Tall, thin mountain ash trees line the picturesque tracks at Toolangi State Forest, 70km northeast of Melbourne. It’s a few degrees cooler under the trees and the soil is damp underfoot with water that filters through the roots before flowing into the city’s water catchment.
One month ago, before the Andrews government made the shock announcement that it would halt all native forest logging by 31 December, six years earlier than scheduled, the forest was included as part of the state’s native timber reserve. Now the locals who love the forest are asking, what’s next?
