Sitting 20 metres high amongst the canopy of Ellis State Forest this morning, a community member has stopped all machinery from operating by attaching a tree-sit to the equipment in the logging area, putting a halt to works for today.
The banner reads: ‘Fight for our lives’.
This action adds to weeks of community pressure in forests near Coffs Harbour, where individuals have locked onto the harvester on separate occasions stopping work, and large groups of people have been walking into the forest during logging operations forcing a stop to the destruction.
A spokesperson for the action said, ‘We know the value of forests when they are left un-logged. We know that healthy eco-systems are imperative to our survival on this heating planet. We must fight for all remaining forest because we are fighting for our lives.
‘There is a groundswell of people ready to take these sorts of non-violent direct actions, pushing us ever closer to the ending of logging of these publicly owned native forests.
‘Join the movement, get involved in your local direct action group.’
Background
Ellis State Forest was identified as being core habitat for one of the largest populations of koalas on the North Coast.
The Bellingen Activist Network is concerned that the Forestry Corporation of NSW is continuing to log native forests in the midst of an extinction crisis, pushing species like koalas and greater gliders towards a point of no return.
The recently released State of the Environment report demonstrates that Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent, and has one of the highest rates of species decline in the world. More than 100 Australian species have been listed as either extinct or extinct in the wild, with loss of habitat listed as one of the key drivers.
Recently, there have been allegations of logging breaches in Ellis State Forest and nearby Wild Cattle Creek State Forest. In July, FCNSW were prosecuted for over $285,600 in fines and costs imposed by the Land and Environment Court for illegally logging a Koala High Use Area, rainforest and a rainforest buffer in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2018.
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