In the 5 years since all old growth logging in south west WA forests was stopped by the newly elected Gallop government:
* not one management plan for any of the 35 newly created national parks has been prepared
* human disturbance of the forests has increased due to the greatly reduced presence of forestry staff in the forests, the worst example being the deliberate release of feral pigs throughout much of our forests by illegal pig hunters
* there has been a crash in the population of a previously endangered marsupial, the woylie, whose population had significantly increased in the the 80s and 90s
* the reduction in forestry employees and their heavy machinery working in the forests had reduced the government's ability to fight forest fires, with temporary crews more recently employed over the summer months to conduct control burns and manage wildfires.

Mark's article accurately highlights the problems that well intentioned but ignorant, anti-logging urban greenies and Labor state governments around Australia have caused. In future decades, we'll have to clearfell and log some of our forested national parks in WA in order to repair the damage that is now being done to them by a policy of benign neglect.

I have written a discussion paper that looks at a sustainable way forward for our forests.
I am opposed to logging of native forests and in favour of nuturing our forests ("The sounds of childrens laughter not chainsaws")
I believe in outcomes that benefit regional timber communities (I have lived and farmed in them most of my life), and address the real environmental, social and economic challenges facing our environment and our society.
Environmental - nationally, our forests are in a precarious state of health with no strategy to tackle introduced plants and animals - my paper does this.
Social - we have many challenges - cost of housing, provision of water etc - my paper addresses these things
Economic - the present logging industry generates its profits by depleting the value of a publicly owned asset - our forests. This is a blatant example of economic irrationalism.

I am interested to know what is the methodology used by the forestry industry in claiming they use "Sustainable forest management" when our society has not existed in this country for the life cycle of a Eucalyptus tree. Sounds a tad arrogant to me.

Anyone interseted in my paper can get a copy by email - haywoodfarm@yahoo.com

Well Bernie Masters - 'benign neglect' is an interesting way to put it. Old growth forests left alone to do their own thing need minimal interference (sorry 'management'). But I agree that detrimental human intervention in whatever form is a matter for governments and for effective land management.
This doesn't mean that clear felling is the only to manage our native forests.

It's important to make two more points, especially in light of the last post about clearfelling. WA has two main forest types: jarrah and karri. Our jarrah forests were selectively logged, never clearfelled (except in areas badly degraded by previous selective cutting where regeneration was poor even after many years). In contrast, karri was only clearfelled. The reason for these two different logging treatments was because of the ecology of the two forest ecosystems: jarrah trees are largely unaffected by fire, regenerating from lignotubers and epicormic cells scattered throughout the trees, so new trees grow only when old trees die. On the other hand, karri is highly susceptible to fire and wildfire can kill young as well as old trees, leaving dead stags around which new forest grows. So, in WA, logging has for decades mimicked natural processes, with the result that logging is one of the least impacting of human actions.
Conversely, the limited amount of logging that I have seen in eastern Australia suggests that clearfelling is the norm, regardless of its ecological applicability or not. I was appalled when I saw woodchip operations around Bombala in south east NSW some years ago: the entire forest was cleared mainly for woodchips, with just a small proportion of logs sent off for high-value sawmilling.
The second point that's of crucial importance is the 40,000+ years of management that Aboriginal people have imposed on all of Australia's ecosystems. That's now been lost from our forests for over 200 years, resulting in an urgent need for modern "management".
As I said in my first post, WA's forests are now quickly degrading, in part because of the major reduction in logging activities over recent years.

Unfortunately clear felling is the norm here in Victoria and sawlogs are frequently downgraded to feed pulp mills. There has been little in the way of good forestry practice for the last 15 years or so. Until the deal to buy back part of the Strzleckis, which was earmarked for wood chipping, there was no hope of meeting any of the regional biodiversity targets espoused by the State and Federal Governments. The latest major catchphrase in Natural Resource Management is 'Net Gain' and it's a pathetic joke in the light of clearfelling practices in our native forests.

Like Karri in Western Australia, the Mountain Ash and Alpine Ash forests of Victoria are clear-felled (in coupes not exceeding 40ha) that likewise mimic natural processes. Conversely (and like Jarrah), the drier forests of Victoria such as the Box/Ironbark and River Red Gum forests have long been harvested selectively.

Fire is not the only reason for these regimes; its also a matter of shade tolerance. Species like Karri and Mountain Ash are very intolerant of shade, that is, under the low light levels of selective harvesting, seedlings of these species simply will not persist. This is the reason that unburnt forest of this type will gradually give over to the fire-intolerant temperate rainforest until fire returns.

The Box/Ironbark forest species are less intolerant of shade, that is, seedlings won't persist under a full canopy but will under scattered cover like that resulting from selective harvesting. The natural process here is regeneration after weather events (eg windstorms) or dying trees (from age, fire, insects, etc). Detailed observation like that made by foresters like Max Jacobs (in "The Growth Habits of Eucalypts") led to the analogue forestry practiced today in these and other forest types of Australia.