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The Greater Glider is heading for extinction, but logging in critical habitat continues with outdated and weak or non existent protections.

The state government have approved logging to commence in critical habitat for Greater Gliders in the Queensborough river forest in East Gippsland.

Please email Premier Daniel Andrews and ask him to protect the Greater Gliders in a special protection zone.

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. 

UPDATE!!  - Thanks to our surveys and hundreds of emails and calls

LOGGING HAS BEEN STOPPED!!

The Department will now conduct 'verification' surveys. Stay tuned for updates and thanks for your support!

Twenty year long dodgy logging deals called "Regional Forest Agreements" exempt logging from national environment laws.

These dodgy deals expire in a few weeks time and could be rolled over for another two decades of doom for forest wildlife!

Take Action here! Call on state and federal governments to end the dodgy deals and give forest wildlife a fair go. Click here to email the Minister. 

In the Queensborough river forests of far East Gippsland protected habitat for the Greater Glider is being logged.

Community surveys reported a population of Greater Gliders in a logging coupe earlier this week triggering legal protection of the forest.

The Victorian Labor government are continuing to log where protected Gliders have been found. Locations where Greater Gliders were reported have now been logged.

The Victorian Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has made a final recommendation to list the greater glider as a protected species on the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act.

The greater glider was nominated for listing last year, the SAC final recommendation has now been forwarded to Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio who has 30 days to decide whether the species will be listed.

Listing the greater glider on the FFG Act must be swiftly followed by measures to strengthen protections for the species in state forests subject to logging.

Over 100 people attended a snap vigil for Victoria's forest dependent threatened species on the steps of Victorian parliament house yesterday.

The vigil was called just four days ago in response the the Victorian and Federal government's decision to extend the East Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement (RFA).

The RFA exempts logging from complying with federal environment laws that protect threatened species. It has been a disaster for forest wildlife and it's extension is set to lock on more legally exempt destruction of critically important habitat.

Environment groups are raising concerns about the Victorian and federal governments decision to extend the East Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement (RFA).

The RFA is a 20 year agreement between state and federal governments that exempts logging from complying with Federal environment law. It was first signed in 1997 and expires today.

Logging is exempt from assessments under Federal law on the basis of state based logging regimes implementing measures to protect federally listed threatened species.

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.