Wombat State Forest residents protest against VicForests ‘destructive salvage operation’

An environment group says VicForest is collecting timber from Wombat State Forest — meant to become a national park — and damaging it in the process.

A VicForests work site at Babbington Hill in Wombat State Forest. Photo: Contributed

North-west Victorian residents say VicForests is collecting timber from areas meant to become national parkland and damaging them in the process.

They say the “log grab” is being done under the guise of cleaning up after storms that lashed nearly two million hectares of public land in June and October last year.

In early April, VicForests announced it would do recovery works and reduce fire fuel loads in storm-disturbed areas of Wombat State Forest, east of Daylesford.

The work would be limited to picking up wind-thrown trees and felling hazardous ones.

VicForests CEO Monique Dawson said at the time the organisation would “treat windthrown debris, contributing to reducing fire risk and assisting in forest regeneration”.

But towards the end of the month, about 100 people protested against the “destructive salvage operation”.

Environment group Wombat Forestcare convener Gayle Osborne said VicForests’ work threatened animal habitats – particularly that of the greater glider – and did not decrease fire hazards.

Ms Osborne said VicForests had cleared more than two acres of land to salvage large logs, leaving trails of wide vehicle tracks and “trashing healthy forest to retrieve logs that should be left on the ground to create habitat for fungi, insects, small mammals and reptiles”.

“Scare tactics are being used to validate this operation,” she said.

“Fine fuels are considered to be a fire risk, not the large logs that are being removed.”

Trails left by works in Wombat State Forest. Photo: Contributed

The state government plans to stop all native forest timber harvesting in Victoria by 2030, and in June 2021, it announced three new national parks, the largest of which entailed joining Lerderderg State Park and much of Wombat State Forest.

In December 2021, after the storms in previous months, VicForests and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning agreed they would work together to clean up roads and tracks on public land for the sake of forest management and fire emergency access.

VicForests received advice in March this year about 60 sites in Wombat State Forest required its attention, and the organisation’s board then changed its ‘timber utilisation plan’ so that timber could be harvested from those sites.

Windthrow damage and VicForests’ timber utilisation plan in the Wombat State Forest. Source: VicForests

Angela Halpin, who lives in Lyonville, said the destruction was “so upsetting”.

“This is the place that I’ve not only scientifically studied, but also walked with my dog,” she said.

“It’s heartbreaking. What did we do wrong that we deserve to have like a blitzkrieg?”

Ms Halpin called the VicForests works “industrial trashing”.

“It’s amazing how many people cancelled all their plans and showed up because they were so shocked,” she said of the related protests.

“Expressing their complete horror at this act that’s so contrary to all the ecological advice about what we should be doing in the face of climate change.

“This is our place; we really look after it. Who do they think they are?”

A VicForests spokesman said the organisation respected the right to protest, but was “concerned when protests put people’s safety at risk”.

“We ask that people do not enter Timber Harvesting Safety Zones for their own safety and the safety of VicForests staff and contractors,” he said.

VicForests did not respond to questions regarding prior surveys of the area, paperwork detailing relevant plans, whether forest was cleared as part of the works, or specific efforts to reduce damage to habitats.