HUNTER Valley residents battling on the frontline against the state government's logging of native forests are celebrating a win following a temporary halt in operations at Bulga Forest.
Despite two arrests, that of veteran forest campaigner Susie Russel, a Bulga Plateau local, and Isla Lamont, who was hauled down from a bamboo tripod standing several metres high over the worksite's main access road, the temporary shutdown was cause for celebration.
About 50 people, many of who have camped out at the site since just after Christmas, formed a blockade at the site, including NSW Greens spokeswoman for Climate Change and Environment, Sue Higginson.
"This is a success on the part of the community and a strategic backpedalling by the NSW Forestry Corporation," Ms Higginson said.
"Although today's action was about Bulga, it was also about native forestry operations across NSW."
The Forestry Corporation's annual report, released just before Christmas, contains figures suggesting that the logging of hardwood trees, which relies almost exclusively on native forests, cost NSW taxpayers $9 million last financial year, and $19 million the year before that.
Meanwhile, softwood logging undertaken in plantation forests made a profit of $47 million in 2021/22, and $264 million the year before that.
Another report released late last year, this time from the state government's industry regulator, the Natural Resource Commission, said NSW forests are in poor condition and an "intervention" in the way forests are managed is required because it is unsustainable and will likely turn our forests into net carbon emitters due to the changing climate.
Logging in the Bulga Forest started in November and was reportedly due to continue until mid-May this year.
In a statement issued on Monday, January 9, a spokeswoman for the Forestry Corporation said the Bulga Forest contains areas of native regrowth forest, which has been harvested and regrown over the past 100 years, and areas of hardwood plantations, land planted with trees for timber.
"Late last year a crew was operating in two native regrowth compartments," the statement said.
"This work ceased at the end of the year. The crew is now working in a plantation within the forest. The protest today was at the native regrowth site and so harvesting has continued in the plantation."
In terms of the Forestry Corporation's financial performance, the past two financial years have been heavily impacted by fire and floods, she said.
"The assertion that native forest harvesting runs at a loss is incorrect," the statement said.
"Forestry Corporation manages almost 2 million hectares of public native forests on behalf of the state. Around one million hectares of this is permanently set aside for conservation.
"Timber harvesting in native regrowth forests takes place in around 1 per cent of the estate each year and revenue from this timber helps fund the management of things like fire, pests, weeds and tourism in the other 99 per cent."
Protesters also argue that the latest research of David Lindenmeyer, a leading Australian voice in forest ecology and forest management, says native forest logging operations increase the frequency and intensity of bushfires in forests.
The Forestry Corporation says Forestry Australia has some research offering a different view.
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