Derby Precinct Plan: Bike trails to be quarantined from logging
Forest managers have released a draft which would see 930ha surrounding the famed Blue Derby mountain bike trail protected, but some have cried foul, calling the plan ‘greenwashing’.
Launceston
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Timber harvesters have released a draft plan which would see nearly 1000ha of land surrounding a renowned Tasmanian mountain bike precinct quarantined from logging, but a local environmental group has accused foresters of “greenwashing”.
Under Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s (STT) Derby Precinct Concept Plan, drawn up together with Dorset Council and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, 930ha containing the famed Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails would be “protected in perpetuity” from timber harvesting.
Under the concept plan, a 50m protective buffer would be put in place around much of the network of trails, into which loggers would not stray.
If timber harvesting does occur in proximity to the 50m buffer, “management actions will be implemented so that forest operations will not impact the trails or the precinct, and the rider
experience will be maintained,” the plan says.
While the 50m buffer would be locked into place, the “average forest separation zone (would be) between 70 – 90m and in some cases more than 200m”.
The plan has been welcomed in some quarters, including by the influential news and reviews site Flow Mountain Bike, who hailed the concept as a “win for Derby and mountain bikers that love this slice of paradise in (northeast) Tasmania”.
Meanwhile, Dorset Mayor Greg Howard also lent his support to STT, saying they were putting a “protective” circle around Blue Derby.
However, the bonhomie is not shared by environmental group Blue Derby Wild’s spokeswoman Louise Morris, who accused STT of “greenwashing”.
She said the concept plan did not address her group’s primary concern, which was protecting the swathes of forest southeast of Derby, particularly those abutting the Krushka and Atlas trails, which remain earmarked for harvest as they fall within a Permanent Timber Production Zone managed by STT.
“The draft precinct plan... only protects the inner footprint of Derby from any forestry activity,” she said.
Ms Morris said this was a fig leaf, as the area which was to be included in the 930ha quarantined zone was of low value to STT, as it was land on which there had been previous mining activity and was so perforated with cross-crossing mountain bike trails “half a bulldozer” couldn’t fit between them.
She pointed to an open letter signed by more than 200 adventure and tourism businesses, including Cradle Mountain Canyons, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, DHaRCO, Patagonia and Keep Tassie Wild, inter alia, and a petition signed by more than 32,000 people as evidence the community wanted to leave this corner of Tasmania untouched.
This clash of ideologies will come to a head this month, when STT plans on harvesting timber from two coupes, known as CC105A and CC119A which abut the Dam Busters and Atlas trails.
It’s understood the harvest may commence as early as next week, continuing for several months at least.
The harvest will involve partial harvesting – i.e. no clear-felling – regeneration with native seed, and a certified Forest Practices Plan, regulated by the Forest Practices Authority, according to a recent STT newsletter.
Feedback on the Derby Precinct Concept Plan is open until March 31 and can be submitted at stakeholder@sttas.com.au.
The concept plan will be followed by a long-term Derby Precinct Masterplan to be released at a later date.
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