Media Release August 31, 2022

North coast conservationists are dismayed, that the Albanese Federal Government have failed to seize the opportunity to exclude wood from native forests being used as a substitute for coal and classed as ‘renewable energy’.

A Senate Committee report released this afternoon that investigated potential amendments to the Climate Change legislation, has recommended that using forest wood should be further investigated, but not taken the opportunity to rule it out at the outset.

“How much more investigation is needed” asked North Coast Environment Council Vice-President, Susie Russell.

The recent NSW parliamentary inquiry into ‘Sustainability of energy supply and resources in New South Wales’ found:

… steps must be taken to ensure [the burning of forest biomass for power generation] doesn't become a major energy source, and that it's not eligible for renewable energy credits. It's not economically or environmentally sustainable, and it generates significant carbon emissions.

MEDIA RELEASE 22 August 2022

NEFA is calling on the NSW Government to stop the Forestry Corporation clearfelling 68 ha of some of the best known koala habitat in NSW and converting it into a plantation in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest.

At the same time the NSW Government is spending millions of dollars buying private land for koalas and planting trees, on public land they are paying millions to log and clear koala habitat identified as a priority for protection by their own government, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.

“This has to stop if we want koalas to survive.

“It is well past time the NSW Government stopped logging koala habitat on public lands and stopped converting it to plantations, if they have any real intent to save them from extinction

Is this any way to treat native forests?

Recently the Kyogle environment Group bought it to my attention, that Private Native Forestry logging was taking place along the entrance to the World Heritage Listed Border Ranges National Park. Ironically enough, Kyogle LGA is know as the ‘Gateway to the Rainforest’. It’s our biggest tourist attraction.

How many visitors to our region drive past this logging, just metres from the National Park, to enjoy these iconic parks which form part of the Gondwana Rainforest?

Community call to action to protect Oakes State Forest … Again!

The Nambucca and Bellingen Community has stood up for its headwater public native forests before.   Oakes State Forest is now threatened again. This is a call to action to join the effort to protect these steep, upriver public native forests, that stabilise the land, provide clean water, a refuge for threatened species such as the koala and mitigate against climate change. 

Read below about the history of past campaigns to protect these amazing forests   and why they need us all to join together to protect them … again!

North coast conservationists are shocked and alarmed at footage of the devastation being wrought in Ellis State Forest south of Grafton.

Investigations over the weekend documented dozens of breaches of the logging rules, including several giant trees felled and koala and habitat trees seriously damaged.

“We have notified the EPA and they will carry out an inspection on Tuesday but unless they immediately issue a stop work order these serial offenders will be able to continue their reckless rampage through the giant old trees and koala habitat,” said North Coast Environment Council Vice-President, Susie Russell.

"The area clearly has many old growth trees. The Forestry Corporation uses LIDAR technology which enables them to see individual trees. They can pick out the areas where there are large trees left and target those.

“The 2019/20 fires burnt through this forest. The oldest, largest trees were the best survivors, providing refuge for animal survivors. Now they are being killed, and the animals that depend on them will probably also die.

MEDIA RELEASE 4 August 2022

NEFA is calling on the NSW Legislative Assembly when they vote next week to revoke the Forestry Corporation’s licence to kill threatened species after finding more wanton vandalism of Koala feed trees and Hollow-bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest.

In just 3 hours last week in compartment 40 of Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, NEFA found 7 trees marked for retention as Koala Feed Trees and 13 old trees marked for protection as Hollow-bearing Trees that had been bashed by machinery or had trees dropped upon them, many of which won’t survive, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.

“These are some of the few trees that legally required protection.

“This is not an isolated case, the Forestry Corporation were fined $285,600 in June for logging into a Koala High Use Area, rainforest and a rainforest buffer 4 km to the west, and last month the EPA announced they are prosecuting the Forestry Corporation for logging six Giant Trees and seven Hollow-bearing Trees 5 km to the south.

