In Tasmania's north-east, the small town of Derby is wrestling with its identity.
Nestled in the forest, the area has transformed into an eco-tourism hub since the Blue Derby trails opened in 2015.
Traditionally it has been forestry, alongside agriculture, that has propped up the local economy.
The town sits at the centre of a vast swathe of production forest managed by state-owned Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT).
The world class trails are even built on some of that forest — the result of a deal reached between STT and the Dorset Council years ago.
But the coupes next door are now due for harvesting.
At the beginning of February, STT's machinery and crews moved in, logging began, and the push from opponents to stop the operations intensified.
Adam Campbell, who runs a bike tour and hire business on Derby's main road, said the logging detracted from Derby's mountain-biking credentials.
"It's very, very disappointing, both from a business owner's standpoint and someone that's passionate about the environment," Mr Campbell said.
"I've been up to Krushka's [trail] a few times since logging started, it is very noisy, you can definitely hear the machinery.
Krushka's is one of the trails closest to the harvesting, alongside Atlas and Dam Busters.
Mr Campbell said he had to consider the noise and impact for the tours he runs, but it is the loss of native forest he is most concerned about.
"I'm worried about the impact not only for the short term or immediate term, but the long term for generations to come," he said.
Can mountain biking and forestry coexist?
Further along the main road, new resident Damien Neilson feels similarly.
After visiting regularly for years, Mr Neilson moved to Derby last year, and set up a bike shop.
"A lot of customers are saying that they're hearing the chainsaws, they're hearing the falling, and this is all being done within peak season, when it was asked of Sustainable Timber not to do this in peak season," he said.
February remains a busy month for the 120-kilometre trail network.
While STT delayed the harvest until after January — towards the end of school holidays — the company said it could not put it off longer because the operations needed to occur in dry weather to minimise the environmental impact.
Mr Neilson believes Derby's future should be in eco-tourism, and that native forest logging should end.
Not everyone in Derby shares those concerns — others remain supportive or ambivalent about the industry, and believe mountain biking and forestry can coexist.
Dorset Mayor Greg Howard says the majority of the local community would understand that forestry was a key driver for the local economy.
"It was always intended to be harvested, and STT has given up quite a bit of that land to put into the Derby precinct," Mr Howard said.
"Without [STT's] support, most of the businesses in Derby wouldn't be here. There wouldn't be a mountain-biking community like there is."
Mr Howard was dismissive of concerns about logging's impacts on the trails.
"When you're riding down the trail at whatever speed you're going at, you're too heavily reliant on trying to avoid trees and rocks and staying on your bike to worry about what might be happening 200 metres over the bush," Mr Howard said.
'No-one anticipated the success of Derby'
STT's Suzette Weeding says the two coupes have been on the logging schedule for "quite some time," and that the company endeavoured to consult broadly before operations began.
With the trails established on STT land, the state-owned forestry body says it always intended to harvest the surrounding coupes.
The company says the forests contain considerable amounts of high-quality sawlogs, which will be supplied to local sawmillers.
"This coupe is quite an important part of our wood supply for the north-east of Tasmania," Ms Weeding said.
"No-one anticipated the success of Derby and I guess the excitement around mountain biking, particularly here in Tassie.
A buffer, or 'rider separation zone', has been left along the border of the trail precinct — it's at least 50 metres throughout, widening to 200 metres in parts.
Up to 10 log trucks leave the forests each day, but STT says they avoid travelling through the town centre.
"Mostly [the harvested timber] will go into high-quality products, so flooring, structural material, and beautiful Tas Oak furniture," Ms Weeding said.
Australian National University forest ecologist David Lindenmayer has warned against logging near tourism infrastructure such as mountain bike trails, and towns.
Professor Lindenmayer said research now indicated that logged forests always burn at higher severity than intact forests, making logging near Derby "unacceptable", and a decision that will put the area at risk for decades.
"I think it's absolutely bloody-minded. We shouldn't be logging anywhere near these communities that will add extra risk to human safety and human property," he said.
"When forests are logged and then regenerated they generally don't burn for the next seven years, and then there's an increased risk for the next 35 years at least."
Ms Weeding said there were varying opinions about the fire risk, and STT had extensive firefighting capabilities.
'We're undercutting brand Blue Derby'
Derby local Louise Morris coordinates Blue Derby Wild — a volunteer-run organisation campaigning to end native forest logging.
The organisation is preparing to table an online petition in parliament, calling on Premier Peter Gutwein — who is now also minister for tourism and climate change — to step in and halt operations at Derby, signed by more than 33,000 people.
Last year, more than 180 tourism operators signed an open letter calling for the Tasmanian government to end native forest logging on the basis that it was undermining the state's "clean, green and clever brand".
Companies ranging from outdoor brands Paddy Pallin and Patagonia, to Launceston restaurants Stillwater and Black Cow Bistro, added their voices to the push, and within hours Tasmania's Tourism Industry Council has since ended its long-running agreement with the forestry industry.
There are now more than 200 signatories to the letter.
"We're selling ourselves not just to Australia but internationally as 'come down for air, go behind the scenery'," Ms Morris said.
"We're undercutting brand Blue Derby, we're undercutting the taxpayer's investments which built these trails, and our town is suffering.
"Ultimately, our forests and our ability to take action on climate change is suffering."
As STT's operations continue, Blue Derby Wild is looking at options for an injunction.
In the meantime, the company says it has no plans to cease the harvest before it is complete — likely to happen in about the middle of this year.
