News posted on 16 February 2009

Grave concerns for Chester ecosystems, surrounding life and property
The WA Forest Products Commission (FPC) has expressed growing concern at the activities of the Chester Forest Action Group (CFAG), which is actually doing more harm than good through damage to the areas ecosystem.

Grateful thanks to firefighters
The Brumby Government has thanked overseas and interstate firefighters for their contribution to the ongoing effort to fight Victoria’s bushfires.

Forestry Tasmania on target for performance objectives
THE end of conversion of native forests to plantations, development of alternatives to clearfelling, absence of chemicals in water samples, more open communication and closer ties with the community are among achievements listed in Forestry Tasmania’s 2007/08 Sustainable Forest Management Report.

Snap ‘n zap puts you in the picture
WHEN YOU have a party, a meeting, special occasion or just a social gathering there’s always someone with a camera, so, snap off the best shots you can and send them to us (editorial@forestsandtimber.com.au). Your Christmas parties will provide the perfect opportunity. Add a few details about the function and name the people in the pix and leave the rest to us. We’d like to share those precious moments with you (and the rest of the industry, of course). Remember, it’s as easy as SNAP them off and ZAP them through the email. Look forward to receiving those unique moments.

Forklift operators will be put to the test
AUSTRALIA’S BEST forklift operators are getting ready to battle for the title of Champion Driver at Melbourne Materials Handling Trade Show 2009, which will host the finals of the National Forklift Championships for the first time.

National timber industry publication set to re-launch
RYAN PUBLICATIONS, publishers of Australian Forests & Timber News, Daily Timber News and Australian Forests & Timber Directory, will re-launch Australian Timberman magazine in April.

40-hour forest fires extinguished in east China
A series of forest fires in China's Fujian Province were finally out after 40 hours and four deaths.A forestry guide was injured when fighting a fire and died after treatment failed.

Billions of trees to be planted
Early next month — on March 12 to be precise — millions of Chinese people will head out to the countryside to plant trees. This has been happening every year for the last 30 years, with 500 million volunteers participating in National Tree Planting Day in 2007, planting over 2.27 billion trees between them according to official statistics. This is one small part of China’s continual battle against its increasingly arid landscape.