Forestry Corporation NSW (FCNSW) will pay more than a quarter of a million dollars in fines and costs after the Land and Environment Court found it damaged koala habitat near Coffs Harbour.
The corporation pleaded guilty to four charges brought by the EPA for work in a koala exclusion zone in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2018.
Two charges were for the felling of trees in protected rainforest areas, a third charge for the felling of two trees in an exclusion zone around warm temperate rainforest, and the fourth for felling four trees and other forestry activities.
The Land and Environment Court handed down a fine of $135,600 and ordered FCNSW to pay the EPA's legal and investigation costs of $150,000.
EPA executive director of regulatory operations Carmen Dwyer said the prosecution sent a clear message to the forestry industry and operators.
"All forestry operators have a responsibility to protect the environment and comply with the law when carrying out tree harvesting activities," Ms Dwyer said.
Justice John Robson accepted there had been harm to koala habitat as a result of the non-compliant activities.
"The felling of the large eucalyptus trees and the construction or operation of snig tracks were highly likely to have had an adverse impact by reducing the size and the quality of the habitat available to the breeding female and offspring," they said.
Environmentalists concerned
Mark Graham is a local ecologist who works in close collaboration with groups such as the Bellingen Environment Centre and the North Coast Environment Council.
He said he was pleased to see FCNSW held accountable for their actions.
"It's confirmation of what we've known for a long while, which is that the Forestry Corporation systematically and flagrantly breaches the few safeguards that it operates under," he said.
"The Wild Cattle Creek area is a very fertile, lush, and rich habitat, and areas that are known to be of critical significance to koalas.
The Nature Conservation Council is calling on the government to conduct a comprehensive independent review of the Forestry Corporation to ensure it acts lawfully and sustainably.
"There is little evidence the corporation is meeting these basic standards under the existing arrangements," Nature Conservation Council chief executive Chris Gambian said.
“Fines, no matter how large, can never replace critical koala habitat destroyed by Forestry Corporation."
Corporation's 'improved system'
In a statement, a FCNSW spokesperson said they acknowledge the organisation had made some mapping and marking errors during an operation in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2018.
"The fines relating to the koalas concerned the harvesting of four trees," they said.
"We set aside around 6,000 additional trees for koalas during the operation to compensate for the trees that were harvested in error."
The spokesperson said forests are difficult operating environments and boundaries for exclusions were marked using complex technology and GPS mapping.
