TasFarmers Matters - Science drives private forests

FOR Tasmanian farmers, native forestry isn’t just like any other crop.

 It’s a land type that includes multiple enterprises, such as grazing, cropping, wood production, carbon production, and animal husbandry.

 Today, the majority of forestry contributes to ecosystem services and enhances biodiversity through contemporary forest management practices such as selective harvesting and thinning.

 It is also a profit centre in long-term financial planning.

 But what is native forest? The term is used almost as a weapon in some circles where calls for an end to native forest logging are made almost on an hourly basis.

 But native forest logging is not clear fell logging – far from it.

 For farmers, logging native forest is all about the way farmers manage their native forest estate to further develop the health of the overall forest.

 We’re talking about fuel reduction burns that protect the broader environment and the community, as well as the production of high-quality timber and value-added timber products.

 This is about stimulating new tree growth that literally absorbs carbon Science drives private forests from the atmosphere, generating wood products that are vital to the carbon and economic cycle.

 It’s time to shift the conversation about forestry on farms.

 the mainstream narrative should emphasise responsible land stewardship, which delivers economic, social, and environmental benefits, improves biodiversity, reduces fire risks, and generates income for farming families.

 Ultimately, stopping native log ging in state forests is a government decision.

 But there’s no rational science-based argument to stop private landowners and custodians of large private forests in Tasmania from managing native forest resources proactively and sustainably.

 Private forests are there for the use and benefit of everyone - it’s hypocritical for some to say stop all logging.

 Farmers are managing private forest resources for the future.

 We all know that if we stop well-managed practices here, there’s still timber being logged out of rainforests throughout Southeast Asia.

 The bulk of Tasmania is dry sclerophyll forest, and for it to regenerate it needs active undergrowth management and fuel reduction burning.

 The important thing to note is with selective logging you only take out a percentage of the timber and you still leave the very best.

 This is a way to create species diversity in our forests without clear felling as the only form of harvest.

 The work of farmers on private forests is increasing the biodiversity and sequestering more carbon as a consequence.

 Private native forest management should be driven purely by science that will allow a whole range of economic and social benefits to be unlocked.

 In a bigger sense, it all about food security and ensuring the amount of farmland isn’t decreasing in Australia, where urban encroachment driven by an increasing population creates more demand for more food.

 The community trusts farmers to produce the food, fibre and pharmaceuticals needed by all of us – why wouldn’t we do the same with our native forest estate?