Code of Forest Practice proposes to stop
logging within National Rainforest Sites of Significance in East Gippsland.

The current review of the Code of Forest Practices proposes to protected 480ha of very contentious forest located within ten National Rainforest Sites of Significance in the East Gippsland State Forest area (some of this area has already been logged).

However in June 2006, the Victorian government decided to defer finalising these proposed changes to the Code until after the November 2006 state election and allow logging in areas that the draft Code say should be protected. See the owl story for more details.

Under the proposed Code changes, nationally significant rainforest stands will have the buffers to protect against logging increased to a sub-catchment level. Although this is an improvement, VRN disputes the fundamental way rainforest is being protected in East Gippsland. See more

Following are links to profiles of the ten rainforest sites of national significance. Each contains a link to the map provided by DSE that shows the approximate location of the proposed sub-catchment area (in purple).

63 Bemm River 4 ha

51 Brodribb River 51 ha

78 Cobb Hill 50 ha

81 East Errinundra (Dingo creek) 61 ha

114 Genoa 2 ha

80 Goonmirk Rocks (Hammond Road) 26 ha

72 Little Goolengook 55 ha

38 Lower Snowy 4 ha

57 Martins Ck 115 ha

107 Mt Drummer 115 ha

Also see key map for the location of all East Gippsland RSOS.

Accuracy of DSE maps

VRN has queried the accuracy of some of the shaded purple areas for the following sites:

Cobb Hill

Mt Drummer

Impact on future logging

In total there are about five coupes on the East Gippsland Timber Release Plan (TRP) that will fall within the 480ha sub-catchment rainforest buffer area proposed in the Draft Code of Forest Practices.

The coupes are within the proposed sub-catchment buffers of the following national rainforest sites of significance:

Goonmirk Rocks

East Errinundra

Cobb Hill

VRN is lobbying government trying to ensure logging within the sub-catchment buffer areas does not proceed.

Past Logging

About 15% of this 480 ha area in East Gippsland has already been clearfell logged over the past ten years. This includes places where very bitter confrontations between conservationists and the native forest logging industry have occurred. They include protests at East Errinundra (Dingo creek) in 2001 and Little Goolengook in 2002.

VRN tried unsuccessfully though correspondence to get Forest Victoria to postpone logging at East Errinundra national RSOS in 2005. VRN argued that logging would pre-empt planning decisions as there was a good chance the Code review would increase buffers. This was ignored and a 40 ha area within the National RSOS in the Dingo Creek area was logged.