News from the forests
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Logging operations shut down across 8 areas throughout Victoria and NSW!
Forest protests have been ramping up in the last few months and they’re only going to get stronger as logging continues in the midst of a climate and ecological emergency. Traditional Owners, regional communities, climate and conservation groups are now collectively demanding an immediate end to native forest logging. Today in Victoria blockades and walk-ins…
Double blockade stops logging in Noojee and Cambarville for 8 days
Logging has been halted in SEVEN coupes across Victoria today, with multiple tree-sits, walk-ins and lock-ons as Traditional Owners, regional communities and climate and conservation groups call for an immediate end to logging in native forests across the state. From Mount Cole in Western Vic, to Cambarville, Toolangi, Baw Baw, Noojee, and Lakes Entrance in…
Logging halted in 3 areas in Victoria’s Central Highlands on the day of Friends of Leaddies courtcase WIN!
At the end of a massive day, our tree-sitter remains perched on their platform stopping the logging! Some big actions today, Kinglake Friends of the Forest Inc walk-in, lock ons at Big Pat’s Creek by Protect Warburton Ranges, protests in the city at Dan Andrews office, and an epic result coming from the Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Inc. VS. VicForests case. The…
Warburton local locks on! Logging halted at ‘Pat’s Corner’ for the fourth day
Nic, a Warburton local, has locked onto logging machinery this morning, halting the destruction of forests just outside Warburton for a fourth day! This comes after Alice, another member of the community, who had been occupying a tree-sit since Monday was arrested yesterday afternoon. The Dan Andrews government has lost all social license to log…
Blockade established as Big Pat’s Creek local stands up against logging during COVID-19
A blockade has been set up to obstruct clearfell logging operations that have commenced at Big Pat’s Creek, 6kms from Warburton, since the state entered stage 3 lockdown. Government logging agency, VicForests, have refused to act on concerns from community that logging forests at Big Pat’s Creek will jeopardise the local water supply. Community members…
Post-logging burn blankets local town in toxic smoke
Lily D’Ambrosio MP is allowing her department to conduct dangerous post logging burns despite the current COVID-19 respiratory pandemic. Today, mere kilometres from the township of Warburton, a large logging coupe was set alight using dangerous chemicals, blanketing the local town in toxic smoke. The hazardous smoke can exacerbate lung conditions like #Covid_19 and increases…
Post-logging burns choke local communities in the midst of a global respiratory crisis: Logging continues across Victoria despite COVID-19
While the world has come to a halt as a result of COVID-19, logging across Victoria’s native forests continues unabated. Currently, there are 16 active crews in our forests tearing down critical carbon stores, precious ecosystems and remaining habitat for bushfire affected threatened species. Solo logging operations have been discovered by the community during this…
Community action wins! Logging machines leave Kalatha Valley of the Giants
After a huge past week of community action and support, today the machines left the coupe and the forest and all it’s inhabitants are safe for now. Thank you to all who came together to stand up against this unacceptable destruction of our precious forests here in magnificent Toolangi. The community spirit was incredible and…
Gov. department approves roading through critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum buffer
The Office of the Conservation Regulator (OCR) has approved logging through a critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum buffer for road access into a contentious coupe in Toolangi Victoria. It was scheduled to be logged on Monday this week but has been disrupted by community protesters and logging has been unable to commence. “Logging machines moved into…
Forest protest halts logging in the valley of the giants
Forest Conservation Victoria, have established a peaceful blockade in the Kalatha Valley of Giants, Toolangi. Earlier this morning a bulldozer was turned away by our blockade with a brave person suspended 20m attached to a structure, blocking the driveway access to the forest scheduled for clearfelling. This logging coupe is within 200m of the beloved…
Peaceful protest dismantled by authorities & FCV response to government announcement
Yesterday it was announced the government will start to phase out native forest logging in 4-5 years for it to end in 2030. What the government has acknowledged is that the forests that are available for logging are running out, and the industry will collapse by 2030. The government is saying that the contracts with…
FCV returns to Baw Baw: peaceful blockade established
This morning we’re back in Baw Baw, where we’ve set up a tree-sit in a beautiful old hollow-bearing Eucalypt, attached to a tripod blocking the entrance to the logging coupe road. Time is running out for the Central Highlands where excessive logging and bushfires have impacted the Mountain Ash forests ecosystems almost to the point…
