I'm sure some of you have heard at least a little of what is going on down in the beautiful hardwood forests of Tassie?
If not here's a short rundown on an extremely threatened area called the Styx valley Forrest...
The Styx Valley contains the tallest hardwood trees on Earth. Many of the trees are taller than a 25-storey building, over 400 years old, and up to five metres wide at the base. The Styx is only 70 kilometres west of Hobart and is on the edge of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area – one of the great temperate wilderness areas on Earth.
The Styx also contains large areas of unlogged rainforest. These forests are home to many native species of wildlife, including the majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle, the Eastern Pygmy Possum, the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, owls and rosellas. Other features that occur in the valley include limestone caves, tannin-stained Styx River, and several waterfalls. Now to the bad news…
Most of the giants of the Styx are threatened by logging. Between 300 and 600 hectares of the Styx Valley are logged each year. The main form of logging is clear felling and burning. The logging operations proceed by cutting down all the large timber and bulldozing the rest. The useful timber, primarily destined for woodchips, is removed and the area is then bombed from the air which ensures the whole area burns.
Most of these trees will be sold as woodchips overseas for about $15 per tonne. After the logged area is burnt it is reseeded 1080 poison is laid down to kill animals who may feed on saplings. 1080 poison does not kill our native animals by putting in a relaxing sleep, it puts them through a long, agonising death, and it may take hours or even days of suffering for these native animals to die.
What is at stake you may ask? Is the loss of some of Australia's, and the worlds, oldest hardwood trees for the sake of some measly woodchips a good enough argument, I certainly think so. The tall trees of the Styx are of international botanical importance. Their tourism potential has yet to be realised. They provide a point of contact with the past that once gone, is gone forever. Tall trees are also important for a sense of environmental continuity for future generations.
Just reading this makes me feel sick. Our government says that we cannot stop logging because of job loss.
can actually leave more space for new trees. Also, cutting down trees gives more multiple resources to contribute for our needs. One tree can produce many things to help we humans and cutting them down can be more of a benefit than a disadvantage. Trees can be very beneficial and be used as many resources through education and basically everyday life. The Truax has a more realistic view on the environment and how we are using it.
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