Yesterday local protector Fiona Lee locked on to the harvesting machine to slow the logging of the homes of endangered greater gliders and koalas in Bulga State Forest, 65 km west of Port Macquarie.
On the occasion of her birthday, Ms Lee said it was her single wish for the logging to stop.
‘I’m an Elands local, political artist and climate campaigner,’ she said. ‘I’m also a mum that cares deeply about my daughter’s future. I grew up in the Manning Valley and I’m sick of seeing the forests destroyed around me. Most of the tree is wasted and most of the wood ends up as firewood, woodchip or some other low value product.
‘Forests like Bulga are vital carbon sinks that slow climate change. They’re the lungs of the earth and essential to clean air and a stable climate.
‘They’re also home to endangered greater gliders and koalas that I’ve had the privilege of seeing very near to here.
‘It’s truly a special experience and one that I’m glad to have shared with my daughter. Her squeals of delight seeing the gliders are a memory I’ll cherish.
‘I really want her to be able to do the same with her kids one day, but logging these glider homes, not just in Bulga but the other forests where it is happening, makes it increasingly likely the greater glider will be gone in a decade or two.’
No excuse to continue flattening forests
‘The NSW government needs to protect these forests and put an end to native forest logging,’ said Fiona Lee. ‘There is absolutely no excuse to continue to flatten the forests – we need our forests more than ever to do their job of absorbing harmful carbon pollution.
‘House frames are made of plantation pine and have been for decades. There is no native hardwood in the average modern house. Besides, native forest logging is done at a loss and costs taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
‘The NSW government must step up and act for the benefit of the endangered greater gliders and koalas and all of our sakes and end native forest logging now.
‘Victoria and WA ended the logging of their native forests. NSW can, and must, do it too. That’s my birthday wish,’ Ms Lee said.
Protests in Bulga State Forest are ongoing.
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