Bushwalk Australia

My first visit to the Moses creek track was about year 2004 when there had been a huge windblow a couple of years earlier that clearfelled a large area and the weeds were prolific amongst the fallen timber. Not sure if they died out only to be resurrected by a later fire or whether they continued to be the dominant vegetation between events.

north-north-west wrote:

johnw wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:One of my concerns about post-fire wilderness is the ease with which weeds can take hold.

The ground around the first few km of the Moses Creek Track in the Walls of Jerusalem is now 100% covered in weeds after the native ground cover was destroyed in a bushfire.

Do you know which weed species Nik?

I'm trying to remember. There's a lot of thistle and foxglove, but other things as well. It changes pretty dramatically when you get above the burnt/logged area.

That sounds about right. Sorry, I'm not very familiar with weed species and it's about 12 months since I walked through there.

I do remember that one of the most common weeds was the thistle that looks little bit like scotch thistle, but a more fleshy/glossy darker colour leaf.

Something bushwalkers can do???

https://theconversation.com/pulling-out ... res-130296

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-29/ ... k/11903662
"Australians have expressed extraordinary levels of concern about our native animals and the ability of environments to recover from the recent catastrophic wildfires.

"The bush and the animals it supports are a core part of Australian culture and psyche.

"Yet, just as the trees are sprouting green shoots and the first signs of forest recovery are beginning to emerge, the forest which survived the fire is threatened by post-fire logging.

"Multiple independent, peer reviewed studies show logging forests after bushfires increases future fire risk and can render the forest uninhabitable for wildlife for decades or even centuries."

.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/ ... w/11805812
"Decades-old laws require state-owned logging company VicForests to chop down a certain number of trees to supply pulp to Australian Paper — the Japanese-owned company that makes Reflex paper and employs more than 1,000 Victorians.

"The laws make clear where the logging company can operate — and where it cannot.

"Last year, the ABC discovered VicForests planned to fell trees on public land, outside of its allocated area — a plan it proceeded with, in some areas.

"Now, despite an official investigation and a change to the law to stop it from happening in the future, the state-owned logging company has again issued plans that include areas outside its allocations."

Decisions based on science and enforcing the laws are good starting points.

Lophophaps wrote:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/ ... w/11805812
"Decades-old laws require state-owned logging company VicForests to chop down a certain number of trees to supply pulp to Australian Paper — the Japanese-owned company that makes Reflex paper and employs more than 1,000 Victorians.

"The laws make clear where the logging company can operate — and where it cannot.

"Last year, the ABC discovered VicForests planned to fell trees on public land, outside of its allocated area — a plan it proceeded with, in some areas.

"Now, despite an official investigation and a change to the law to stop it from happening in the future, the state-owned logging company has again issued plans that include areas outside its allocations."

Decisions based on science and enforcing the laws are good starting points.

This is nothing new. There are laws that (supposedly) protect habitat for Leadbeaters possums. The laws say that a certain number of trees dating from before a certain date mean that a coupe can't be logged. We used to go in and survey marked coupes, find more such trees than was allowed, report it, and go back to find the coupe either logged anyway or the boundaries redrawn to make it legally logable. They don't care about the laws, and even on the rare occasion a successful legal challenge is mounted, they get away with a slap on the wrist from a soggy blade of grass.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-30/ ... s/11913528
"The future of the Victorian native timber industry has been dealt a further blow after the Supreme Court ordered a halt to logging due to the impact of this summer's bushfires.

"An environmental group argued in court that the devastation of the East Gippsland fires had placed further strain on threatened species in the state, and that areas untouched by fire in the Central Highlands, near Healesville, must not be logged.

"The Supreme Court granted an interim injunction on Wednesday preventing logging in three coupes — areas to be harvested in the forests — ahead of a full hearing next month."

Nice.

It's all baby steps, but we have to be grateful for every one.

I'd like to understand how the demand for the end product, be it hardwood, mixed species, ash etc can be satisfied with a resource management strategy that allows for timely structual adjustment and transition of the sector/industry, meeting the supply for domestic product demands and without shifting the issue to developing nations that do not have the means to openly challenge the environmental impacts. The industry exists because we use it.
The transition to plantation is an admirable goal however demand for the product may drive sourcing offshore, unintended consequence? If you've seen the hardwood they pull out of PNG for Aust, you'd be more than aware of the disregard for land management.
TL.DR; Industry exists for the end user - the consumer. To the OP it would be good to see State Govt identify a number of activities that are supported to assist collaborative efforts for regeneration, maintenance and rehabilitation. Has the question been asked? DEWLP, BRV, DJPR where does one go?

If it were driven by the market you might expect VicForests to turn a profit now and then.