Recent incidents
There are strict environmental regulations that apply to forestry operations. Forestry Corporation has robust systems, processes and procedures to ensure compliance with these rules. We have invested in advanced GPS and satellite-based tools that are used when planning and managing operations and have established a dedicated compliance assurance team that continually monitors and reviews systems and processes.
Since 2020, Forestry Corporation has increased investment in compliance by more than $2.2 million per annum, including employing more people to monitor operations, increasing training, and improving technology.
Wild Cattle Creek State Forest 2020
In July 2020, Forestry Corporation harvested nine trees should have been protected as wildlife habitat.
Forestry Corporation sincerely apologised for removing nine trees that were required to be protected and have taken significant steps to address the issue and prevent this from happening again.
We have permanently protected 36 additional trees in the compartment with guidance from an expert ecologist, applying a 4:1 replacement ratio. We have also funded the installation of 12 nest boxes to provide habitat for a range of species.
Yambulla State Forest 2020
What happened
Forestry Corporation did not protect 53 trees that should have been preserved as habitat following the 2019-20 fires.
This incident occurred when implementing one-off mapping of Environmentally Sensitive Areas via a manual process due to a site-specific operating condition. Human error resulted in the one-off condition not being applied correctly.
As a result, a number of small, fire-affected trees were harvested from a burnt area intended to serve as an unburnt refuge.
The site-specific condition that applied in Yambulla State Forest in 2020 was unique to the Black Summer bushfires and is not a standard requirement of normal CIFOA operations.
This incident was due to human error as staff worked to implement 50 new and different conditions unique to the post-fire operations.
As this was a one-off situation the manual process was specific to this operation, we no longer are exposed to such a process.
How we responded
This specific condition was designed to provide short-term unburnt refuge for wildlife in a forest that had been affected by fire. To ensure there was still refuge available, we immediately protected an alternative area of forest.
All harvested areas are routinely regenerated after every operation and this has been the case. Four years on from the operation and the fires, both the harvested area and the areas of burnt forest are regenerating.
In our standard operations, mapping of Environmentally Sensitive Areas into operational maps is an automated process, which eliminates the risk of human error. This means that we have measures to ensure an error of this nature will not occur again.
Penalty
Compliance with the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (CIFOA) is a legal requirement. Forestry Corporation pleaded guilty to not adhering with the CIFOA in relation to this incident and received two convictions and was ordered to pay $360,000 in penalties.
Bindarri National Park 2019
What happened
In 2019, Forestry Corporation harvested approximately 1.44 hectares within Bindarri National Park which bordered Orara West State Forest on the state’s north coast. The harvested area included a mature flooded gum plantation previously dedicated as State forest.
The boundary issue traces back to 1999, when sections of the flooded gum plantation were declared as national park while other parts remained State forest. During 2018 while planning a harvesting operation in the State Forest plantation, the boundary was incorrectly mapped. Forestry Corporation re-planted the area with native trees and undertook pest and weed control prior to becoming aware of the boundary error.
How we responded
Upon identifying the error, we advised the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). We have since agreed to work with NPWS to identify additional restoration measures that would provide the best environmental outcome in the circumstances.
Forestry Corporation has committed to fund, restore and remediate the harvested area over the next 10 years. Additionally, it has also agreed to contribute $500,000 to NPWS for purchasing native forest for gazettal under the NPW Act, or to reserve an agreed area of State forest as national park.
We have also strengthened our mapping systems, improved boundary identification processes and will implement a specific protocol and training to improve boundary management to avoid similar contraventions in the future.