DEAR News Of The Area,

IN reply to the comments made by W Duesdbury (‘Simplistic Thinking on Koala Protection’, p29, NOTA, 11 February Edition), the koala has been just listed as Endangered.

Two steps away from extinction.

Fact.

Conservation groups locally are asking for the cessation of native forest logging in state forests. I have been in these forests post logging and seen the aftermath.

The enormous bulldozers are indiscriminate and wipe out everything, leaving a ‘moonscape’ with piles of skins and logs.

Selective logging does not happen anymore.

Swathes of forests are flattened along with regenerating rainforest and native forest.

Your thinking of what Kevin Evans and Tim Cadman do is simplistic.

Their work entails a whole lot more than advocating to plant a tree, which in itself is not a bad thing, first and foremost they advocate to SAVE a TREE.

In this case, particularly a koala feed, habitat, rainforest or rare species tree.

I find it rather ignorant to discuss someone’s work publicly without knowing what it entails.

Yes you have not seen a koala for four years.

Me neither in doing the annual koala spotting with National Parks in Bongil Bongil.

Until this year.

In that time there were floods and droughts.

Yes there are 52 percent less koalas than in 2002.

Did you know they sleep up to 20 hours a day?

They are hard to see but heard more so.

Yes it is endangered and it has to deal with domestic dogs, feral animals, land clearing, housing developments and road construction.

Nearly 20 percent of NSW koala habitat is in state forest ready to be logged.

It is happening now with huge areas from north and south of Coffs earmarked.

Two weeks ago when I was travelling on the Highway, there were five loaded logging trucks in 30 minutes.

Native forest logging, which includes Koala food trees, needs to STOP.

Western Australia is managing to do so.

The Great Koala National Park and Friends of Pine Creek’s Forest Bridge Proposal are asking for this as well as converting State Forest to link up corridors so the koala and other animals can travel unhindered to the New England plateau.

Of added interest Bongil Bongil National Park which abuts Pine Creek was listed as an area of Intergenerational National Significance, noted for its healthy koala population.

Back on the topic of ignorance, this tired health worker was spending a day off holding up a sign to end native forest logging with other FEA members at a ‘Friday for Forests’ event in Nambucca when a red faced redneck goes by yelling out ‘get a job!’

Apparently he is a serial heckler but along with Mr Duesdbury’s letter, the lesson of never assume and don’t generalise pops up.

My fellow Fridays for Forests members are either also working or retired.

On a positive note we did a survey to gauge support last November and found that 337 people in one hour indicated, by tooting/waving or thumbs upping, they were with us.

There is community support!

Thanks Nambucca.

With the koala endangered we need to act now and not wait years for a scientific research study while the koalas and the native forests disappear forever.

Regards,
A WALLACE,
Bonville.