State of the Forest - Report - VicForests has to be stopped!!!

The proposed Great Forest National Park is being destroyed. The forest is littered with fallen trees. We are extremely close to protecting Victoria's remaining native forests by creating the Great Forest National Park by connecting the State forests of the Central Highlands region, 60kms from Melbourne. (www.greatforestnationalpark.com.au) Now is the critical time to step up the pressure on the Victorian government to declare a permanent halt to logging in the entire Toolangi State forest & Central Highlands region. Right now the areas known as “Imperium”, “Utopia”, “Freddo” and “Gunbarrel” in the Yea river valley region are under immediate threat of industrial logging destruction known as clearfelling. These areas are some of the last intact native forest areas & habitat for native wildlife left in Toolangi and they are about to be logged if the Victorian community does not take a stand. The Yea River Valley region has the highest concentration of critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possums in the whole Toolangi State forest. The logging area known as “Imperium" could go active any time. This patch of forest is one of the last remaining intact areas in Toolangi. The “Imperium” and the adjoining “Utopia" coupes represent Gondwanan remnant forest and are of immense conservation value to protect Wildlife habitat, Water production and prevent bushfires. Remember that all this beauty will end up as ~80% paper, ~15% Chep pallets and only ~5% hard wood value added products if government sponsored logging company VicForests and the Victorian government have their way. Logging activities have been suspended for one month in the “Imperium” logging area following a successful sighting of a critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum by a citizen led wildlife survey crew, Wildlife Of The Central Highlands (WOTCH) in the “Imperium” coupe. www.facebook.com/VICWOTCH/ Following the Citizen Surveys, logging in “Imperium” was suspended in a last minute action by exiting Environment Minister Lisa Neville during an impromptu state parliamentary cabinet reshuffle resulting in a new Environment minister by the name of Lily D'Ambrosio. Please remember that the halt to logging activities in “Imperium” is only a one month suspension, and could still go active anytime! We need to keep pressure on the Victorian government to continue the moratorium and end all native forest logging in Victoria. VicForests will continue their ecological destruction until and only when the Andrews government stops the vandals. “Imperium” Coupe #297-530-0001 (Yea Link Rd) This is the first, possibly the most significant, of several coupes in Toolangi's Yea river valley that creates the last major forest connectivity through to the existing Yarra Ranges National Park. It is vital that this patch of forest is not harvested. So far government sponsored company VicForests have marked out the “Imperium” logging zone, widened Yea Link Road for the log trucks and machinery on the road from Sylvia Creek Road, which leads to the Yea River Valley. “Imperium” and “Utopia” are listed as high conservation value by the environment groups participating in the Forest Industry Taskforce’s Coupe Deferral Committee, but were rejected by VicForests. “Freddo” and “Gunbarrel” were two of the three coupes involved in the legal action instigated by My Environment v VicForests in 2012. "MyEnvironment has demonstrated a strong case for the overall review of the adequacy of the reserve system intended to protect LBP habitat within the Central Highlands Forest Management Area. The [2009] bushfires have materially changed the circumstances in which the existing system was planned and implemented and there is, on the evidence, an urgent need to review it’" - Justice Robert Osborn. 2012 Our friends at Wildlife Of The Central Highlands have recorded a new Leadbeater’s Possum in the soon to go active logging coupe, Toolangi’s “Imperium” Yea River Valley. Citizen Scientist Survey Volunteers from WOTCH have identified endangered wildlife, including Leadbeater's Possum in imminent logging areas within the Yea river valley that VicForests and their science department, the Arthur Rylah Institute (DELWP's science research department) have failed to locate in their pre logging surveys. Apparently VicForests and the Victorian government doesn’t have adequate Wildlife surveying practices? With all the rainforest breaches reported by GECO in East Gippsland and now two failed Leadbeater's Possum surveys in Toolangi, the case for axing VicForests is well and truly loaded. There must be a moratorium placed on all logging in the Toolangi State Forest and Central Highlands forests immediately. It’s time to ramp up the pressure on the Andrews’ Government to get VicForests out of at least the Yea River Valley coupes, and obtain a moratorium on all VicForests activity to protect all of Victoria's native forests. Sign this petition to voice your support : Petitioning Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews and 4 others Stop Logging Toolangi Forest Immediately https://www.change.org/p/daniel-andrews-stop-logging-toolangi-forest-immediately Social Media Hashtags #Toolangi #SaveImperium #GFNP #LbPossum @LeadbeatersPoss @GreatForest NP #VicForests Twitter targets: @VictorianLabor @AustralianLabor @LEAN_Victoria @LEANAustralia Vic Govt Ministers Hon Daniel Andrews (Premier) @DanielAndrewsMP Lily D'Ambrosio MP - Minister for Environment @LilyDAmbrosioMP Hon Jaala Pulford - Agriculture, Regional Development - @JaalaPulford Hon Lisa Neville - Minister for Climate Change and Water - @LisaNevilleMP Hon John Eren - Toruism - @JohnErenMP Hon Tim Pallas - Treasurer - @timpallas Hon Jacinta Allan - Employment - @JacintaAllanMP Hon James Merlino (Deputy Premier) - @JamesMerlinoMP Hon Jane Garrett - Emergancy Services [inc. fire] - @Jane_GarrettMP Facebook Pages https://www.facebook.com/GreatForestNP https://www.facebook.com/VICWOTCH https://www.facebook.com/Little-Red-Toolangi-Treehouse-348794905263862/ https://www.facebook.com/toolangifilm/ Where the Giants Were, A Tale of Toolangi (Movie) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0dFcwHQ5gs