Locals say a proposal to carry out logging in a state forest on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will leave long-lasting scars on the area and are fearful of the effect it will have on threatened species.
The state government has proposed to log selected trees in a section of the Beerwah State Forest, known locally as Ferny Forest, before it ends native timber production in the “high value” conservation area in two years.
Sunshine Coast residents fear chopping down parts of the forest, in areas deemed core koala habitat, could have disastrous consequences.
“It’s home to koalas, which have been listed as endangered, as well as glossy black cockatoos and greater gliders,” said Wendy Merefield-Ward, a member of Save Ferny Forest.
“It’s like we’re all fighting over the scraps of what’s left after agriculture, after mining, and after logging activities.”
According to the government proposal, “selective” hardwood natives like blackbutt, white stringybark, turpentine and grey gum will be cut down some time in 2022, with the timber to be used for power poles, sawlogs, girders and landscaping logs.
Narelle McCarthy, a spokesperson of the Sunshine Coast environment council, said the group opposed any harvesting of the forest – which is one of the few remaining coastal rainforests in the region.
“The Sunshine Coast is experiencing incredible urbanisation and … it’s putting extreme pressure on our conservation areas,” McCarthy said.
“The forest is really important to our region’s biodiversity and I think there will be some legacy impacts from it.”
A Department of Agriculture and Fisheries spokesperson said “no final decision has been made on the proposed harvest”.
The spokesperson said the department has a “comprehensive process in place to identify and protect koalas during any timber harvesting operations, including the use of koala spotters and koala detection dogs.”
“The proposed harvesting operations would be the final selective harvest of this area, consistent with the Queensland government’s native timber action plan,” the spokesperson said.
The southeast Queensland forests agreement to end logging in the region by 31 December 2024 was signed by the state government, the timber industry and the conservation sector in 1999.
As part of the agreement, about 50% of the 130-hectare Ferny Forest section was considered as an area for harvest, with the forest last logged in the mid-1990s.
A petition to stop logging in the proposed area, located between Steve Irwin Way and Ewen Maddock dam, has received almost 22,000 signatures.
McCarthy said Ferny Forest, which adjoins the Mooloolah River national park, is an important piece of bushland for climate resilience, as well as the protection of wildlife.
While koala “habitat trees” cannot be harvested under current native timber production codes, McCarthy said logging of other trees could cause disturbances and result in further fragmentation of the endangered species.
McCarthy said many celebrated national parks and conservation areas in the area were very hard fought. “We really want to see those areas expanded and Ferny represents one such opportunity,” she says.
