Forest Management Plan for Gippsland
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Forest management plan for Gippsland Forest management plan for Gippsland Department of Sustainability and Environment June 2004 Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, June 2004 Also published on www.dse.vic.gov.au © The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2004 This publication is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. Printed by Gill Miller Press, 34 Stanley Street, Collingwood VIC 3066 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Victoria. Dept. of Sustainability and Environment. Forest Management Plan for Gippsland. Bibliography ISBN 1 74106 756 1 Forest management – Victoria – Gippsland. 2. Forest conservation – Victoria, Gippsland. 3. Forest ecology – Victoria – Gippsland. I. Victoria. Department of Sustainability and Enfronment. II. Title. 333.751609944 Disclaimer 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 disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. ii Forest management plan for Gippsland Foreword The Gippsland Forest Management Plan area covers over 2.6 million hectares in mid Gippsland. The planning area extends from the coast to the Great Dividing Range and from the Timbarra and Murray Rivers in the east, to Aberfeldy, Moe and Inverloch in the west. The area is known for its diverse environment, ranging from alpine to coastal areas, landscapes and native forest industries including timber production, tourism and beekeeping. Public land comprises 1 452 800 ha, or 54% of the area, and is covered mostly by native forest. This Plan applies to State forest which covers approximately 802 600 ha, or around 30% of the planning area. This Forest Management Plan provides for the balanced use and care of State forest, consistent with the Victorian Government’s commitment to ecologically sustainable forest management and improved stewardship of public land. This Plan addresses one of Victoria’s key challenges which is to enhance the sustainability of our environments, communities and industries. The Plan aims to provide a framework for stewardship on public land where forest ecosystems are maintained or enhanced, water supplies and sensitive environmental and cultural values are protected, while timber production, recreation and other forest uses can continue to benefit Victorian communities. The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) recognises that Indigenous communities, as the traditional custodians of the lands and waters, have a fundamental role in the management of Victoria’s natural resources. In developing this Plan, DSE adopted a process of integrated regional planning, drawing on a broad range of expertise and interest from within and outside the Department. Public participation has been an important part of this process. The Department established direct contact with a wide range of interested groups and individuals including a community-based Submissions Reference Group that assisted DSE in the review of the 33 submissions received on the Proposed Plan. The Department appreciates the dedication and efforts of the Submission Reference Group, those who provided submissions on the Proposed Plan, and the interest and contributions by other groups and individuals. This Plan is consistent with the Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement and provides a comprehensive framework for the sustainable management of State forest within this area. On the 8 January 2003 a series of lightning strikes started over 80 fires in eastern Victoria. These fires impacted on the communities and the public and private lands in North East Victoria, East Gippsland and Gippsland, including some areas covered by this Plan. A process for reviewing management strategies is provided in the Plan to enable DSE to adapt management practices and progressively refine the Plan in response to new information and changing community expectations. The Department is committed to fostering a culture of openness, partnership and participation with communities to enhance the stewardship of the Gippsland forests. Professor Lyndsay Neilson Secretary Department of Sustainability and Environment Foreword iii Summary Publicly owned forest in the Gippsland Plan area covers more than 1.4 million hectares, extending from the Great Dividing Range to the north, the Timbarra and Murray Rivers to the east, Bass Strait to the south, and Aberfeldy, Moe and Inverloch to the west. State forest comprises approximately 802 600 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 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), 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 sustainable uses with timber production a major use. 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 Gippsland; 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 National Forest Policy Statement and related forest policy initiatives. 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), minimum levels of protection have been adopted for each of the Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) 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 a series of processes that may threaten flora and fauna populations, and identifies measures to mitigate such threats. • As far as practicable, all rare and endangered EVCs (38 EVCs) on public land, 60% of the remaining extent of vulnerable EVCs (5 EVCs), and 15% of pre-1750 extent of all other EVCs are protected. • As far as practicable, all rare old-growth on public land is protected and where possible, sufficient State forest SPZ has been established to protect 60% of the area of common old-growth 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. iv Forest management plan for Gippsland • Conservation guidelines have been established for key threatened and sensitive fauna species in State forest. These include measures to protect the Spot-tailed Quoll, Smoky Mouse, Spotted Tree Frog and the Powerful, Sooty, Masked and Barking Owls in accordance with the management strategies for these species. Specific strategies are also established for a range of other forest fauna. • 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 15.2% of public land in the planning area. The focus of hardwood production from Victoria’s State forests is to supply a sawlog driven industry that produces value-added wood products within an ecologically sustainable forest management framework. Policies are in place to provide resource security and the development and growth of a sustainable timber industry. • The Plan area covers the Tambo FMA,