Koalas
Forestry Corporation has been appointed to manage State forests for multiple uses, including conservation, tourism, regional development and renewable timber production, in line with policies and regulations established by the State and Commonwealth Governments.
Regional Forest Agreements create a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve network that protects more than 80 per cent of public forest in national parks and reserves, including the areas with the highest conservation value, and allow ongoing timber production in around five per cent of public native forest. Each area of State forest has been classified under the Forest Management Zoning (FMZ) system, which establishes eight separate management zones based on the conservation value of each forest area and sets out what activities are permitted in each FMZ.
Around half the State forest estate is managed for conservation and never harvested and around one per cent of State forests is harvested and regrown each year. All areas harvested for timber are regrowth forests, which have been harvested for timber and regrown many times before, and operations are spread across the landscape. Timber is also produced from hardwood and softwood timber plantations.
Forestry operations on the north coast
Forestry Corporation continues to manage north coast State forests in line with Government policies and regulations. Around 400,000 hectares of State forest on the north coast is permanently protected for conservation. Areas including mapped old growth forest and rainforest, riparian zones, threatened ecological communities, ridge and headwater habitat and rocky outcrops are permanently protected.
The area that is available for timber production is regrowth forest that is continually harvested and regrown. Many State forests on the north coast contain both hardwood timber plantations and native forests that are managed side-by-side.
Timber harvesting in native (or natural) forests are always selective, which means that only some of the trees are removed for timber and many more are left standing to maintain habitat, biodiversity and future timber. Operations are planned and managed under strict environmental conditions and are independently regulated by the Environment Protection Authority. Read more about native forest operations.
Hardwood timber plantations are usually species of eucalypts that were not established naturally, they have been specifically planted for timber. Operations in timber plantations take place under detailed rules that are independently regulated by the Department of Primary Industries. Find out more about hardwood timber plantations .
Planning and scheduling operations
Forestry Corporation's operations are highly regulated and completely transparent. An annual plan of operations is published on our Plan Portal indicating where operations are expected to take place in the next 12 months. A team of professional staff including planners, ecologists, forest technicians and Aboriginal partnerships liaisons spend many months completing a comprehensive planning process to develop a detailed plan ahead of each operation. These are also published on our Plan Portal. Find out more about the Plan Portal.
The planning process includes spreading operations across the landscape to reduce cumulative impacts. More about reducing cumulative impacts.
Timber harvesting operations on the north coast are continuing to take place in line with the normal schedule and there has been no increase in operations. Forestry Corporation maintains a 100-year timber supply forecast to ensure timber is harvested at a sustainable rate. Read more about timber modelling and sustainable yield or watch the video below.
Protecting koalas during forestry operations
There are detailed environmental protections in place during all forestry operations in NSW and a thorough planning process must be completed ahead of every operation. There are specific conditions protect koala habitat during native forestry operations that were developed by expert scientific panels and include requirements to carry out surveys and identify and protect feed trees and habitat. Read more about koala management.
Surveys and searches in native forest operations
Flora and fauna surveys are a core requirement of the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (CIFOA), which Forestry Corporation must comply with and which the Environment Protection Authority independently regulates. It is a requirement that Forestry Corporation produce an ecology reports during the planning of every operation, informed by flora and fauna desktop analysis and prescribed surveys.
Pre-harvesting surveys also include a survey known as a broad area habitat search, which is conducted ahead of harvesting. In broad area habitat searches, specialist staff conduct searches for habitat features and mark these electronically as well as physically.
Forestry Corporation carries out hundreds of kilometres of broad area habitat searches before operations. For example, ahead of a recent operation in Doubleduke State Forest on the north coast, Forestry Corporation staff traversed more than 900 kilometres and marked and protected nearly 1,000 giant trees, 5,000 hollow bearing trees, nearly 2,000 koala feed trees, as well as a range of other important environmental features such as raptor nests, glossy black cockatoo feed trees and rare plants.
Timber plantations
While timber plantations were planted specifically for timber production and are not natural forests, Forestry Corporation also puts protections in place in hardwood timber plantations, including carrying out detailed planning and protecting habitat throughout the plantation area to maintain landscape connectivity. Operators are also trained in koala search and identification and inspect every tree before felling. Plantations are managed in a broader forested landscape that also includes habitat that is protected in native forest around the plantation.
Research
Ongoing research continues to show that these conditions are robust and that koalas occupy forests where timber harvesting takes place at the same rate as unharvested forests. Read about the Department of Primary Industries' ongoing koala research and read the Natural Resources Commission's research report on koala response to harvesting in north coast State forests. The video below summarises recent koala research.
Future management
Forestry Corporation continues to balance multiple values in the State forests it has been appointed to manage, in line with its objectives under the Forestry Act and the robust environmental regulations in NSW.
An exciting new development is Guulabaa – Place of Koala, an exciting partner-project in Cowarra State Forest. This new tourism precinct will incorporate the world's first wild koala breeding centre, in partnership with the Koala Hospital Port Macquarie.
We also have ongoing partnerships with a range of community groups and grow and distribute seedlings in preferred koala species to support enrichment planting on private land.
Key threats to koalas include fire and wild dogs, so Forestry Corporation continues to work with Regional Bush Fire Management Committees as a land manager and statutory firefighting authority to reduce the risk of wildfire by developing and implementing hazard reduction priorities and fuel management plans and maintaining a skilled and equipped workforce to rapidly respond to wildfires. We also continue to work collaboratively with Local Land Services and other land managers to manage and reduce wild dogs.
Guulabaa - Place of Koala
Guulabaa - Place of Koala incorporates the world's first wild koala breeding facility. Read more.
Fire management
Fire is a key threat to koalas and fire management is a core priority. More about fire management.