Locals up and down the coast of NSW are standing up to protect koalas, wildlife and forests and are putting themselves on the line. A ‘watch camp’ is now being set up by locals at Doubleduke State Forest, between Grafton and Casino.
Regardless of the draconian state laws that have been put in place to deter non-violet peaceful action by the coalition government and supported by NSW Labor, locals are taking action. From the Bulga State Forest on the mid-north which inspired locals to take action at Lorne State Forest to Yarratt Forest north of Taree they are seeking to protect their forests from logging and the damage to koalas and other native animals.
Join the call
Australia recognised as a ‘global deforestation hotspot’ and the NSW Government was warned in 2021 by their own Natural Resources Commission that the combination of logging with the impact of the 2019/20 fires presents a ‘serious and irreversible’ risk to the environmental values of NSW forests. But it is once again locals on the ground who are taking action to preserve their local forests.
‘In Doubleduke Forest this morning northern rivers koala protectors are gathered in a community camp to end native forest logging,’ said spokesperson for Save Banyabba Koalas Sean O’Shannessy.
‘They are calling on everyone concerned about our endangered species, climate and economy to join them in bearing witness and alerting fellow citizens to the rip off of our assets in progress in our forests.’
Community representatives from conservation organisations from Grafton, Kyogle, Lismore, Nimbin and Malanganee took time out of their busy lives to help establish the watch camp on Glencoe Rd next to Doubleduke State Forest yesterday.
‘Doubleduke Forest is a vitally important patch of endangered koala habitat that is still recovering from being burnt in 2019 and 2020. It is home to a long list of threatened species including koalas, phascogales, gliders, owls, frogs and plants. It contains nationally significant wetlands, is essential to a stable climate and is a tourist destination for bike riders. All of these irreplacable values are threatened by logging corporations ripping off our public assets.’ said Mr O’Shannessy.
‘Our community are appalled by what is being done to our forests so we are gathering in numbers too big to be ignored and calling on all concerned citizens to join us in ending logging of public native forests.’
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