Two hundred years ago the Sooty owl was abundant and fed on about 18 species of ground prey in Gippsland. Today they have only two or three to chose from. Other species are under similar pressure. Many of our native animals have become sparser in numbers and their range has shrunk. Some, like the Southern …
A landmark Federal Court decision last December prevented logging in Tasmania’s Wielangta forests. Because the ruling questioned the ability of a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) to protect threatened species, it also questions the legality of East Gippsland’s logging. Attempts by the Commonwealth to hand over responsibility for protecting three federally listed species to the State …
The latest porky to come from the makers of Reflex paper, is that their product is now 100% forest sensitive, in fact it’s so eco-friendly it is bursting with endangered species. Australia’s biggest paper company, PaperlinX in the Latrobe Valley, is congratulating itself for this bodgie eco-label given by the normally reliable Forest Stewardship Council …
A recent scientific survey of the impact of the 2003 fire in the upper Snowy River on Tiger Quolls calculates a reduction in the quoll population of between 67.5-90%. The impact of this loss on the state population (without taking into account the impact of the 2003 fires from the north-east through the Alps and …
Federal Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, has promised $3.2 million to help save the Orange-bellied Parrot. The endangered parrot gained attention when it was used as a tool to stop the controversial windfarm in Liberal member, Russell Broadbent’s seat.
The Federal Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act is a waste of money, according to researchers at the Australia Institute. The Act is designed to protect threatened species and world heritage areas that may not be covered by state environment laws. The Institute’s deputy director, Andrew Macintosh, says only four out of 1,900 developments have …
A giant underwater electrical umbilical chord now joins Tasmania and Victoria. As of late April, we can now buy Tasmania’s ‘clean Hydro power’, or if their wood fired electricity generators get going, power from their incinerated old growth forests. They can also buy our cheap, off-peak, dirty coal power and save their own to sell …
Victoria has the worst land clearing record in the country. In 1869 we had 88% of the state covered in forests. In 1972 it had shrunk to just 36% of the state. That’s about 60% of the forest cover being wiped off the land in about 100 years. In the 34 years since 1972, more …
The government has agreed to trial the sheep farmers’ ‘solution’ to wild dog attacks, which is to drop poison baits across the forested landscape from the air like hundreds and thousands. However, Environment Minister John Thwaites, is showing sensible caution and trialling dummy baits first to test the uptake by other species. Since banning cows …
It was a crazy plan to appease the cheap-lease farmers who have run their cattle over the Alpine National Park for over a century. Satellite-controlled electric shock collars were the only idea Federal Environment Senator Ian Campbell could offer to “protect the Alps” and keep the cattle’s owners happy. The three year, $15 million plan …
