FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE NORTH EAST Department of Natural Resources and Environment January 2001 ii ã The State of Victoria, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, 2001 This publication is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner. Published by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002 Australia http://www.nre.vic.gov.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Victoria. Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment. Forest Management Plan for the North East. 1. Forest management – Victoria, Northeastern. 2. Forest Conservation – Victoria, Northeastern. 3. Forest ecology – Victoria, Northeastern. 4. Biological diversity conservation – Victoria, Northeastern. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaim all liability for any error, loss or other consequences which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. ISBN 0 7311 4713 8 iii FOREWORD The forests of the North East extend from the tall, wet forests along the Great Dividing Range to the foothill forests and plains woodlands to the Murray River in the north and west. The regional centres of Benalla, Wangaratta and Corryong are within the North East planning area. The forests in the region contain important environmental and cultural values and economic resources that form the basis for a thriving tourism industry, sustainable timber industry and which provide valuable water resources. Over 1.2 million hectares within the planning area of 2.3 million hectares is public land, of which more than 428 000 hectares is set aside in parks and conservation reserves. The recent additions of the Wongungarra River headwaters and the Wongungarra Remote and Natural Area to the Alpine National Park ensures that significant forest values in these areas will be protected. This Plan applies to State forest, which extends over approximately 697 000 hectares. The State forest complements the parks and reserve system by playing a major role in conserving the area's natural values, as well as contributing to the regional and State economy. This Plan establishes management principles for the balanced use and care of State forest. These management principles are consistent with the Victorian Government's commitment to ecologically sustainable forest management. This Plan aims to provide an environment where forest ecosystems are maintained or enhanced, water supplies and sensitive environmental and cultural values are protected, and timber production, recreation and other forest uses can continue to benefit local communities. In preparing this Plan, NRE has adopted an integrated regional planning approach that is based on a wide range of expertise from within and outside NRE. Public participation has been integral to the development of this Plan. A Forest Management Advisory Committee, drawn from local communities and key stakeholder groups, has advised the planning team on key community issues and concerns regarding forest management and has provided valuable comment. NRE sought the views of a wide range of interested people in order to address the issues that have been raised. NRE also considered the views of many individuals and groups in the development of the 1999 North East Regional Forest Agreement which ran concurrently with the development of this Plan. This Plan is consistent with the North East Regional Forest Agreement and the recent additions to the Alpine National Park and provides a blueprint for the sustainable management of public forests in north eastern Victoria. Chloe Munro Secretary iv SUMMARY Publicly owned forest in the North East covers more than 1.1 million hectares, extending from the Murray River to the east and north, the Hume Highway to the west and the Great Dividing Range to the south. State forest comprises approximately 697 000 hectares of this land and has an important role in complementing the management of national parks and other reserves for conservation, recreation and the tourism industry. State forest also contributes to Victoria’s annual sawlog harvest and encompasses catchments from which local communities draw clean water supplies. The major challenges addressed in this Plan are to meet a number of conservation and resource use requirements, including those of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, the Heritage Rivers Act 1992, the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, the National Forest Policy Statement (NFPS) (Commonwealth of Australia 1992a), current sawlog licence commitments to the timber industry and the sustainable yield requirements of Schedule 2 of the Forests Act 1958. The strategy used to address these challenges has three main elements. Conservation guidelines specify minimum levels of planned protection to be provided for natural values in State forest, taking into account the extent of those values in national parks and conservation reserves. They provide a systematic basis for zoning decisions in State forest and therefore introduce stability into the process for balancing conservation with timber production goals. Forest management zones set priorities and permitted uses in different parts of State forest. The Special Protection Zone (SPZ) will be managed for conservation, and timber harvesting will be excluded. The Special Management Zone (SMZ) will be managed for specific features while catering for timber production under certain conditions. The General Management Zone (GMZ) will cater for a range of uses with timber production as a high priority. A process for reviewing management strategies and zones enables progressive refinement of the Plan in response to new information and developments in natural resource management. This Plan provides: a network of protected areas forming part of the National Forest Reserve System that complements the system of national parks and conservation reserves in the North East; a framework for sustainable use of the forest for timber production and other purposes; and a process for adapting to change in a systematic, and orderly manner. In doing so, this Plan will fulfil the major requirements of the NFPS. The Plan reflects the outcome of the North East Regional Forest Agreement. SPECIFIC INITIATIVES Conservation of Biodiversity • In accordance with Nationally Agreed Criteria for the Establishment of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System for Forests in Australia (JANIS 1997), specified levels of reservation have been adopted for each of the Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) occurring in the North East according to their rarity in the landscape. Where conservation reserves do not meet these targets, areas of State forest have been protected to make up the balance. • The Plan addresses potential threats to flora and fauna populations, and identifies measures to mitigate such threats. • As far as practicable, all rare and endangered EVCs (22 EVCs) on public land, 60% of the remaining extent of vulnerable EVCs (4 EVCs), and 15% of the pre-1750 extent of all other EVCs are protected. v • As far as practicable, all rare or depleted old-growth forest on public land is protected and where possible, sufficient State forest SPZ has been established to protect 60% of the area of all other old- growth forest types. • In establishing and protecting large areas of mature forest, provision is made for recruitment of old- growth forest so that its total area will increase in the long term. • A strategy for conserving rare and threatened plant species is established. • Conservation guidelines have been established for key threatened and sensitive fauna species in State forest. These include measures to protect the Long-footed Potoroo, Spot-tailed Quoll, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Smoky Mouse, Spotted Tree Frog, Bandy Bandy, the Barking, Powerful, Sooty and Masked Owls and the Barred Galaxias in accordance with the management strategies for these species. Specific strategies are also established for a range of other forest fauna. • A network of linear reserves generally of 200 m average width (or as otherwise specified by legislative requirements) has been designed to maintain resident populations of sensitive fauna such as arboreal mammals, forest bats and hollow-nesting birds across the landscape. These will also facilitate the re- colonisation of areas that are harvested for wood production or burnt by wildfire. • A number of areas in the SMZ will be managed to retain high wildlife values while continuing to provide access to timber resources. Forest Production • The area of forest suitable and available for sustainable sawlog production accounts for approximately 12% of public land and contributes approximately 8% of Victoria’s annual production of sawlogs. • NRE has adopted a fully commercial approach to the management of its production forest, with strong support for value-adding of timber resources. Policies are in place to ensure resource security and provide for development and growth of a sustainable timber industry. • The combined sustainable yield of sawlogs for the FMAs of