At this point in time there are several opportunities for local Shires to put into practice a number of environmental principles and ideals set out in numerous recommendations and pieces of legislation. Four such avenues affecting local governments in Gippsland are:
1) The re-examination of Shire Zoning and Overlays for forest tin the Strzeleckis
2) The pressing need to formulate Local Management Prescriptions in order to make the Forest Code of Practice for Timber Harvesting complete.
A PCRZ zoning with ESO 1 and ESO 7 overlays is most appropriate
for the Strzelecki State Forest
The entire Strzelecki State Forest should be made PCRZ (public conservation and resource zone) as a base zoning. This is the most appropriate zoning as this is Crown land with a multitude of public expectations surrounding its use, eg, recreational and scenic values, biodiversity, conservation and resources.
An ESO 1 will also offer the best protection for the maintenance of the forest eco-systems. There is overwhelming local support for the retention of public control and participation in planning for the Strzelecki State Forest. As this forest has high conservation values the entire forest requires an ESO1 overlay recognizing its natural significance, regardless of whether the forest is carrying softwood or native forest, in order to keep future options open. While it is true that softwood plantations have reduced natural significance, decisions as to future use of the land which currently carries pine plantation is a public interest issue. An ESO1 overlay on both hardwood and softwood areas will ensure that future directions are discussed in a local government forum.
These natural values which an ESO 1 overlay is designed to protect, are extremely significant in the Strzelecki State Forest because:
- The Strzelecki State Forest represents the last large public tract of the Great Forest of Gippsland.
- The Strzelecki State Forest has become a refuge for the flora and fauna which once inhabited the entire ranges. It has thriving koala and lyrebird populations and supports several species of gliders. The mountain ash forests and cool temperate rainforest of the Strzeleckis are not highly represented in reserves, even though the Strzeleckis are one of the four most significant sites for this forest type in the State. The cool temperate rainforest community is listed as threatened in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee. Other species listed in the Act which occur in the Strzelecki State Forest are filmy maidenhair, slender tree fern, tiger quoll, powerful owl, sooty owl, Australian grayling and the Bent wing bat.
- The Land Conservation Council Final Recommendations made special mention of the significance of the 'attractive wet gully plant communities (mountain ash, myrtle beech, blackwoods and treeferns) in the headwaters of the West Morwell, Dingo, Franklin and Agnes Rivers and recommended the creation of reserves under section 50 of the Forests Act.
In consideration of the steepness of the terrain and its susceptibility to erosion, the Strzelecki State Forest also requires a ESO7, erosion overlay to be set in place.
The percentage of public land in the Strzelecki Ranges that is formally reserved is only one-sixth of the state average. For this and many other reasons, our Proposal for a 30,000 National Park in the Strzelecki State Forest has gained a great deal of community support throughout Gippsland.
An ERZ (environmental rural zone) zoning with ESO 1 and ESO 7 overlays is most appropriate on all forested private land in the Strzelecki Ranges.
Victoria's Biodiversity Strategy aims to increase the amount of native vegetation in the State.
The State Planning Scheme states that native vegetation is to be protected and conserved
(3-8.1) .... and that land is to be restored 'by arresting and reversing the decline of native vegetation in Victoria' . It seeks to ensure, 'that all Victorian species of flora and fauna, native ecosystems and communities can survive, flourish and retain their potential for evolutionary development'(3-8.2). Clause 3-10 says that plantations be established on predominantly cleared land. The State Planning Scheme recognises the need to retain native vegetation for the protection and conservation of water values, natural ecosystems, landscape values and the prevention soil erosion and salination. Therefore all privately owned land carrying native forest would require an ERZ zoning with ESO 1 and, in most circumstances, ESO 7 overlays also.
If it comes about that a higher authority overrides the recommendation of a PCRZ zoning by altering the status of the leased and vested parts of the Strzelecki State Forest to "Private", the Council must at the very least zone the land ERZ, again with the inclusion of ESO 1 and ESO 7 overlays in order to meet its obligations under the Planning Scheme for the protection of native vegetation .
