Australia is renowned globally for its vast expanses of untouched wilderness. But for anyone who has travelled across its breadth, the myth of Australia’s pristine wilderness is quickly debunked as evidence of human impact spreads before the eye. Most ecosystems have suffered huge losses. In a recent study, we looked at the magnitude of land …
Leadbeaters Possum used to occur right across Gippsland in lowland dry forests as well. Research by Rohan Bilney on the diet of Sooty Owls over hundreds of years show that pre-European Sooty Owl dined on 28 species – now that’s down to 10! It’s a question that haunts nature-lovers – what was Australia like before …
The threatened Giant Burrowing Frog Heleioporus australiacus is a large, cryptic amphibian from south-eastern Australia. Its known range extends from east of Walhalla in Victoria along the Great Dividing Range to Newcastle in NSW, where it has been recorded from various forested habitat types. Despite this wide distribution, limited records exist towards the southern extent …
The state government owned logging company VicForests, is in the legal crosshairs of environmentalists yet again. Lawyers acting on behalf of Environment East Gippsland have this week formally requested an explanation as to why a rich habitat site suited for rare forest-dependant wildlife was not surveyed before logging commenced last week. “We believe this is …
MEDIA RELEASE Just one day after lawyers presented a ‘please explain’ letter to the CEO of VicForests, logging has been stopped and machinery will be pulled out of a high habitat value stand of forest where tree felling had commenced, north east of Orbost. “We believe the logging that took place was unlawful but appreciate …
Just one day after our lawyers presented a ‘please explain’ letter to the CEO of VicForests (see our media release), logging has been stopped and machinery will be pulled out of a high habitat value stand of forest where tree felling had commenced, north east of Orbost. We believe the logging was unlawful – VicForests …
For the last 13 years, the nationally endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot has been proclaimed with great hype and expectation as a flagship species in the local biosphere region. They were still prevalent on the Mornington Peninsula and in the Frankston area including the Pines. Sadly, because of incompetence and to a degree of unwillingness by …
GECO MEDIA RELEASE Conservationists from Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO) have halted logging operations in high conservation value forest on the St Patrick’s River in East Gippsland today due to multiple breaches of the law. A person is positioned in a tree platform 30m off the ground. The platform is tied off to logging machinery which …
In the 50 years since Leadbeaters possum was rediscovered, logging has destroyed more than 50% of the forests that were the possums habitat. Leadbeaters possum now lives in an area in the Central Highlands that has about 25 million trees. In their latest cynical publicity stunt, Vicforests have created artificial hollows in 78 of these …
In February 2009 the Black Saturday bushfires swept through the Mountain Ash forests of Victoria, burning 72,000 hectares. These forests are home to the tallest flowering plants on the planet, and iconic species such as the Leadbeater’s Possum, Victoria’s animal emblem. In the six years since the fires, we and other scientists have been investigating …
