Tall eucalypt forest, Upper FlorentineNEW MAPS AND DATA RELEASED BY SWST SHOW OVER HALF OF THE TALL
EUCALYPT FOREST IN THE UPPER FLORENTINE IS AVAILABLE FOR
WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION!
Reservation of vegetation types, Upper Florentine catchment: This map was compiled by forest campaigners, using data from the Land Information System Tasmania (LIST) website.
Community group Still Wild Still Threatened (SWST) has released new data showing that Forestry Tasmania's claim that 90% of the Upper Florentine catchment is "protected or otherwise unavailable for logging" is misleading
80 people gathered at Forestry Tasmania headquarters to hear forest campaigners present new information disputing Forestry's claims of protected land in the Upper Florentine.
Data from the Land Information System Tasmania website proves Forestry Tasmania have mislead the public by claiming 90% of the Upper Florentine is protected from logging. The data reveals the area available for logging is almost twice as large as FT claim. Worse still is the fact that 53% of the tall eucalyot forest is available for logging and 56% of old growth forest is available for logging.
ACT NOW TO DEMAND THE STATE GOVERNMENT CORRECT FT'S MISLEADING CLAIMS AND STATE THE PRECISE AMOUNT OF TALL FOREST AVAILABLE FOR LOGGING.
DEMAND PREMIER BARTLETT TAKE ACTION TO SAVE THE UPPER FLORENTINE FOREST AND STOP FURTHER FORESTRY MISINFORMATION
Forestry Tasmania has repeatedly claimed that "no less than 90% of the Upper Florentine valley is protected for conservation values or otherwise unavailable for logging". This claim has been repeated by Minister Llewellyn, state and federal MPs, and Prime Minister Rudd's office
Forestry Tasmania has refused to release maps or evidence to verify its claims
Minister Llewellyn has told concerned Derwent Valley residents that maps showing the area protected in the Upper Florentine do not exist
Now data from the Land Information System Tasmania compiled by forest campaigners show that 19% of the Upper Florentine is available for logging - over 2,000 ha of forest that potentially could be logged, and double the amount previously acknowledged by Forestry (see map)
The unprotected area includes 53% of the tall eucalypt forest that Forestry most wants to log and 56% of the catchment's old growth tall forest
80% of the Upper Florentine's Eucalyptus regnans old growth forest, the tallest flowering plant species on the planet, is unprotected from logging
The Upper Florentine valley will be gutted by Forestry Tasmania's plans to destroy as much as 2,000 hectares of old growth forest, severely compromising the integrity of these World Heritage quality forests
TELL PREMIER BARTLETT THAT MINISTER LLEWELLYN MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS MISHANDLING OF THE UPPER FLORENTINE
Minister Llewellyn has accepted and repeated Forestry Tasmania's misinformation without bothering to investigate the truth of its claims
Concerned Derwent Valley residents and the wider community have long feared that Forestry was misrepresenting the extent of its logging plans for the Upper Florentine - this new data shows their fears were correct
Minister Llewellyn's failure to investigate the true extent of Forestry's logging plans and his preparedness to repeat Forestry claims that have now been revealed as false are a dereliction of Ministerial responsibility
PLEASE CALL PREMIER BARTLETT AND ASK HIM TO:
Ensure that Minister Bartlett, and other members of the Tasmanian government, do not repeat further false Forestry claims
Investigate how it is that Minister Llewellyn was prepared to repeat claims made by Forestry that have now been revealed as false, without undertaking any investigation as to whether these claims were true
Halt all logging and road construction in the Upper Florentine valley
CONTACT PREMIER BARTLETT'S OFFICE
Ph: 6233 3464
Email: premier@dpac.tas.gov.au
