Environment Order Putting Industry at Risk, Forestry Organisation Claims

The forestry industry claims that the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has shut down forestry operations across New South Wales (NSW) because it allowed insufficient time to comply with new rules protecting the habitat of the endangered greater gliders. The marsupial was listed as endangered in July 2022, having previously been listed as vulnerable. Populations have declined by 80 percent in the past 20 years. A new rule requires the protection of any tree in which a glider is spotted and the creation of a 25-metre logging exclusion zone around it. The protection is temporary and lasts for the duration of a forestry operation. The government-owned Forestry Corporation suspended 15 harvesting operations in state forests almost two weeks ago, claiming it had no time to conform to the EPA’s new rule. The industry says the cost is already crippling, with no end to the suspension in sight....