There is nothing Nature Positive about the environmental not-for-profits seeking to close the native forestry industry in NSW. The latest example is the Wilderness Society’s Facebook / Meta post from 21 December.
The entry is misleading, as expected, and it reveals the failure to be constructive in a ‘Nature Positive’ manner. Surprisingly, there is no donation button associated with the post this time:
The Meta post says:
“Forestry Corporation of NSW admits to logging in national park.”
Wilderness Society’s Facebook / Meta post from 21 December
The area cleared was 1.44 hectares. The post says the news is breaking—well, not exactly! The clearing of a blue gum plantation that was made into a National Park occurred in 2019 when a boundary error occurred.
The Wilderness Society also fails to note that the Forestry Corporation of NSW has replanted the area with native trees suitable to the area and maintained the area to ensure the regrowth of the seedlings.
Why is a blue gum plantation in a National Park?
In the rush by Premier Carr in the late 1990s to create National Parks to ensure Green preferences in a State election, accuracy was not an issue.
The Berejiklian Government sought to rectify the issue by identifying plantation estates in National Parks and swapping them in areas with native State forests, but with pressure from the ENGOs, the then Environment Minister Matt Kean ultimately stopped the process.
Blue Gum is not a native tree of northern NSW, and, importantly, it should have been replaced with native plantings from the area.
In the event that environment groups cry foul that clear felling a plantation is destructive to native fauna and flora located in the plantation, is a further misleading tactic. They know very well the provisions of the Plantations and Afforestation Act 1999, even if they pretend that native fauna and flora are not protected.
Those groups have recently actively quoted specific provisions to the Department of Primary Industry that protect native fauna and flora, which demonstrates their knowledge of the provisions.
If the Wilderness Society were genuinely concerned about the preservation of native forests in NSW, they would welcome the removal of non-native plantations in national parks and the replanting of them with local native species cared for by the Forestry Corporation of NSW.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service does not have the expertise to generate native trees.
Instead, the shock horror alarmism of the post tells a very different story.
The full statement of the Forestry Corporation of NSW, dated 19 December 2024, is set out below in full:
Statement on boundary error between Orara West State Forest and Bindarri National Park
19 December 2024
In 2019, Forestry Corporation of NSW harvested approximately 1.44 hectares within Bindarri National Park which bordered Orara West State Forest on the state’s north coast. The harvested area included a mature flooded gum plantation previously dedicated as State forest. Forestry Corporation sincerely apologises for this incident.
The boundary issue traces back to 1999, when sections of the flooded gum plantation were declared as national park while other parts remained State forest.
During 2018 while planning a harvesting operation in the State Forest plantation, the boundary was incorrectly mapped. Forestry Corporation re-planted the area with native trees and undertook pest and weed control prior to becoming aware of the boundary error.
Forestry Corporation’s General Manager Hardwood Forests Daniel Tuan stated, “We deeply regret this incident and sincerely apologise for this error which resulted in the harvesting of approximately 1.44 hectares within Bindarri National Park in contravention of the National Parks and Wildlife Act.”
“Upon identifying the error, we advised the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). We have since agreed to work with NPWS to identify additional restoration measures that would provide the best environmental outcome in the circumstances.”
Forestry Corporation has committed to fund, restore and remediate the harvested area over the next 10 years. Additionally, it has also agreed to contribute $500,000 to NPWS for purchasing native forest for gazettal under the NPW Act, or to reserve an agreed area of State forest as national park.
“In response to this incident, we have strengthened our mapping systems, improved boundary identification processes and will implement a specific protocol and training to improve boundary management to avoid similar contraventions in the future,” Mr Tuan added.
