The Logging Proposal

The Forest Products Comission (FPC) proposes to log an area within Chester Block known as Chester 01. Of the 1309 HA within Chester 01, 840Ha is available for logging, the remainder being conservation reserve of various categories.

As can be seen on the map below, the proposed logging area (red boundary) contains watercourses and small reserves.

Map of the whole coupe

Map of the logging area (delineated by the PC interp boundary - dotted blue line)

The Logging and Dieback (Phytophthora cinnamomi)

Phytophthora cinnamomi (PC)is listed as a threatening process by the Federal Government, and as such is controlled by an approved Threat Abatement Plan. The FMP requires that the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and the Forest Products Commission (FPC) conduct their operations with regard to the Management of Phytophthora and Disease Caused by it policy and in accordance with Volume 1 of the  Phytophthora and Disease Caused by it guidelines to reduce the risk of spread of PC.
A PC management plan, (with the aim of ensuring that approved human activities within ‘protectable’ areas are an inconsequential vector for the establishment of new centres of infestation of PC),  must be prepared for all harvesting coupes. The management plan must be adhered to at all stages of the harvesting activities. It appears that a management plan, as outlined by the management documents, has NOT been prepared, despite forest hygiene approvals being given to the FPC by DEC.

Dieback (Phytophthora cinnamomi) interpretation map
Green areas interpreted as 'protectable'

The proposed logging area, in the North West corner of the coupe, is 200ha in size. Interpretation of this area shows that approximately 70 Ha is uninfected, and ‘protectable’. Through this mosaic of PC infected and uninfected areas, and conservation reserves, the FPC plans to construct approx. 4.7km of roads, with one of the truck access roads right on the boundary of infected and ‘protectable” areas. The roading east of the logging area (approx 2.6km) will pass through bushland which has not been interpreted for PC.

It will be difficult for the FPC to uphold Objective 2 of the Threat Abatement Plan; “To limit the spread of Phytophthora cinnamomi into area where it may threaten threatened species and ecological communities or into areas where it may lead to further species or ecological communities being threatened”  with the on-ground consideration of not having the coupe surveyed for the rare flora and TEC that are known to occur in the area. (If their locations are unknown, how can they be possibly be protected from the random movement of machinery through the coupe?) It is also quite possible that the disturbance caused by the logging will re-activate the presently ‘poorly expressed’ PC, with possibly disastrous consequences for the PC susceptible species of plants growing in the area, which includes many of the rare and priority flora species.

Link to Dieback Working Group website

At present, the roads are mostly regrown tracks, mostly unused for over 50 years, and the roading will necessitate the clearing of over 11Ha of bushland (if roads are 5m wide). This in Public Forest of the highest biodiversity in a Federal, and International biodiversity hotspot!

The Logging, and Biodiversity

The fact that the flora and fauna of Chester have never been systematically surveyed puts rare and priority flora, as well as less-mobile fauna in the logging coupe at great risk. An absurd and worrying situation brought to light by this campaign is that locations of threatened flora are only protected from road and landing construction, and not from logging activities, so the roads within the coupe are all that have been covered in the on-ground survey for priority and rare flora. It seems that the roads outside the coupe have neither been interpreted for Phytophthora, nor surveyed for rare and vulnerable flora and fauna.

An issue when Schroeder04 coupe was logged, directly north of Chester01, which is likely to be duplicated at Chester is the damage to vegetation from the logging machinery. Whether they are rare or common, smaller trees, understorey and less-mobile fauna are destroyed in the search for viable logs, as can be seen in the pictures below.

The Economics

According to the FPC stumpage schedule (click to view), first grade jarrah sawlogs are sold for $70.97/m3. This means that the best case scenario from the operational logging quota of 800m3 is a gross return of  $56,783, that is before costs are taken into account.
Given that Chester block is not considered to have high quality timber, because of its marginal location and presence of Phytophthora cinnamomi, the more likely scenario is that low grade logs will be left on the landings to rot and eventually burn, as happened when Schroeder 04 coupe, directly North of Chester 01, was logged in 2006. See picture below.

In summary, if this operation proceeds, WA taxpayers will be paying to have our rare and unique biodiversity destroyed

Refs – letter, Dr Geoff Stoneman 12 3 2008
Letter David Templeman MLA – Minister for the Environment; Climate Change
PC Threat Abatement Plan