2 of the 20 Trees retained as both Hollow-bearing Trees and Koala Browse Trees that were recklessly damaged.

The vandalism of our forests must stop NOW!

Joint statement from the Forest Action Gathering convened in Bellingen July 30/31 2022

Meeting in Bellingen this weekend we, the representatives of dozens of environment groups make the following statement:  

We recognise that healthy forests are of unequivocal value to First Nations peoples and that forests  on public land form part of their unceded lands. We are honoured to have the support of many  Gumbaynggirr elders and custodians in our efforts to stop the destruction of country and be part of  the paradigm shift: from colonial exploitation to a duty of care for country. 

We understand that there are Climate and Extinction Emergencies and that the damning State of the  Environment Report highlighted that on nearly every measure our environment is deteriorating.  Forests are our life support systems and they are in crisis.  

We have recently seen the NSW Government logging agency fined hundreds of thousands of  dollars for breaches of logging licence conditions. Fines paid by the NSW people as are the many  millions of dollars paid in subsidies to the logging industry, while damage to the public estate is  unaccounted for. 

We call on our political representatives to exercise common sense and act on the now  overwhelming evidence and to stop the state sponsored destruction of the public's forests.  Complacency is catapulting Koalas and Greater Gliders towards extinction, along with many other  species of animals and plants. 

MEDIA RELEASE - 12 July 2022

NEFA welcomes the EPA prosecuting the Forestry Corporation for illegally felling giant and hollow-bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2020, though maintain this area of outstanding Koala habitat should never have been approved by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments for logging.

Enough is enough, logging of public forests has to stop, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.

“It is reprehensible that the in this day and age that the Forestry Corporation are still cutting down these massive awe-inspiring trees, the height of 10 storey buildings and 300-500 years old, that provide the large hollows that many of our iconic animals depend upon for dens and nests.

“These trees provide essential homes for the nationally Vulnerable Yellow-bellied Glider and Endangered Greater Glider.

“It is a tragedy that this was allowed to occur within an area identified as some of the most important Koala habitat in Australia, because the NSW and Commonwealth Governments changed the logging rules in 2018 to remove the need for pre-logging Koala surveys and allow Koala High Use Areas to be logged” Mr. Pugh said.

MEDIA RELEASE 5 July 2022

The North East Forest Alliance is demanding the Commonwealth urgently remove their approval for the NSW Government to clear and log the homes of Koalas and Greater Gliders now that they have both been listed as nationally Endangered.

The Greater Glider has now been listed by the Federal Government as Endangered because of “an overall rate of population decline exceeding 50 percent over a 21-year (three generation) period, including population reduction and habitat destruction following the 2019–20 bushfires”, the Scientific Committee further noting “cumulative impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires, ongoing prescribed burning, timber harvesting and climate change will continue to put pressure on remaining greater glider habitat. Fire-logging interactions likely increase risks to greater glider populations”.

MEDIA RELEASE 16 June 2022

NEFA welcomes the decision by the Land and Environment Court to impose fines and costs totalling $285,600 on the Forestry Corporation for illegally logging a Koala High Use Area, rainforest and a rainforest buffer in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest.

The Forestry Corporation have got away for too long flouting the logging rules, so it is past-time that they were prosecuted for one example of their illegal activities in north-east NSW’s public forests, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.

The judgement helps clarify how important the rules are to minimise harm, and in this case why the Government must urgently reinstate protection for Koala High Use Areas and establish wide buffers around all rainforest.

NEFA calls for a reinstatement of the requirement for the Forestry Corporation to undertake pre-logging surveys for Koalas to identify Koala High Use Areas to be excluded from logging in light of the Justice Robson’s finding that the removal of 4 feed trees and construction of logging tracks within a Koala High Use Area would result in actual harm to Koalas.

A giant Koala feed tree illegally logged in Koala habitat in another part of Wild Cattle Creek in 2020 which NEFA are still waiting for legal action on.