Dean Kearney, Senior Planning Manager for Forestry Corporation said planning had taken several months to complete.

“We have completed an extensive planning process, including a number of constructive dialogues with local forest neighbours and we are confident that our final plans balance the needs of all the stakeholders in the community and the timber industry,” Mr Kearney said. 

“Forestry Corporation is well aware of the community interest in our plantation management and we have put the harvest plan and some background information about the Tarkeeth Forest and its timber plantations on our website that people can access in their own time.

“The entire Tarkeeth State Forest is former agricultural land that was purchased by the Forestry Commission in 1984.  Most of the area was historically cleared and used for agriculture.  In the 1960s and 1970s, when the area was owned by Australian Paper Manufacturers 850 hectares were planted with a timber crop, which is now mature and ready to be harvested.

“We harvested and replanted around 100 hectares at the northern end of the forest closer to Bellingen in 2012 and in 2016 we will harvest between 100 and 150 hectares, which is around 10 per cent of the forest area. The rest of the timber plantations will be gradually harvested and replanted with local eucalyptus seedlings that will produce high quality timber products for the future.

“An Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Officer from Forestry Corporation has surveyed the site to ensure that any cultural heritage items are identified and protected and our Aboriginal partnerships team also liaised with local Aboriginal groups, as they do for all out harvesting operations.

“Each section of plantation will be replanted with more than 1000 trees per hectare, and these new trees will quickly re-establish into additional habitat for local wildlife and provide an ongoing sustainable source of local timber for generations to come.

“The timber harvested from these plantations is important for the local industry and economy, supplying several sawmills in the Bellingen Valley, Nambucca and Grafton with hardwood for conversion into timber products ranging from power poles to timber flooring and decking, fencing timber, roof battens and pallets for transporting goods.

“The forest products industry continues to support more than 4000 jobs in Northern NSW and more than 100 in Bellingen alone, and processing the full range of timber products is an important and steady source of local work and revenue for local businesses.

“The timber harvesting is expected to commence in the coming weeks, weather permitting.”

Further information about the Tarkeeth State Forest plantations, including the current harvest plans can be viewed atwww.forestrycorporation.com.au