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| Charlie Moreland Park, Imbil State Forest |
The Queensland Government
has left open the possibility of embracing a plan to
stop the logging of hoop pine plantations in the 21,000-hectare Imbil
State Forest in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Under
the proposal subtropical
lowland rainforest, a critically endangered habitat, would be allowed
to regrow in plantations presently
being harvested for softwood timber.
The
area where plantations occur was formerly rainforest and hoop pine is
a native rainforest tree. The
plan would lead eventually to an extensive area of hoop pine
plantation being replaced by subtropical lowland rainforest. I
submitted
the proposal to the government last August.
Imbil State Forest falls
under the control of two Queensland Government departments. The
Department of Agriculture
oversees logging licences held by HQPlantations over 14,600 hectares
– mostly hoop pine
plantation - of the
state forest. The remaining 5,900 hectares of state forest is native
forest managed for a range of purposes by the Department of
Environment and Science.
In a letter to me,
Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner makes it clear he opposes
the plan. Furner argues that the loss of Imbil State Forest to the
timber industry would deprive HQPlantations of about a third of its
hoop pine plantations in Queensland. The minister says that would
amount to the loss of 200 jobs in production and processing, and
about $40 million annually in direct value to the Queensland economy.
As well, HQPlantations would be entitled to seek “substantial”
compensation from the government for the loss of plantations.
In my reply to Furner, I
point out that the Imbil plantations constitute a very small
proportion of the 330,000 hectares of pine plantation (most of which
is not hoop pine) under licence to HQPlantations. This is not a high price to pay for the restoration of a critically endangered
habitat, especially given the area's potential economic value as an
ecotourism destination. Charlie Moreland Park, in the south of the
state forest, is already the most popular camping ground in the
Sunshine Coast hinterland.
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| Mature hoop pine plantation adjoins subtropical rainforest, Imbil State Forest |
Imbil State Forest contains
some of the largest surviving remnant patches of subtropical lowland
rainforest, which was once widespread in south-east Queensland and
north-east NSW. Hoop pine plantations in the state forest are
interspersed with remnant rainforest patches, a source of seeding for
regenerating rainforest in plantations. Queensland's Liberal National
Party opposition
was
quick to condemn the proposal, without even having read it.
However, the plan is backed by ecologists, botanists and zoologists.
The Queensland Government
recently oversaw a state forest conservation plan that is not
dissimilar to the Imbil proposal. Logging was stopped in the Yuroi
and Ringtail state forests near Noosa and 2,400 hectares were
acquired as a reserve. HQPlantations was compensated with a $3.5
million payment provided mostly by the Noosa Shire Council and the
Noosa Parks Association.
The Queensland Environment
Minister, Leeanne Enoch, strikes a more conciliatory note than
Furner, her ministerial colleague, about the Imbil plan. Enoch's
office tells me the project has been assessed but the department
would be pursuing “higher priority” projects. However, the
department will maintain a record of the proposal in its Acquisition
Enquiries Register. Should future budgetary or policy priorities
change, the minister says, it may be considered against other state
conservation proposals. A glimmer of hope.
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| Native forest and recently planted hoop pine near Charlie Moreland Park |
I pointed out in letters to
Furner and Enoch that nobody is suggesting an immediate shutdown of
logging across all of Imbil State Forest. As a starting point, a
small area of plantation could be allowed to regenerate while it was
monitored. An ideal site for such a trial would be an estimated 250
hectares of plantation south of Sunday Creek Road between Charlie
Moreland Park and Conondale National Park – two existing rainforest
reserves.
The hillside slopes of
Conondale National Park that abut the plantations in this area
include one of the most extensive tracts of subtropical lowland
rainforest remaining in Queensland. The remnant rainforest around
Charlie Moreland Park is renowned as habitat for many rare and
elusive wildlife species. These areas could be joined by a trial area
of regenerating rainforest. The boundaries in the following maps for a proposed trial area are approximate.
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| Proposed trial area |
There are already in Imbil
State Forest, including around Charlie Moreland Park, and in
Conondale National Park, several small stands of hoop pine plantation
that have not been logged for several decades; they closely resemble
rainforest and harbour many rainforest plants and animals. This plan
can work if governments are prepared to think outside the box.
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| Subtropical lowland rainforest, Imbil State Forest |
