Forest protectors stopped logging of koala habitat for a second day in Gibberagee State Forest on Tuesday before leaving the forest.
But a spokesperson said they will return if the Forestry Corporation ‘continues to refuse to undertake the legally required pre-logging surveys for koalas necessary to identify and protect koala high use areas.
Scat dog offer
As happened on Monday, four people locked on to logging machinery again on Tuesday morning and successfully held loggers at bay.
Spokesperson Dailan Pugh said, ‘NEFA is determined to force the Forestry Corporation to look before they log, and to protect koala high use areas, as required by their threatened species licence’.
‘We have put forward the peace offer to the Forestry Corporation of engaging a specially trained koala scat-detection dog to do the required searching.
‘This would be quicker and more effective and efficient than manual searches, and provides an independent means of identifying koala high use areas to exclude from logging.
Wilful disregard
‘We have offered to fund a one-day trial to initiate these scat searches, though the Forestry Corporation are yet to respond.
‘We have had enough of the Forestry Corporation’s wilful disregard for their legal obligations to protect Koalas, and the EPA’s refusal to make them obey the law.
‘If the NSW Government refuses to uphold environmental laws applying to public land then it is beholden on the citizenry to do so.
‘We are simply trying to provide koalas with the minimal protection they are legally entitled to and urge the Forestry Corporation to accept our peace offer before more koala high use areas are logged’
‘We reiterate our request to the EPA to issue a Stop Work Order until the required koala surveys are undertaken’ Mr. Pugh said.
