Red Gum.. Could this be the end?

**Greg Ward** · 2nd June 2012, 06:18 PM

I've said this before.... but once again.......

100 years ago, the old timers were cutting timber to clear land to gain their 'selection' on the mid N coast of NSW.
There were small dairy farms on each river and rivulet, and native wildlife was a food of necessity. The clearing was widespread and ongoing smoke of fires filled the skies each summer, followed by crops of maize and pumpkins on the ashes.

50 years ago, the old timer's children were still shooting wildlife, for sport and a bit of food and the timber was starting to regrow. The forestry industry was well managed, selective logging along with cutting on private land allowed local sawmills to exist and make a living. It was a healthy environment.

Now, today, the forestry has plantations they cut for wood chips and occasional logs each 30-40 years. When this occurs, thousands of acres are razed, burnt and then re-sown, this forestry practice in part facilitated by green action means there are no old or habitat trees, wild life disappears and they are 'deserts' of green.
No one shoots wild life for food, the kids would rather have Maccas.
Thousands of acres have been locked up as 'conservation areas to facilitate weeds and feral animals.
This is called land management

The greens may be beneficial as a balance, but they can be zealots and as such can be destructive to some sections of society.

Now the mid north coast has few dairies, the areas are now full of Tree-changers wanting the rural life and reducing the amount of land available for agriculture, the forestry industry has basically died apart from plantations, saw mills have been decimated, they greens have moved to the far NSW North coast or Marrickville, their work is done. They have closed the mills and stopped land clearing

BUT the good news is that all those areas previously cut and burnt have and continue to regrow, not through any green action however, native animals and birds are making a great come back (viz: flock, baldy pigeons, bower birds, scrub turkeys, red cedar trees), all without any green assistance, but through landowners making conservation decisions.

My point is that farmers are silently conserving Australia through action, while the metro based greens do their cause a lot of harm through their city centric supercilious attitude to country folk and lack of understanding of what is really occurring.

Greg

**FRB Design** · 2nd June 2012, 07:21 PM

Great read Greg.

Regards,

Frank.

**tassietimbers** · 3rd June 2012, 01:19 AM

Some good comments from both sides of the fence, but at the end of the day it should be about finding the balance that results in sustainable forest managenent that takes into account social, econimic and environmental aspects. (Having lived along the Murray River most of my life, I actually see the most damage being caused by wreckless campers and big wake speed boats, but that is another debate!)

(And just to clarify Krunchie's comment, he is "milling", not "killing" redgum for me. We are only milling windblown trees, not felling them!)

Cheers
James

**bench1holio** · 3rd June 2012, 10:08 AM

theres certainly no need for us all to run to the hills and go into "conservation mode",
i think most of us are responsible users of timber and want to see it available to the next generation.

**spray-tech** · 3rd June 2012, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by bench1holio

theres certainly no need for us all to run to the hills and go into "conservation mode",

If nothing else, your brief comments like the above have generated a lot of thought & good discussion. but I feel you really need to elaborate upon such generalised statements?

Originally Posted by bench1holio

i think most of us are responsible users of timber and want to see it available to the next generation.

GOOD!!, so why take a 'na she'll be right mate, leave it to others to look after' type of attitude?

"conservation mode" Good term, but what can it mean? energy usage, building design /use of materials, recycling, sustainable food production, the list could go on & on......so isn't everyone in conservation mode to some degree?

Like every other single pair of feet that have walked on this plant, I've used, consumed & wasted natural resources, and through varied degrees of ignorance I will most likely continue to do so. But this doesn't mean that I should not attempt to change my ways where I have the knowledge to do so. And most importantly, actively offset my negative impacts for the benefit of others.

Great post by Greg Ward, appreciated!! My dad is 86 and has been dairy farming since he was 20, and has seen all that Greg wrote about. Recently I had to stop him working (due to Alzheimer's). I've also worked on the dairy for the last 30 years but have shut it down 2 months ago.

Since its beginning, I've been involved in Landcare. Had the opportunity of being directly involved in many "conservation mode" projects encompasing - water quality, soil health/fertility, endangered species protection, stream side protection, regeneration of degraded sites, agroforestory & again the list goes on.... Saw a need for, and I now run a business providing invasive species control services to public & private land managers.

To some degree I feel I've lived & worked in a state of "conservation mode" for most of my life and if there's one thing that i've learnt over time about land & natural resource management is - On their own, both Govt NRM agencies & private NRM contractors cannot sustain & manage the natural resources that will be needed by future generations - voluntary community based land management solutions are essential.

If communities dont take ownership of natural resources then govt will take them, resulting in the "lock up & neglect" outcome. There's no point blaming the greens or anyone else if your not doing your bit and just leaving it up to others.

cheers,
Dean

**Scott** · 3rd June 2012, 01:34 PM

Well written Dean

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