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.

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.

The W-Tree community near the Snowy river in East Gippsland, need your help to stop logging of the Basin Creek rainforest complex. This spectacular rainforest area is under threat from VicForests logging operations.

Click here to sign the petition to Victorian Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio  and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews calling on them to protect this stunning place from destructive clear fell logging.

GECO campaigners Ed Hill and Joe Henderson appeared in the Bairnsdale Magistrates Court today. They’ve been charged with entering a logging area. It is alleged they did so to document and expose logging of protected rainforest.

The charges have now been listed for contested hearing in Court at a later date.

It’s hard to believe the Victorian government would prosecute people for exposing rainforest logging, but that’s precisely what they’ve done.

GECO campaigners Ed Hill and Joe Henderson appeared in the Orbost Magistrates Court today. They’ve been charged with entering a logging area. It is alleged they did so to document and expose logging of protected rainforest.

Great news! Environment Minister Lisa Neville has cancelled the planned burn of logged areas in the iconic Larissa Lane in #‎KuarkForest!

Last week we raised concerns that the Department of Environment and VicForests' burns of a logged area at Larrissa Lane would endanger the rare rainforest and Slender-tree ferns in the gully directly adjacent to the planned burn.

Yesterday a crime against nature was committed at Hensleigh ck rd on the Errinundra Plateau. The Victorian government burnt an area of rainforest that was illegally logged last year.

One year ago VicForests bulldozed ancient rainforest trees like Sassafras and Black olive berry, likely to be 1000 years old. Despite several investigations, an independent review, condemnation from Minister Lisa Neville MP and a commitment to bolster the logging rules. Nothing changed! Yesterday the Vic government burnt the damaged rainforest, completing the destructive operation and finally killing the 1000 year old trees they illegally bulldozed last year. A crime against nature.

It's the height of the logging burns season and VicForests and the Department of Environment are planning on burning the Larissa Lane rainforest area in the iconic Kuark forest.

We have to stop it!

Rainforest and rare and protected plants are at risk if the burn goes ahead.

You can take action by emailing Environment Minister Lisa Neville using the form below.

GECO and Fauna and Flora Research Collective has exposed another two unlawful rainforest logging breaces this week. These breaches are the fourth and fifth cases of VicForests' unlawful logging in rainforest areas in just three months. The area is situated in the Serpentine Rainforest Site of Significance, a well known stronghold for warm temperate rainforest and rare species.

A report has been submitted to the state government concerning inadequate vegetative buffers on stands of rainforest coinciding with a linear reserve. The rainforest in this area requires a 100m buffer under the law. Logging here is active and needs to be stopped so the law can be followed.

A VicForests coupe is under investigation by the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) for logging of protected rainforest in East Gippsland's Cabbage Tree Creek Area. GECO surveys identified logged rainforest buffers, 40 rare Slender and Skirted Tree-ferns and 75 rainforest associated species. DELWP are scheduled to visit the coupe this week.

Rare Slender and Skirted Tree-ferns

VicForests has been caught out logging protected rainforest again. Logging commenced last week in high conservation value wet forest on the border of the Kuark and Murrungower forest blocks. This area is a stronghold for warm temperate rainforest, which is protected by law. An inspection of this coupe has revealed unlawful logging of rainforest buffer zones. We've collected evidence of the rainforest logging breaches and reported it to the Department of Environment, who are supposed to make sure rainforest is protected from VicForests logging operations. Once again the Victorian government has failed to protect rainforest from VicForests and allowed unlawful logging to occur.