VicForests return to site of protest and illegally bulldoze threatened plant
Conservationists are shocked to learn that VicForests have illegally logged more of the threatened Tree Geebung (Persoonia arborea) at Ballantyne’s Saddle, which was the site of a Forest Conservation Victoria protest in May this year. A total of fourteen Tree Geebungs were found in the iconic area, the remaining six have been bulldozed in the…
Forest blockade established in the Rubicon valley
Forest Conservation Victoria and the Rubicon Forest Protection Group have established a blockade this morning to highlight extreme logging in one of Victoria’s most ecologically diverse mountain forest areas: the Rubicon State Forest. This is an area ravaged by the 2009 Black Saturday fire and the Rubicon and Royston Valleys are devastated by logging so…
Forest blockade halts logging in Sooty Owl habitat
Forest Conservation Victoria have set up a peaceful protest to stop logging operations within vital threatened species habitat and old growth forest along the Murrindindi River in Toolangi this morning, where a threatened Sooty Owl nesting site has been reported. A person is currently suspended 20 meters up a tree on a platform attached to…
Australian Paper: fuelling Victoria’s extinction crisis
Australian Paper have visitors this morning! This is the (Japanese owned) company that turns Victoria’s native forests into Reflex paper using our taxpayer dollars. Australian Paper are currently logging what little remains of Kinglake, Baw Baw, Toolangi, Warburton, Healesville, East Gippsland, Marysville and Noojee. Enough’s enough Dan Andrews. Over 80% of Victoria’s native forests end…
Illegal logging discovered at Ballantyne’s Saddle as Icy Creek blockade enters second week
This morning community group Forest Conservation Victoria discovered illegal logging of a threatened species of tree, the Tree Geebung (Persoonia arborea) in an area they have blockaded for over a week. A report has been submitted by forest survey group Fauna and Flora Research Collective (FFRC) to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning…
Forest protest halts logging in Icy Creek!
Logging has been halted today in an area of forest at Icy Creek, along the main scenic tourist road out to Mt Baw Baw. A person is suspended 25 metres above the ground up a tree on a platform tied to logging machinery. Their actions are preventing the destruction of Ballantynes Saddle, which still remains…
Blockade in Toolangi protects precious forests from logging
Forest Conservation Victoria are again protecting native forests this week with the establishment of a peaceful blockade at Castella in the tall, wet forests of Toolangi. A person is suspended 30 meters up a tree on a platform attached to logging machinery that is preventing logging operations from proceeding. The response comes after volunteer citizen…
Forest blockade disrupted by state government authorities at Granite Mountain putting a conservationist’s life at risk
Yesterday morning at 11.30am more than a dozen state Government authorised forest officers, VicForests and police arrived at the Granite Mountain old growth forest blockade in East Gippsland. Protesters from Forest Conservation Victoria (FCV) were directed to move their camp and vacate the road, but the conservationist occupying the tree-sit platform attached to a tripod…
Blockade protects old growth forests in Granite Mountain, East Gippsland
This morning we’ve established a peaceful blockade within old growth forests at Granite Mountain in East Gippsland. Our brave conservationist is suspended 20m above the ground in a tree sit blocking entry into the logging coupe. Despite 3500 people writing to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews calling on him to stop these logging operations, his government…
Logging stopped as another protest in Baw Baw begins
Following our forest blockade in September, members of community group Forest Conservation Victoria have established another blockade at a logging coupe near Mt Baw Baw. A conservationist is suspended in a tree sit 20m off the ground, halting the machines from logging. This area is another example of high conservation value forest being decimated by…
Logging continues in Baw Baw despite presence of giant old growth trees
Last week after three days of preventing logging a member of Forest Conservation Victoria was arrested having been suspended from a tall tree which was attached to logging machinery, at a Forest blockade near Mt Baw Baw. The important forest area provides habitat for threatened species and sadly, the logging machines are now continuing to…
Forest blockade setup in Baw Baw
Members of community group Forest Conservation Victoria have established a peaceful blockade at Mt Baw Baw in threatened species habitat where they are currently logging. A person is suspended in a tree sit 25m off the ground, preventing logging in high conservation value forest. The area of forest marked for logging contains many large hollow-bearing…