A shocking new report has exposed 1 in 3 areas logged fail to regenerate after logging - for Ash type forests half fail to regenerate after 3 years. The report, After the Logging, Failing to regrow Victoria's forests was co-published by 19 environment groups from across Victoria, including GECO, and shows the catastrophic impact logging is having on forests across the state.

Read the exclusive ABC coverage and download a copy of the report here.

TAKE ACTION HERE AND SEND THE REPORT TO YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL MP'S

Our latest report has been published documenting logging of more than 600 hectares of Greater Glider habitat since the species was listed as vulnerable under Victorian legislation in June 2017. 

Gliding towards extinction - an investigation into Greater Glider habitat logged since the species was listed as threatened under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act highlights how government inaction and failing environmental laws are having dire consequences for forest dependent threatened species in Victoria.

More than 600 hectares of known Greater Glider habitat has been logged since the animal was listed as vulnerable to extinction under Victorian law and thousands of hectares are planned to be logged, research by environment groups has found.

Protected rainforest and rainforest buffers have been illegally logged by VicForests near Tonghi Creek in far East Gippsland. Logging by VicForests in coupe 868-506-0009 "Granton Road" has impacted on rainforest in numerous locations a several hectares of forest that should have been protected in a rainforest buffer has been logged.  

We have reported the breach to the regulator Department of Environment Land Water and Planning and written to the Office of Conservation Regulation. 

The Victorian Government’s daft “fuzzy map” excuse for VicForests logging outside its allocated forest area could mean that all VicForests’ logging in the past five years may be unlawful.

The Andrews Labor Government told the ABC, which broke the story of the illegal logging,[i] that it’s not possible to tell whether its own logging agency, VicForests, is compliant with the law due to a fuzzy map.

Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO) and Friends of the Earth are today calling on the next Victorian government to abolish state owned logging agency VicForests and formally protect Victoria’s forests from logging after a special investigation by ABC news has revealed hundreds of areas of native forest have been logged in areas that VicForests is not permitted to operate.

Tonight on 7:30 the ABC will detail widespread and systematic unlawful logging occurring across eastern Victoria under successive governments. 

Logging in one of the areas not allocated to VicForests

A GECO citizen science survey conducted in the Kuark forest has resulted in a new protection zone for Yellow Bellied Gliders. The state environment department has written to GECO confirming the results of their investigation met the requirements for a new protection zone.  

Read the GECO survey report here. 

Surveys conducted last year during GECO citizen science camps have resulted in protection of three proposed logging coupes that provide habitat for Endangered Orbost Spiny Crayfish and Greater Gliders.

The environment department wrote to GECO and the Fauna and Flora Research Collective last week informing us that new protections will be put in place in light of our survey results.

The state government has stopped logging in the Queensborough river forests where protected Greater Gliders were detected by our survey team.

The report we submitted on Wednesday morning with our friends at the FFRC Inc documented 11 Greater Gliders within a distance of 1km, triggering legal protection of the forest. The environment department will now conduct verification surveys in the coming days. 

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.