Save the Ludlow Tuart Forest
FIGHTING UNTIL THE END IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Protesters trying to save the Ludlow tuart forest, near Busselton in south-west Western Australia, have threatened to chain themselves to their tree-top platforms if police try to remove them. The protesters are asking for some of the conservationists to be allowed to remain in their tree-top. Yesterday, residents of the Tuart Rescue Camp were given 24 hours to move - an impossible task given the size of the camp. The deadline for the protesters to leave site passed without incident earlier today. Dozens of police, including a mounted section, are on stand-by and say force will be used as a last resort if talks fail. A spokeswoman from the Forest Products Commission says they are to start harvesting pine trees in the area tomorrow.
The Wilderness Society's Keith Wood says the group will fight until the bitter end. "What we're really looking for is an up swell of community support," he said. "The more people that get involved, the more passionate people get, the more we can do."
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance recently approved titanium mining company Cable Sands' Tuart Preservation Plan.
Friends of the Tuart Forest spokesperson Martin Pritchard says "The plan confirms our fears there are unacceptable risks involved with the logging of 1200 tuart trees. The cutting down of the huge old tuarts will have a devastating effect on the native animals, with many expected not to survive the felling of the trees. Cable Sands intends to mine within 4m of the mature trees and 10m of the senescent trees. We question whether these trees will survive soil disturbance close to intruding on their root systems."
Camp occupant Brian Green said recently that each individual at the camp had their own idea as to what they were willing to do to slow down Cable Sands as much as possible "Some are prepared to be arrested while others go one step further, putting their bodies on the line to hinder progress," said Green. "Often it gets very technical and people take different levels of risk but damage to machinery or violence will not be supported by the group as a whole." Green said that different methods to hinder tree clearing ranged from locking on to trees at the base or staying in the trees to more intricate measures which could often become dangerous. Green said 'Dragons' were commonly used to hinder progress and included devices used to secure protesters to a certain spot. One method is to immerse an arm or leg into a buried concrete structure which, once set, requires a jack hammer to free the protester," he said. The ingenuity comes when a protester who is secured is also linked by a rope to others in a tree structure which will fall if the sole protestor is moved."
Tuarts are endemic to Western Australia (WA) and specifically the Swan Coastal Plain, occurring from Jurien Bay to Busselton. The extent of tuarts falls into six distinct tuart ecosystems, of which four are considered rare due to their limited range and size. One of these rare tuart ecosystems is the Ludlow Tall Tuart Forest: what makes this ecosystem particularly special is that tuart trees grow taller then anywhere else in the state.
The Ludlow Tuart Forest is the only remaining Tall Tuart Forest in the world and is therefore one of the rarest ecosystems left on earth. 1955 hectares are left in the South West of Western Australia and Cable Sands have put forward a proposal to mine 147 hectares right in the middle of it. The reason - titanium. It is not surprising that the proposal has attracted opposition from a variety of groups and community members.
The area is habitat for a number of rare and endangered and vulnerable species including the endangered Carnaby's Black Cockatoo, the Chuditch, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Western Ring-tailed Possum, Brush Wallaby and contains 1739 Tuart trees and their associated eco-systems.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) has admitted that any attempt to rehabilitate the area may not result in the return of its present values such as tall Tuart trees growing to a great 500 year old age.
In their submissions to the EPA the Conservation Commission of WA, CALM, WA Institute of Foresters, Shire of Busselton, Cape Naturaliste Tourism Association, and the Conservation Council of WA have all opposed mining in the Ludlow Tall Tuart Forest.
Cable Sands claims they can restore this ecosystem (post mining) to "a condition better than currently exists." However there is no evidence in WA that Cable Sands is capable of restoring an ecosystem. What limited experience Cable Sands does have, has demonstrated that it is difficult to regrow tuarts on mined soils that are similar to those of the Ludlow Tall Tuart Forest. Further, the oldest tuart trees that Cable Sands have attempted to revegetate are only 15 years old and far from representing a Tall Tuart Forest.
In 1903 there were only 40500 ha of tuart forest ecosystems remaining in the South West of WA. The area was singled out for urgent conservation by the Royal Commission, after significant depletion of naturally occurring forest was cited (down some 89500 ha: from 130 000 ha in 1882 recorded in the first official survey of WA forests, to 40500 ha to 1903: a span of just 21 years) as a result of Tuarts' attractive timber properties as a hardwood.
Recommendations made to the WA Government in 1904 stated that: "All countries seem now to realize the importance of stopping the reckless waste of the past and making provision for the future…
The longer it is delayed, the more difficult the task."
