Budget Estimates reveal government ‘assistance’ provided for Eden chip mill

Repairs to the Eden chip mill are under renewed scrutiny, with Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water Niall Blair admitting in the Budget Estimates review that “a range of [government] assistance” is being provided to Allied Natural Wood Exports. Last week, ANWE general manager Jarrod Wallis advised the Eden Magnet that the mill was “funding the repair work without government assistance”, …

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Logging starts in Strathbogies

After years of discussion and campaigning, environment groups feel like they are losing the battle to protect Strathbogie State Forest with VicForests beginning its logging operation. Euroa Environment Group and Strathbogie State Forest Group want a thorough assessment of the forest values to establish how much forest is available for sustainable logging and ensure it …

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The Moral Cost of Cats

A bird-loving scientist calls for an end to outdoor cats “once and for all”  Pete Marra is haunted by cats. He sees them everywhere: slinking down alleys, crouched under porches, glaring at him out of wild, starved eyes. People assume that Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and author of the recent book Cat Wars, hates cats. …

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Ending the reign of hard hooves

Getting cows, deer, horses, goats and pigs out of national parks is proving a very difficult exercise, even though the damage they do is abundantly clear, says Phil Ingamells. When we were fighting licensed cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park, the cattlemen always asked why we weren’t arguing for control of horses and deer. …

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Modified wood product aims to save hardwood forests from the axe

A hardwood substitute has been developed to effectively end the need to log native forests. Researchers from the Flinders Centre for NanoScale Science & Technology (CNST) in South Australia have collaborated with Australian company 3RT Holdings Pty Ltd to develop a method for converting cheap pulpwood into a highly sustainable tropical hardwood substitute. 3Wood contains the same …

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How trees send out news bulletins

Like humans, trees warn each other of danger, look after sick family members and thrive in communities. Welcome to the real enchanted forest. According to the dictionary definition, language is what people use when we talk to each other. Looked at this way, we are the only beings who can use language, because the concept …

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Activists present invoice on Threatened Species Day

National Threatened Species Day on September 7 is held each year to commemorate the day the last Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity in a Hobart zoo in 1936. Environment groups Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO), Wildlife of the Central Highlands and Fauna and Flora Research Collective decided to commemorate the day this year by presenting an …

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