Wombat Forestcare
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Bill tabled on park
Local environmentalists are celebrating the tabling of a bill in state parliament last week to create the new Wombat-Lerderderg National Park. About 24,000 hectares of the Wombat Forest will be conserved for animals, plants and fungi and for future generations to enjoy. Wombat Forestcare congratulated the state government for creating this park and the Mt…
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Locals mourn logging destruction
Members of the Wombat Forest community joined with Extinction Rebellion to draw attention to what they describe as environmentally damaging salvage logging in the Wombat State Forest. Theatrics took place on the roadside at the Forest Fire Management Victoria log storage site near Daylesford last Tuesday. Large volumes of logs are stored from nearby salvaging…
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Timber removal challenged
Environmental activists have called out the removal of large volumes of fallen timber from the Wombat State Forest as being done “under the guise of reducing fire risk”. The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is removing trees and debris that fell during the 2021 storms but environmental groups argue the works are destructive…
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Anger at broken promise
The creation of a new Wombat-Lerderderg National Park has been delayed until next year, angering local environmental activists who describe the failure of the state government to legislate the park as a broken promise. Members and supporters of Wombat Forestcare were assured in letters from the environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, and local member, Mary-Anne Thomas,…
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Wombat Forest habitat at risk
Wombat Forestcare is continuing its call for VicForests to cease storm damage salvage works in the Wombat State Forest and for the state government to fast-track the creation of a new Wombat-Lerderderg National Park.
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‘Legislate the parks’: Enviro groups call for end to logging
More than 50 regional, state and national environment groups have signed an open letter to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, calling for an immediate end to logging in the west of Victoria and the legislation of three promised National Parks.
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Forest conservationists fear union wants logging to return
An alliance of local conservation groups has condemned a proposal made by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union to source sawlogs for paper production from the Wombat State Forest. In an open letter to the Opal Paper Mill in Maryvale, Gippsland, the union states “We understand there are potentially viable options for alternative timber…
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Campaign to protect the forest
In just six weeks Wombat Forestcare has raised more than $12,000 for a campaign to stop VicForests’ salvage logging operations in the Wombat State Forest. Spokeperson Gayle Osborne said the local community cared deeply for the forest and was greatly distressed by the damage caused by the industrial-scale extraction of the fallen timber by VicForests.…
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Snap rally to stop logging
More than 50 people attended a snap rally in Gisborne on Friday to voice their concerns about VicForests’ salvage logging in the Wombat State Forest. Members of landcare and friends groups, Wombat Forestcare members and the Sybil Disobedients (Extinction Rebellion Ballarat) rallied to demand that the Victorian Government cease the logging and legislate the promised…
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Forest furore
Victoria’s Conservation Regulator is assessing a number of allegations of non-compliance with timber harvesting laws in the Wombat State Forest. A Conservation Regulator spokesperson said the action was prompted by the department’s proactive coupe inspection program and reports from the community. “It is our standard practice, proportionate and within our powers, to gather information while…
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Stakes high for forests
In the same week that the Victorian Government announced permanent protections for Victoria’s three new national parks, the government also flagged new penalties for anti-logging protesters. Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, last Thursday announced $4 million to establish the new boundaries for the parks, which will be created by linking existing…
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Logging disrupted
VicForests’ storm recovery works in the Wombat State Forest are continuing despite temporary disruption from anti-logging protesters last Monday. At Babbington Hill near Lyonville, concerned locals and ecologists halted work in VicForests’ salvage operation. The area is home to the threatened greater glider, which is listed as vulnerable to extinction, and there is concern that…