Its 2004 guys. Sources: Ludlow Tuart Campaign, Busselton- Dunsborough Mail, Augusta Margaret River Mail, IMC/Perth, Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Informant: reg
http://cablesands.com/
http://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/forests/wa/tuarts_wa/
http://au.msnusers.com/SavetheLudlowTuartForest/mining.msnw?albumlist=2
http://perth.indymedia.org/index.php?action=newswire&parentview=4962
Protesters trying to save the Ludlow tuart forest, near Busselton in south-west Western Australia, have threatened to chain themselves to their tree-top platforms if police try to remove them. The protesters are asking for some of the conservationists to be allowed to remain in their tree-top. Yesterday, residents of the Tuart Rescue Camp were given 24 hours to move - an impossible task given the size of the camp. The deadline for the protesters to leave site passed without incident earlier today. Dozens of police, including a mounted section, are on stand-by and say force will be used as a last resort if talks fail. A spokeswoman from the Forest Products Commission says they are to start harvesting pine trees in the area tomorrow.
The Wilderness Society's Keith Wood says the group will fight until the bitter end. "What we're really looking for is an up swell of community support," he said. "The more people that get involved, the more passionate people get, the more we can do."
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance recently approved titanium mining company Cable Sands' Tuart Preservation Plan.
Friends of the Tuart Forest spokesperson Martin Pritchard says "The plan confirms our fears there are unacceptable risks involved with the logging of 1200 tuart trees. The cutting down of the huge old tuarts will have a devastating effect on the native animals, with many expected not to survive the felling of the trees. Cable Sands intends to mine within 4m of the mature trees and 10m of the senescent trees. We question whether these trees will survive soil disturbance close to intruding on their root systems."
Camp occupant Brian Green said recently that each individual at the camp had their own idea as to what they were willing to do to slow down Cable Sands as much as possible "Some are prepared to be arrested while others go one step further, putting their bodies on the line to hinder progress," said Green. "Often it gets very technical and people take different levels of risk but damage to machinery or violence will not be supported by the group as a whole." Green said that different methods to hinder tree clearing ranged from locking on to trees at the base or staying in the trees to more intricate measures which could often become dangerous. Green said 'Dragons' were commonly used to hinder progress and included devices used to secure protesters to a certain spot. One method is to immerse an arm or leg into a buried concrete structure which, once set, requires a jack hammer to free the protester," he said. The ingenuity comes when a protester who is secured is also linked by a rope to others in a tree structure which will fall if the sole protestor is moved."
Tuarts are endemic to Western Australia (WA) and specifically the Swan Coastal Plain, occurring from Jurien Bay to Busselton. The extent of tuarts falls into six distinct tuart ecosystems, of which four are considered rare due to their limited range and size. One of these rare tuart ecosystems is the Ludlow Tall Tuart Forest: what makes this ecosystem particularly special is that tuart trees grow taller then anywhere else in the state.
The Ludlow Tuart Forest is the only remaining Tall Tuart Forest in the world and is therefore one of the rarest ecosystems left on earth. 1955 hectares are left in the South West of Western Australia and Cable Sands have put forward a proposal to mine 147 hectares right in the middle of it. The reason - titanium. It is not surprising that the proposal has attracted opposition from a variety of groups and community members.
The area is habitat for a number of rare and endangered and vulnerable species including the endangered Carnaby's Black Cockatoo, the Chuditch, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Western Ring-tailed Possum, Brush Wallaby and contains 1739 Tuart trees and their associated eco-systems.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) has admitted that any attempt to rehabilitate the area may not result in the return of its present values such as tall Tuart trees growing to a great 500 year old age.
In their submissions to the EPA the Conservation Commission of WA, CALM, WA Institute of Foresters, Shire of Busselton, Cape Naturaliste Tourism Association, and the Conservation Council of WA have all opposed mining in the Ludlow Tall Tuart Forest.
Cable Sands claims they can restore this ecosystem (post mining) to "a condition better than currently exists." However there is no evidence in WA that Cable Sands is capable of restoring an ecosystem. What limited experience Cable Sands does have, has demonstrated that it is difficult to regrow tuarts on mined soils that are similar to those of the Ludlow Tall Tuart Forest. Further, the oldest tuart trees that Cable Sands have attempted to revegetate are only 15 years old and far from representing a Tall Tuart Forest.
In 1903 there were only 40500 ha of tuart forest ecosystems remaining in the South West of WA. The area was singled out for urgent conservation by the Royal Commission, after significant depletion of naturally occurring forest was cited (down some 89500 ha: from 130 000 ha in 1882 recorded in the first official survey of WA forests, to 40500 ha to 1903: a span of just 21 years) as a result of Tuarts' attractive timber properties as a hardwood.
Recommendations made to the WA Government in 1904 stated that: "All countries seem now to realize the importance of stopping the reckless waste of the past and making provision for the future…
The longer it is delayed, the more difficult the task."
Its 2004 guys. Sources: Ludlow Tuart Campaign, Busselton- Dunsborough Mail, Augusta Margaret River Mail, IMC/Perth, Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Informant: reg
http://cablesands.com/
http://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/forests/wa/tuarts_wa/
http://au.msnusers.com/SavetheLudlowTuartForest/mining.msnw?albumlist=2
http://perth.indymedia.org/index.php?action=newswire&parentview=4962
Starmail - 18. Aug, 15:11
