EEG trial update. The Brown Mountain landmark trial has begun.

Several communities of koalas in the Mumbulla and Murrah State Forests on the NSW South Coast near Bermagui are at risk of regional extinction due to plans by Forestry NSW to commence logging their forest habitat on Monday 1st March 2010.

Originally published 27 Feb 10, Updated 1 Mar 10 with Media Release of 27 Feb 10 from the Conservation Council ACT Region.

In October 2008, NSW Forests logged what it labeled “two compartments” in Bermagui State Forest north of Bermagui. It justified this under the infamous Eden Regional Forest Agreement (RFA). This RFA is one of three established in 1999, in which the NSW Government relegated 15.1 million hectares of native forests across New South Wales for logging anytime.
Recent anti-protester legislation has seen four forest campaigners who had allegedly entered Bermagui State Forest charged under Labor's Ian MacDonald's Forestry Regulation 2009 due to go before the court on 18th June 2010.

It's another one of these licensed to kill 'Regional Forest Agreements' (RFA's) by Forests NSW.

This time the bastard loggers are in the old growth and rainforest between Ulladulla and Batemans raping and pillaging South Brooman State Forest, a rare surviving home of Australia's endangered Spotted-Tailed Quolls and endangered Grey-Headed Flying Foxes.
And its all approved by Forests NSW under another slimy Regional Forest Agreement.

There was an outcry about the illegal and brutal attack on baby koala Doug, and his consequent death, yet loggers will be allowed to destroy the habitat of a colony of koalas in the state forest on the NSW South Coast. They need protection before they are legally wiped out, simply because their homes are for woodchip profits!

Court upholds public interest in Brown Mountain forest proceedings
“We feel vindicated by this decision today and look forward to having the case heard for the protection of the forests and rare wildlife on Brown Mountain”, said Ms Redwood of Environment East Gippsland.
But now they have to fight the case - and that means paying lawyers. No question in my mind that this is a battle worth supporting. Please dig deeply in your pockets.
Thank you Environment East Gippsland!

Today, Monday 14th September, the Victorian Supreme Court found grounds for an injunction to stop the Victorian Government from logging old-growth Brown Mountain forest. In an appalling trend, however, the court asked for the complainant to deposit a huge sum of money as an indemnity for VicForests before it applies the law. The complainant is the small but incredibly brave group of volunteers - Environment East Gippsland (EEG). EEG is all that stands between the reduction of Victoria's remaining old growth forest - our Eden - to below 8 %, heading towards zero. See also: Related articles The Government should be defending our forests, yet we have to defend them against our rogue Victorian government. Please dig deeply into your pockets for EEG and for justice and for Mother Nature.

Article about Brown Mountain on the Anarchist media net says that the logging of Brown Mountain will be done by public servants who would be otherwise deployed in our poorly tended ecosystems if they were not sent off to log. However EEG disagrees on this point. See related important corrections to original article in comments below it inside. They also make interesting reading.

Threatened species day is 7th September 2009. It might just as well be Australia day because all our native animals are being squeezed out of their habitats. Perhaps the very most endangered is the little Leadbeater's Possum, living only within a tiny area of Victoria.
Decades of logging in native forests, the devastating impacts of the 2009 bushfires and the massive levels of Salvage Logging taking place post-fires are tipping our State Faunal Emblem over the edge towards extinction!
Please Act this Threatened Species Day … 7th September 2009 - more inside.

This is what we are used to reading about Borneo and the Amazon. Now we can read it about Victoria. In fact, it is happening all over the world. Bad governments are simply going ahead doing awful things in a place near by. What makes you think your government is any different? Are you watching them? Are you helping to protect your forests?

Financial assistance urgently needed to get the law applied. This forest has lots of endangered species. Environment East Gippsland is applying for an injunction in the Supreme Court of Victoria this afternoon following the government’s announcement of its decision earlier today to log Brown Mountain. “The injunction will be extremely costly but someone’s got to do it. We can’t put a price on forests that are seven times older than Federation.” said Jill Redwood, Coordinator of EEG. “With the refusal of this government to protect the ancient forests and its endangered wildlife, it’s time to challenge this bloody-minded boys club in our courts.” (Jill Redwood, EEG) Go to EEG Website to donate by PayPal or to send help by mail.

HELLLPPPP!
The news just in is that the Brown Mountain decision will be made in a week or so and the loggers will go in immediately afterwards! Brumby is not planning to protect it! Be there Tomorrow at 10.30am on the steps of Parliament House Victoria. We want everyone who can come along - young and old. The more old growth we cut down the more drying of the land, reduced rainfall, increased temperatures and risk of more and hotter bushfires. Bushfires dominate in managed and thinned forest, not in old growth! Logging Brown Forest will cause more bad bushfires in Victoria. Campervan, 4WDS and cars needed. Contact 0413927044

Over 1,800 animal and plant species in the Swedish forests are red-listed. Could this be the price that Tasmanians, and Australians, are willing to pay for what is "good" for jobs and the economy?

For the past 40 days, indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon are protesting investment laws passed under a free-trade pact with the United States and against concessions granted to foreign energy companies. Indigenous communities complain that some 70% of Peruvian Amazon territory is now leased for oil and gas exploration, putting at risk their own lives and the biodiversity of the Amazon.

See also: Action Alert: Resource Boom in Peru's Amazon Threatens Indigenous Peoples' Livelihoods and Their Rainforest Homes"

Whilst many people have been aware (but have mostly been ignored) that vegetation, especially forests, creates rain, and whilst desertification has been linked to deforestation historically many times, there is a new and robust theory to explain how this may happen.
See also How logging causes forest fires

This is a short sharp account of the various kinds of forests affected in the fires, locations, their prior fire management, and the impact of this. It concludes succinctly with observations about disturbed landscapes.

new logging slash at Brown Mountain. This is what causes fatal bushfires and climate change - logging.
See also: "Greens, logging, forest fires and malaria" of 11 Feb 09 and "Brown Mountain Rape" of 26 Jan 09

Just got another email about who's supposedly to blame for the forest fires. Looks to me like the mainstream press is out to stir people up again and put them off voting for Greens or defending forests and wildlife. The latest email even accused 'Greens' of causing deaths from malaria by saying that DDT is bad. These 'anti-greens' never get it right, do they? Malaria is caused by clearing forests, which they are in favour of...

Stuff the precautionary Principle- it might get in the way!
Longitude: 148.74495E Latitude: 37.26S. East Gippsland Victoria Australia-
The logging of old growth forest at Brown Mountain has been precipitate and swift. Few Victorians would be aware of the destruction which has occurred over the past few weeks in forest wild life habitat.

Ecological Internet reports that Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has blocked ecological criminal President George W Bush's last minute plans to sharply increase logging on 2.2 million acres of forests in Western Oregon.

See original article: "Oregon's Governor Stymies Bush's 'Midnight' Forest Raid" on forests.org.
See also: Oregon governor objects to Bureau of Land Management logging plan in Capital Press of 11 Dec 08.
What you can do: Give generously to forests.org and other Ecological Internet projects to help them achieve more such wins for the environment.

Worldwide, deforestation is the single biggest cause of extinction, Excluding forests from biodiversity protection is a contradiction in terms, Environmental Protection Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.