 1993 | 21 May: South East Forests Protection Bill amended by Labor. Debate on the Bill is to resume in early October on revised boundaries designed to protect 110,000 ha. | |
| 1994 | 30 November: Fahey Government gazettes 10 new national parks and nature reserves covering 45,137 ha of which in the south-east of NSW. This includes 10,615 ha of Coolangubra protected as National Park. The Bill later passes through the Lower House but is defeated in the Upper House due to the votes of the Call to Australia Party, which holds the balance of power. | |
| 1995 | May: Labor Government ceases logging in all identified NPWS identified wilderness areas. | |
| 1996 | July: Close of public submissions on proposed
deferred forest areas for the eastern forestry regions of NSW. Around 16,000 submissions
in support of the conservation movement’s Forest Reserve Plan which recommends
protection for all of the NPWS identified Coolangubra Wilderness. September: Government announces its interim forest decision which will add around 50,000 ha to the south east forests and defers a further 30,000 ha pending the Comprehensive Regional Assessment for the Eden region. |
|
| December: The Forestry Revocation Act 1996 is passed by State Parliament to take effect of 1st January 1997, adding 7,420 ha to the Coolangubra/Genoa parks and creating the South-East Forest National Park. | ||
| 1998 | February: The Comprehensive Regional
Assessment for the Eden region completed and options for a Regional Forest Agreement are
exhibited. Around 20,000 submissions are received, of which 16,000 (80%) support the
conservation movement’s option for 57,000 ha of park additions including all of the
Coolangubra Wilderness. October: Government announces its position on the Eden RFA. The reserve additions of 37,000 ha outlined are less than both the Conservation option and joint NPWS/SFNSW options by several thousand hectares. November: The Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 is passed adding 9,961 ha of identified wilderness to the South East Forests National Park. Twenty two high conservation value compartments along the western side of the wilderness, totalling approx. 2,100 ha are retained as State Forest, including compartments 1401 and 1402 of Nalbaugh scenes of some of the largest protests in 1992. The excluded compartments have extremely high wood volumes. |
|
THREATS:
The major threat to the ecological integrity of Coolangubra Wilderness remains logging, with the associated destruction caused by roading and burning. A further threat is the development of park infrastructure within the NPWS identified wilderness.
| Logging | The environmental impacts of logging are well documented. Logging results: in soil compaction and erosion; impaired potable water supplies; escaped regeneration burns and excessive production of CO2; introduction of noxious weeds and dieback; loss of biomass; destruction of flora and fauna and general ecosystem degradation. |
In the first twenty years since the advent of woodchipping in the Eden region over 100,000 ha of native forest has been intensively logged.
A number of areas have been, and will continue to be, logged within the wilderness nomination. These include coupes immediately west of Coolangubra Mountain and the headwaters of White Rock and Wog Wog Rivers and Myamba and Stockyard Creeks, including the Waratah Creek catchment, a biodiversity hotspot.
Extensive logging has occurred as a result of the construction of roads into the area.
Logging of Myamba Headwaters is causing sedimentation and infestation by weeds of the lower Myamba Creek in the South East Forests National Park.
Recommendations: Well-managed eucalypt plantations on 14,000 ha of previously cleared land would provide for the claimed loss of 280,000 tonnes of timber a year currently obtained from high conservation value native forests. In addition, an expanded softwood industry and regional economic development through tourism is proposed.
Logging should cease within the proposed wilderness and clearfelled areas be restored.
| Roading | The environmental impacts of roading are well known. Road construction causes the same environmental degradation associated with logging, encourages arsonists to light fires in remote areas and leads to off-road vehicle use with its associated impacts of weed introduction, soil compaction and erosion. |
A number of roads currently penetrate the wilderness area: Wog Way Road, Kanoonah Road, Pheasants Road, an extension of Mines Road leading to the centre of Wog Wog River catchment and Mataganah Road.
The continued presence of old logging roads will lead to the ingress of feral animals into the area and the subsequent destruction of native fauna. The establishment of reserves which protect habitat for the Long footed Potoroo needs to be followed with wilderness management, including pest control programs, for optimum protection of the species .
Recommendations: Roads are entirely incompatible with wilderness areas. All logging roads and management trails should be closed, ripped and revegetated.
No roads or park infrastructure should be developed in the NPWS identified Coolangubra Wilderness Area, particularly before a Plan of Management for the South East Forests National Park is approved.
| Fire | Fire management regimes undertaken by the
Forestry Commission within the Eden Management Area have resulted in the increase of
wildfires within the region. Commission management burning at low intensities changes the
composition of species and communities in the forest understorey which will consequently
affect ecosystem function. The Forestry Commission burnt over 75,000 ha of State Forest within the region during the 1991 season alone |
Recommendations: Where a fire occurs external management trails can be used by fire fighters to prevent it spreading to adjoining areas Where absolutely necessary, helicopter landing areas could be cleared for fire control. Most fires in wilderness areas occur as a result of introduction of fire from outside, usually through human agency. Fire trails should be closed in wilderness areas. Effective firebreaks around inhabited areas, coupled with sensitive development and public education, should be advocated as the most effective fire management.
CONTACT ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
South East Forest Alliance
C/- National Parks Association
P O Box A96
Sydney South NSW 2001
Contact: Noel Plumb Ph: 02 9233 4660
FAX: 02 9233 4880
e-mail npansw@bigpond.comThe Wilderness Society Canberra
P O Box 188
CIVIC SQUARE ACT 2608
Contact: Andrew Wong Ph: 02 6249 6491
FAX: 02 62491002
e-mail awong@dynamite.com.au
RELEVANT COLONG BULLETIN ARTICLES:
Colong Bulletin, 124, "Coolangubra Wilderness Inspection", p7.
Colong Bulletin, 130, "Support the South East Forest Protection Bill!", p2.
Colong Bulletin, 131, "Wilderness Window Dressing", p2.
Colong Bulletin, 132, "Extracting the Wilderness from the Woods", p7.
Colong Bulletin 148, p10 "Ten new NSW National Parks - one small step for conservation"
Colong Bulletin 151, p6 "Labor’s Wilderness Moratorium"
Colong Bulletin 169, p5-6 "Eden Forest Test - Conservation or Woodchips"
Colong Bulletin 172, p7 "The Forest Fandango"