The Age (letter) 9/6/97
Yes, Jill Redwood (5/6), the state of the environment in Victoria is poor indeed (on World Environment day and every other day) as Marie Tehan's environment department begins logging Goolengook, one of East Gippsland's most wonderful forests.
As scientists once employed by the conservation department to survey the Goolengook area, we are appalled at the prospect of logging in this unique area. Goolengook Forest Block was studied in a series of departmental "pre-logging surveys". Its biological values were immense, exceeding those of virtually all other forests studied during the program: endangered plants, birds, mammals, a unique rainforest community, all within a closed and largely undisturbed catchment.
Our 1991 report concluded: "the combined flora and fauna values of the study area are exemplary" and "the combination of particular significant biological values ... are not known from any reserve system in south-eastern Australia". The area is listed under the National Estate and as a Nationally Significant Rainforest Site. Clearly, the entire Goolengook area should be added to the Errinundra National Park. Instead, Marie Tehan has allowed logging, and "saved" just small, disjointed areas, protected by narrow buffers of dubious merit.
To suggest that the Goolengook forest can be conserved by saving a bit
of this and a bit of that is akin to suggesting that we can preserve the
Sydney Harbour Bridge by saving just one of all the different types of
bolts, a few pylons and a representative truss.