Environment Minister Lisa Neville MP has told ABC radio that the forest where GECO recently photographed the endangered Large brown tree frog will not be logged! The frog was thought to have gone extinct until April this year when it was rediscovered by a GECO volunteer. Earlier this month it was photographed by GECO in an area scheduled for logging. GECO submitted a report to the government asking them to create a special protection zone around the site and rule out planned logging of the forest.
ABC reported on the frog discovery this morning on ABC Gippsland. The story also ran on Radio National and 774 Melbourne. The Minister said it was a really significant discovery, logging will not go ahead and a protection zone will be put in place to protect the frog.
We are waiting to see the final maps of the protection zone, but after the positive announcement by the Minister today we are hopeful logging of the forest where the frog was found will not go ahead.
It's a great victory for citizen science. If GECO were not on the ground conducting surveys for the species, critical habitat would be logged without knowing the impacts it is having on endangered species.
Stay tuned!