Members of the swift parrot recovery team have urged the Commonwealth to ignore attempts by the Tasmanian government and other agencies to downplay the risk that logging plays in the species' future.
A draft version of the parrot's recovery plan — released under freedom of information (FOI) — showed suggested edits that sought to increase the emphasis on sugar glider predation, and decrease the influence of habitat loss.
Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) threatened to not endorse the document unless changes were made, claiming it had an "imbalance in narrative" about the state's forest management.
The department suggested removing references that pointed to logging and silviculture as posing the greatest threat to the critically endangered swift parrot's survival and making the management of sugar gliders the main priority, rather than addressing habitat loss.
Swift parrot recovery team member Mark Holdsworth was among researchers who spent several years developing the document.
He said they were unaware that government agencies were attempting to change its emphasis, and called on the Commonwealth to reject the alterations.
"We can't have a document that is effectively being written by industry and not the people who are concerned about the conservation of the species," he said.
"The FOI changes indicate that there are other players there trying to subvert our focus on the recovery of the species in favour of forestry industries.
"There's probably at least 10 other agencies or individuals that have made comments or suggested changes.
"Ultimately they might not be picked up by the Commonwealth, but it's very concerning that there's been another process that's been happening after the public input phase."
Sugar gliders have long been recognised as one of the swift parrot's greatest threats, but swift parrot expert Matt Webb said logging was the primary issue that exacerbated this.
"It appears as though there is quite a strong push to simply focus on one threat, being sugar gliders, where if we don't address habitat loss, the threat of sugar gliders sort of becomes a little bit irrelevant, as do all other threats," he said.
"It's not about the conservation of the bird, it seems to be about political sensitivities around the forestry industry."
Researchers estimate there are 750 mature swift parrots in the wild, which Dr Holdsworth described as a "gradual decline" over the past decade.
Government has provided $1m to recovery project
The Tasmanian Greens questioned State Environment Minister Roger Jaensch about his knowledge of the suggested changes to the recovery plan.
He told state parliament he would "seek further advice".
Mr Jaensch said the government had provided $1 million over four years to the swift parrot recovery project, and the department was working with the Forest Practices Authority to "adaptively manage" swift parrot habitat.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment — formerly DPIPWE — stated it had made a formal submission to the draft swift parrot management plan in 2019 and had provided comments on further drafts.
It remained unclear how the comments from the department and other stakeholders had been incorporated into the final version of the plan, which was expected to be released last year.
A spokesperson for the federal environment department said it was normal for stakeholders to suggest changes to draft recovery plans, and the final version would "reflect the best available scientific advice".
The department would then brief minister Tanya Plibersek "in due course".
