December 12, 2017

Logging has just commenced - unannounced - of a precious coupe, 'Calvin', on the West face of the Royston Range, directly opposite the Rubicon Historic Area (illegally logged by VF), just above Royston River Falls and gateway to the amazing Cerberean Plateau and the Rubicon Forest (now almost logged out). 

It is an area of extreme lansdscape sensitivity and includes very large '39 regrowth mountain ash, plus scattered habitat stags. The whole area could still be big tourist attraction.  We have pleaded to VF many times for this coupe to be spared.  Logging it is vandalism.

See our gallery of recent photos including what is being lost and the current devastation. (Thanks to Lea for the photos!)

Despite being devastated in the Black Saturday fires of 2009, the past eight years has seen logging of the unburnt areas of the Rubicon State Forest more than double. The logging of unburnt areas has been intensified to make up for the bushfire losses.

The logging of the Rubicon State Forest is unsustainable, simply in terms of maintaining a supply of timber. However, it is also devastating the ecology of the region and destroying rich tourism assets. Industrial clearfell logging has been accompanied by flagrant breaches of national forests policy including huge adjacent coupes, massive erosion and the destruction of waterways, not to mention the blackberry, deer and thistle infestations that inevitably follow VicForests’ recklessness.

The recent case launched by Environmental Justice Australia in the Australian Federal Court to protect dwindling areas of leadbeaters possum habitat has unleashed an aggressive response from Victoria’s state-owned logging agency, VicForests.  With 34 planned logging coupes halted, pending the outcome of the case and desperate to keep its unsustainable timber supply line operating, VicForests has opened up new coupes around Victoria, including Calvin, one of the most precious coupes on the amazing Cerberean Plateau.

There is still time to stop the logging of Calvin but it will require a firestorm of outrage directed at the Premier Andrews and Minister D’Ambrosio and other members of the Government.  

Please act now!