Originally published in the Sydney Morning Herald, March 9 

Author: Adam Carey

Victoria’s state-owned forestry corporation has been charged with illegal logging of a rainforest in East Gippsland after a near two-year investigation.

The Andrews government’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning is pursuing VicForests over alleged destruction of a protected section of native forest near Cann River in the state’s far east.

VicForests will defend the charges in court next month.

Originally published in The Age - By Farrah Tomazin, 25 February, 2018

The Andrews government has spent years investigating claims of unlawful logging against its state-owned timber company without enforcing any penalties.

Documents reveal Victoria's environment department is currently probing 27 alleged forest breaches against VicForests, reported by the community between January 2016 and December 2017 - including multiple claims involving rainforests, where timber harvesting is prohibited.

To mark National Threatened Species day, we've teamed up with Friends of the Earth Melbourne to release a report documenting 27 unlawful native forest logging operations in protected threatened species habitat and rainforest. 

These logging operations have occurred under the Andrews Labor government.

Read the report here.

Two conservationists from Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO) had charges dismissed in the Orbost Magistrates Court today. Ed Hill and Joe Henderson were prosecuted for entering a logging area where they documented and reported logging of protected rainforest in East Gippsland in April 2015.

Hill and Henderson submitted a report documenting the logging breach to the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP). The DELWP investigation found a rainforest area that was consistent with the minimum requirements to trigger legal protection, had been subject to ‘unwarranted destruction’ by loggers under the control of VicForests. Despite this conclusion the Department decided not to take any regulatory action.

Since the late 1990s the logging industry in Victoria has been exempt from adhering to federal environment laws that protect our nationally threatened wildlife.

Only native forest logging gets this special exemption known as a 'regional forest agreement' (RFA)

In February 2017 the East Gippsland RFA will expire.

It should not be extended.

Logging has been stopped for the second time in one week in the Goongerah forest block.

Last week VicForests were forced to stop logging at Mt. Jersey after GECO raised concerns with the state government about the threat logging posed to the endangered large brown tree frog and the unlawful nature of the operation that had commneced without a survey for protected species.

After exiting Mt. Jersey, VicForests moved into old growth forest on Yalmy rd in the Goongerah water catchment. This coupe is just 1.5kms from  a recent detection of the endangered large brown tree frog and forms important habitat for a number of rare and threatened species. GECO conducted a survey of the creek lines and found several Endangered Orbost Spiny crayfish.

Logging has been stopped by the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) in forest near Goongerah.

The forest is habitat for the endangered large brown tree frog (Litoria littlejohni), a species thought to be extinct from Victoria until rediscovered by GECO volunteers last year. The frog is only know in Victoria from six recently recorded sites.

Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO) has sent a report to the state government detailing illegal logging at Mt. Jersey in East Gippsland. GECO are concerned that logging is impacting on habitat for the Endangered large brown tree frog and protected rainforest.

The large brown tree frog (Litoria littlejohni) was thought to be extinct from Victoria until ecologist and GECO volunteer Rena Gaborov heard it calling in two locations last year. It was the first time the frog had been heard or seen in over 15 years.

VicForests has placed boundary tapes marking out an area of endangered species habitat on Mt. Jersey, near Goongerah.

This area is a stronghold for the endangered Large Brown Tree-frog (Litoria littlejohni). The frog was thought to be possibly extinct from Victoria until last year GECO volunteer Rena Gaborov heard it calling in forest near Goongerah. It had not been seen or heard in Victoria for over 15 years.

The frog has only been recorded in six locations since its rediscovery last year. All of these new locations have been found, documented and reported by GECO volunteers. The state government have not conducted enough surveys to properly asses the very rare and cryptic frogs status.

The forest that VicForests plan to commence logging this week is just 550m from the site where GECO volunteers recorded the frog just two months ago.

GECO has submitted a report to the state government this morning detailing a high density of Greater gliders within the controversial 'Abra Cadabra' logging coupe in the Cottonwood Range.

This coupe was set aside for conservation by the Victorian Government's Forest Industry Taskforce, but VicForests commenced logging anyway. Logging here is undermining confidence in the Taskforce process.

Logging in this coupe is impacting on protected species habitat in breach of logging industry regulations.