Imbil State Forest: A response to critics in pictures

Rainforest stream in Imbil State Forest

Queensland's Liberal National Party opposition is in the forefront of criticism of a plan I proposed recently to protect and propagate subtropical lowland rainforest in the 21,000ha Imbil State Forest in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The state Environment Minister, Leeanne Enoch, has given an undertaking to consider the proposal, which would involve the cancellation of logging and grazing leases to allow hoop pine plantations to regenerate as lowland rainforest. Subtropical lowland rainforest, a critically endangered habitat, occurs naturally in the state forest.

The LNP joined former Queensland Forestry chief executive Gary Bacon – backed by lop-sided reporting in the local Gympie Times newspaper - in attacking the proposal; it was variously described as a “thought bubble” and the work of “green nutters” and “left-wing zealots”. LNP shadow agriculture minister Tony Perrett claimed the proposal, which he had not seen, was based on “deliberate fabrications” and had “manipulated the truth”.

Tony Perrett

Perrett and Bacon did their utmost to undermine the basic premise of the proposal: that left alone, the plantations will revert to subtropical lowland rainforest, the habitat that occurred there originally before it was cleared to make way for plantations. I returned to Imbil State Forest last week to check out how older stands of hoop pine plantation were faring. I've reported separately that more than half the bird species I recorded during the visit were in plantations as well as in remnant rainforest patches.

Mature hoop pine plantation, Imbil State Forest

Images in this post show clearly that hoop pine plantation, when it has not been logged for a considerable time, has an extensive understory of rainforest plants. These plants are seeded from adjoining rainforest remnants. It's no surprise that the older plantations resemble closely adjoining remnant rainforest.

Hoop pine plantation with rainforest understory, Imbil State Forest

The old plantations I saw are well on their way to reverting to subtropical lowland rainforest in accordance with predictions from various experts, including respected landscape ecologist Peter Stanton and botanist Michael Olsen. They are soon to be logged, as they have been periodically over the past century since plantations were established at Imbil.

Hoop pine plantation with rainforest understory, Imbil State Forest

Gary Bacon claims that if left alone, the plantations would spiral into a “weed, pest and fire haven junk heap”. Bacon is a forestry scientist: he is not a zoologist, or a botanist, or an ecologist. Experts in these areas who support the proposal know a great deal more than Bacon about rainforest regeneration.

During my visit to Imbil State Forest, I saw decades-old plantations that were anything but the nightmarish scenario painted by Bacon. Yes, there was a good deal of lantana along the plantation fringes, but that introduced weed occurs throughout the state forest and has been there for a very long time. (Ironically, it provides good cover for the rare Black-breasted Buttonquail, which is restricted to subtropical lowland rainforest; I found numerous buttonquail platelets in the pine plantations.)

Hoop pine plantation and contiguous rainforest, Imbil State Forest

Buttonquail platelets in hoop pine plantation, Imbil State Forest

Older plantations shared a shady canopy with adjoining rainforest, reducing sunlight penetration and therefore the potential for invasive pest vines such as cat's claw to flourish. The proposal envisages nothing more that what is already the situation in many pockets of the state forest, but on a wider scale that would be sustained. It is ludicrous to suggest that mature plantations would become a pest-ridden “junk heap” if left unlogged, as Bacon asserts.

Subtropical lowland rainforest, Imbil State Forest

Indeed, some of the recently logged pine plantations in the state forest are not a pretty sight. Trees are logged deep into gully lines and rainforest streams in places are polluted by soil run-off. Piles of fallen trees that were not the targeted hoop pine were commonplace.

Logging to gully line, Imbil State Forest

 Native non-plantation trees in remnant forest patches, such as bunya pine and silky oak, were marked by loggers. The recreational value of popular places such as Charlie Moreland Park and Stirling's Crossing has been marred in recent months by a steady stream of logging trucks.

Marked Silky Oak and Bunya Pine in rainforest remnant, Imbil State Forest

Stirling's Crossing

In June I found a pair of Masked Owls in an Imbil hoop pine plantation. This is one of several rare and/or cryptic species that appear to be quite at home in plantations. The image below is how the owl site looked last week.

Masked Owl in June in hoop pine plantation, Imbil State Forest

Masked Owl site last week

It was Tony Perrett's LNP that unleashed grazing in state forests during the former Campbell Newman-led government. Numerous cattle were seen in Imbil State Forest last week, many feeding in and around the edges of remnant patches of lowland rainforest. Apart from their direct impact on native vegetation, the cattle would likely be a significant source of invasive weed dispersal.

Cattle, Imbil State Forest

Cattle, Imbil State Forest

Perrett claims that if implemented, the plan would destroy the economic viability of the region's timber industry. Perrett echoed Bacon's assertion that the plantations, if left alone to regenerate, would be “overrun by invasive pests and weeds”. Perrett described the proposal as “outrageous and highly destructive” and said it was based on “deliberate fabrications”; he didn't outline what those fabrications were.

After I pointed out to Perrett that his assertion about deliberate fabrications was defamatory, he publicly withdrew the remark. As for his claims about the timber industry, Perrett knows very well that in his Gympie electorate there is an abundance of hoop and other pine plantations outside Imbil State Forest that would be not affected by this proposal.

Logging in Imbil State Forest

About 40 per cent of the 21,000ha Imbil State Forest is pine plantation. That is about 2.4 per cent of the 330,00ha of pine plantation in Queensland held under lease by timber company HQ Plantations. For its part, the company has an open mind on the proposal. HQP said it is open to discussion and required further information - a far more measured response than Perrett's knee-jerk tirade.

Logging in Imbil State Forest

Perrett's rambling attack says a good deal about the LNP's environmental credentials. The Newman government scrapped Labor's tree-clearing laws and opened up extensive areas of protected state forest to logging and grazing. The LNP has yet to learn it will struggle to regain power while it caters primarily to the development-at-all-costs mentality of Perrett and his fellow rural Nationals.

Bunya pine in remnant rainforest, Imbil State Forest

Giant fig gree in remnant rainforest, Imbil State Forest

I'm aware that a few people are concerned that the Imbil State Forest proposal might detract from the so-called Yabba Links plan to expand Conondale National Park. However, several groups have opted to support both, arguing simply that there is no reason not to. Nobody is expecting or demanding that the timber industry in Imbil State Forest be completely shut down in the forseeable future.

Rather, it's important to get a discussion going about a plan to restore subtropical lowland rainforest on a large and sustainable scale. Private landholders are replanting small patches, and community-minded groups are removing vines and other weeds from remnant rainforest patches. These are worthy activities but they won't bring the rainforest back. Perhaps a good starting point would be a trial in Imbil State Forest; a reasonably sized area of older plantation of about 300-500ha adjoining remnant rainforest could be left unlogged and monitored.

Young hoop pine with native forest in background, Imbil State Forest

Recently logged plantation adjacent to remnant rainforest, Imbil State Forest

 On a lighter note, among the abundant birdlife last week were some nice frogs, like this Cascade Tree-Frog, along streams in mixed hoop pine and rainforest. The endangered Giant Barred-Frog was present in small numbers.

Cascade Tree-Frog, Imbil State Forest