Tasmanian forests

about 1 year ago

In 2004, I took a trip to Tasmania, partly to form my own opinion about the logging of native forests there.

There's a tourist road which runs in a big loop off the highway. It's a nice drive through some beautiful forest, and it takes you to a reserve where you can see some of the biggest trees remaining in the state. Many of the trees here, and throughout Tasmania's forests, are hundreds of years old.

The catch is that one end of the loop is closed off, so once you've reached the reserve, you need to turn around to get back to the highway. This, of course, is what most tourists do.

If you keep going, however, you get to see this:

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Click the image. It's worth seeing full size.

This is what logging looks like. The trees are clear-felled, then the undergrowth is burnt, and, unbelievably, any remaining animals are poisoned. The wood is pulped to make cheap paper.

Contrary to logging industry claims, the replanting they do after this will never return the forest to its original state. In the back of the photo above you can see a replanted section of forest. Notice anything odd? The trees are very close together. So what does that mean?

This forest has been planted expressly so that it can be logged again, for pulp, as soon as possible. These trees will never grow to full size; they simply can't get enough light.

There are almost no native animals in this replanted forest. The dense planting means there is no undergrowth, so no habitat for the ground dwellers. Many of the canopy dwellers depend on knot holes for shelter and safety, and you need old trees for those.

The logging industry, a minority economic interest, is destroying something incredible that should be preserved for everyone. I'm horrified by plans for a new pulp mill which would increase logging in the Tamar Valley. I'm also horrified by how obviously and blatantly short-sighted and corrupt the approval process for this pulp mill has been.

If you think these forests are worth preserving, you can contribute on the Wilderness Society's page, either by signing a petition, writing to your representative, or donating.

Posted for Blog Action Day.