In 1984, a botanical companion volume to Sites of Zoological Significance in the Westernport Region was published by the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands, Victoria.
This was

Opie, A.M., Gullan, P.K., van Berkel, S.C., and van Rees, H.
(1984) Sites of Botanical Significance in the Westernport Region.

This hard-to-find volume contains further statements that support the UBAG's campaign against logging in the '350 Upper Bunyip' forestry block... and some choice extracts are published here (with emphasis via bolding by Bob Thompson, Convener - UBAG):

From the 'Summary', p. ii
"Of the 45 sites of botanical significance described in this report, one, the Upper Bunyip River site, is of national significance, nine are of state significance, twelve are of regional significance and twenty-three are of local significance."

From the 'Recommendations', p. xviii - xxiii
"The recommendations are as follows:-

(1) All sites of botanical significance should be regarded as important botanical reservoirs and managed accordingly.

Managed accordingly means that anything that is detrimental or potentially detrimental to the survival of a site of significance should be, where practical, removed or excluded from the site. These factors are outlined in many of the points below.

(3) Where use of sites of botanical significance is detrimental to the flora, such use should be prevented.

Potentially detrimental use includes the commercial harvesting of any type of native plant, (..) off-road vehicular activities such as trail bike and 4-wheel-drive rallies, and any other activity which removes or kills native plants.

(6) Research into the long-term and short-term effects of all types of fire prevention procedure, particularly fuel reduction burning, on the floristic composition of native vegetation should be instigated as a matter of urgency.

Exactly how fire and fire prevention techniques affect the range of species that can grow in any particular vegetation community, the reproductive potential of those species that survive, the age to which they might grow, and the changes in relative abundance of different species, has not been adequately studied. Until such studies are undertaken, there is danger of applying fire-oriented management procedures, which change native vegetation and reduce the number of native species it supports.

From the 'Description of Site', p. 166:

"(e) Botanical significance of site

The Upper Bunyip River supports some of the best Cool Temperate Rainforest (WPC 1.1) and Wet Scherophyll Forest gullies (WPC 2.1) of the Study Area. The steepness and wetness of the terrain have meant that logging activities here have been minimal and, although the higher slopes suffered from the 1939 fires, many of the gullies have remained unburnt for decades.

Although only 16 quadrats have been sampled in this site most of the species common in gullies of the Study Area have been recorded. For example 27 of the 41 species of fern recorded for the Study Area have been found in this site including all three tree-fern species and all but two of the epiphytic species. The gully trees Atherosperma moschatum and Nothofagus cunninghamii are common in the site as is the epiphytic dicotyledon Fieldia australis.

Interesting species recorded in the Upper Bunyip River include Astelia australiana, a rare species endemic to this region (a new locality was discovered for this species during the survey); [now registered under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1994] Mecodium rarum, an epiphytic filmy-fern which is never common and usually hard to find; Tmesipteris ovata, an epiphytic fern ally which is otherwise restricted to far-eastern Victoria where it is very localised and rare - the occurrence of this species in the site was a new record for the study area; and Lastreopsis hispida, an uncommon ground fern recorded for only a few localities in Victoria. The site also supports the only known stands of Callistemon pallidus and Eriostemon myoporoides in the Study Area.

[Important Footnote: A further botanical survey of the 350 Block was carried out in 1992-3, during which botanical values in another 60 quadrats were recorded - but the data from this survey was never written up and published in the form of a report! The reason given to the UBAG by an NRE botanist - NRE considered this data to be "too contentious" and likely to be too damaging to NRE's plans to continue with the logging of the 350 Block.

The UBAG is holding a copy of this 1992/3 data, and a recent plot of the geographic locations of those quadrats known to contain threatened species (including some registered under the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act 1994) reveals that logging operations planned for the 2002/03 season will significantly impact these threatened colonies!]

In the light of this further damning evidence, the UBAG appeals to all forest-loving people to JOIN THE UPPER BUNYIP ACTION GROUP and begin writing letters NOW that call for a halt to logging in the 350 Upper Bunyip forestry block while further botanical studies are conducted throughout the block!

Return to Top