VicForests has released the amended Timber Release Plan (TRP) and Timber Utilisation Plan (TUP) following the completion of its consultation period. VicForests Chief Executive Officer Monique Dawson said the gazetted plans, released on Christmas Eve, provided industry with certainty, and helped communities to understand where timber harvesting might take place. Source: Timberbiz
“These plans are about giving businesses and communities greater certainty and clarity,” she said.
The plan has attracted criticism from conservationists, particularly because it includes approval to log native trees from within the Beeripmo Walk in Western Victoria.
The track borders the Mt Buangor National Park and is within the Mt Cole State Park, which the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council has called for some sections to be reclassified as a national park. The state government is due to make a decision on that recommendation in early 2020.
Victorian National Parks Association executive director Matt Ruchel slammed the plan as a last-minute effort to “snatch and grab” ahead of the ban on logging, and before the state decides if it will reclassify Mt Cole as a national park, which would prevent timber harvesting.
VicForests said its timber plan for the western district was mostly for “very small scale community forestry and firewood operations”.
“VicForests only harvests a small amount of timber from the Mt Cole region,” a spokesman said.
“In 2018/19, only 4.7 hectares were harvested in the region, which is well below the 10 hectares mandated for Mt Cole, and a very small part of the about-3000 hectares harvested across Victoria each year.”
VicForests harvests under strict regulation, controlled by the Government’s Code of Practice and Management Standards and Procedures and overseen by the Conservation Regulator.
The Timber Release Plan operates almost entirely within the Government’s Allocation Order 2019, which is the area that the Government provides to VicForests for potential harvesting.
As with previous years, the plan includes areas outside of the Allocation Order area, which may be used to undertake activities such as regeneration of previously cleared areas, roading and access works, or where part of a timber coupe is outside of the allocation order boundary.
A separate Timber Utilisation Plan (TUP) applies to areas predominantly west of the Hume Highway – mostly for very small scale “community forestry” and firewood operations.
A schedule of the approved timber harvesting areas and location maps are available on the VicForests website at TRP or at TUP.
A list of the areas outside of the allocation order is also available on the VicForests website.
