Days after camping at Myrtle State Forest to block machinery, the Save Banyabba Koalas group have taken their fight to the Casino office of Forestry Corporation of NSW.
‘We’re here at the local Forestry office to call on them to abandon plans to log the habitat of the Banyabba koala population which lost 83% of its habitat in the fires,’ said Naomi Shine from Save Banyabba Koalas.
Forestry Corporation of NSW has logging plans for Myrtle, Bungawalbin, and Doubleduke State Forests – all of which are within the Banyabba Area of Regional Koala Significance (ARKS) as mapped by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.
The Banyabba ARKS stretches from Rappville to Iluka and was one of the worst-hit by the 2019/20 fires.
‘We’ve got letters for Forestry Corporation and the Minister responsible for Forestry, John Barilaro, detailing the necessary actions to save the Banyabba koalas from extinction.
‘It’s simple – immediately protect the habitat of the Banyabba koalas and all koalas across NSW and fast track a just transition to a 100% sustainable plantation timber industry.’
‘Not only can we save fire-recovering koalas, but we can allow these native forests to absorb carbon to fight climate change, stimulate water cycles to reduce drought and protect sacred Indigenous areas for invaluable cultural heritage.’
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