Aslan Shand
The logging of the high-use koala habitat in the Braemar State Forest is due to start this Friday 13 and the call is going out for people to take a stand for koalas this Sunday.
This area is one of the most significant koala populations known in NSW State Forests according to ecologist Dailan Pugh from the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA).
‘Under the old rules for protecting koala habitat around 100 hectares of the Braemar State Forest would be protected but under the new rules only five feed trees per hectare will be kept,’ said Mr Pugh.
‘We’ve found koalas using about 19 feed trees per hectare and this will be a major reduction of food trees that will lead to a major reduction in this koala population.
‘Braemar encompasses core breeding habitat that is part of the nationally significant koala population previously identified across the nearby Carwong and Royal Camp State Forests.
‘Our appeals to the premier and environment minister to intervene and ensure that all koala high-use areas are identified and protected were counterproductive. Instead the government has decided to switch over to the new rules where koala high-use areas are no longer protected.’
Join the rally
NEFA are calling for a peaceful, family-friendly, public rally on Sunday 15 September from 10am at the turnoff to Rappville, 24km south of Casino on Summerland Way.
‘We want to celebrate the koalas in Braemar State Forest and encourage people to come and show their support for saving the koala from extinction,’ said Mr Pugh.
Some koala supporters are planning to remain at the site for Monday or longer if logging has started to make clear their objection to destroying key koala habitat.
Dailan you are one AMAZING wonderful Eco Warrior….we LOVE you. Continued destruction of our fragmented & shrinking native forests is simply unacceptable.It is immoral & insane to be logging in any high conservation old growth forests, whether a species is endangered (like the Koala) or not. We have watched for over 50 yrs the destruction & obliteration of our ever declining native forests. This is NOT sustainable and is a total sham.The general public is unaware of the true cost of these public owned forests , that have been raped & pillaged for decades. These brutal & indefensible forestry practices are subsidised by the Australian tax payer which is even more galling. Why should tax payers continue to fund this destruction & decimation of our already under siege wildlife ? Wake up Australia the VERY creatures you SAY you love are dying. It is NOT enough to simply to go to Zoo in order to pat a Koala , while you do nothing to protect their very existance. Get out of your arm chair and fight for what you SAY you care about. Just as importantly get informed about who & what you vote for. Wildlife destruction is what I call truly UNAUSTRALIAN.
We had the same sort of trouble with the Tweed Council when they wanted to destroy a tributary of the Tweed River just so big business could build there.
But People Power and your Newspaper stopped it dead.