The Forest Code of Practice is incomplete until local management prescriptions are put into place. The Forest Code of Practice sets out goals and guidelines, but requires prescriptions as a final factor. Without prescriptions based on local geography, climate, environment and public expectations, the Forest Code of Practice is a generalised framework, loose enough to apply to the whole state of Victoria. Local responsible authorities have the task of implementing the goals and guidelines of the Forest Code of Practice and adding their own prescriptions to suit the local needs and situation. There are no limits to the possible scope of these local management prescriptions. The broader their scope, the greater the opportunity for the local community and expert advisers to have an input into the way the forest should be handled.
The harvesting rules of the Forest Code of Practice are only relevant once an application to carry out timber harvesting is approved. The range of environmental care principles, which we are morally and legally responsible for, may require the Responsible Authority to deny timber harvesting in places in order to maintain biodiversity, water quality, wildlife corridors and soil structure. An application to clear plantations or forest does not of itself necessitate a responsible authority to give the 'go ahead', without full enquiry, expert advice and commitment to the many more factors that are not addressed in detail but are nevertheless listed in Chapter 1. of the Code. The State Government's commitment to regional biodiversity, improvement of water quality, retention of native vegetation, the Flora and Fauna Guarantee, the Soil Conservation Act, etc. are all challenges which will have a far better chance of succeeding if local authorities build these strategies into their local management prescriptions.
The particular conditions of the Strzelecki Ranges - steepness, propensity for soil loss, propensity for water turbidity and siltation, high biodiversity, dramatic reduction of forest area since settlement, the prevalence of significant wet sclerophyll and cool temperate rainforest, and the public status of much of the land - require careful consideration, as do all the other forest areas in South Gippsland, each with their own characteristics.
Inspections, Approvals and Prescriptions must relate harmoniously with:
- the West Gippsland CMA goals to maintain and improve the quality of catchments
- the Water Board's commitment to the quality of drinking water
- the Flora and Fauna Guarantee's and Biodiversity Strategy's commitment to the protection and enhancement of habitat values.
- the DNRE's studies and databases showing sites of zoological and botanical significance. Plantations that exist within these sites should be treated as a one-off event with the aim to return the area to native forest
- the Retention of Native Vegetation Guidelines, the underlying principle of which is that native vegetation be protected and conserved.
- aims to protect habitat trees, old growth and increase the extent and average age of native vegetation
- the multiple-use strategies in place to ensuring rotation rates of 80-120 years, in areas which are approved for timber harvesting
- the move to phase plantation out of state forests and onto private farmland
- the State's tourism objectives
- sustainable yield
-a sensible limit to the total cubic metres available for harvesting annually and the total amount of hectares available for logging annually.
Local management prescriptions must also consider: - Closing the loophole whereby the clearing of areas less than 0.4ha. (1 acre) needs no permit.
- Reducing the maximum steepness of slopes on which harvesting can occur. In the case of the Strzeleckis, many factors suggest that the 30 degree limit set out in the Code of Practice is far too steep to be suitable for these ranges and the Council may wish to reduce the slope limit to 15 or 20 degrees. - Rejecting the present system where the largest operators (VPC and Amcor) are excused from lodging coupe plans. A case-by-case approach to each proposed logging coupe is vital. - Forming an effective environmental team across South Gippsland, Wellington & Latrobe Shires.
- Carefully choosing an independent arbiter sufficiently removed from the timber industry to best represent all of the Shire's aims and objectives and to participate closely in the process of assessing logging applications and policing the Forest Code of Practice. - Extending the distance from roadsides and streamsides where harvesting can not occur. It is quite feasible to prohibit logging in areas within 100 metres of a waterway. - Imposing restrictions on logging truck access on particular roads, particular times of year and particular times of day in order to ensure safety and peace on narrow, winding forest roads.