Hancock Watch

February 2008

Look how Hancock guts rainforest reserves!

Feb 08: Morwell River Catchment Strzelecki Ranges, Grey Gum Track. Old Blackwood knocked over into rainforest buffer. This is a supposed rainforest reserve! This is apparently world's best practice certified by the now discredited Forest Stewardship Council.

Feb 08: Morwell River Catchment Strzelecki Ranges, Grey Gum Track. Non - plantation tree logged. Don't believe Hancock's nasty PR. They do log custodial land (native forest) whenever they can get away with it.

Feb 08: Morwell River Catchment Strzelecki Ranges, Grey Gum Track. No buffer left in this rainforest. Myrtle Beech in photo.

Feb 08: Morwell River Catchment Strzelecki Ranges, Grey Gum Track. Rainforest buffer?

February 2008: Morwell River Catchment Strzelecki Ranges, Grey Gum Track. Road punched through gully in rainforest reserve by Hancock. More appalling corporate behaviour. Hancock most likely wiping out prime koala breeding association/group inside cores and links reserve. For more information on the cores and links debacle see here.

February 14 2007: Morwell River Catchment Strzelecki Ranges, Grey Gum Track. FSC audit of forest mentioned above. A forest that no longer exists.

Strzelecki Ranges, Morwell River Catchment: Photo of Grey Gum Track 04. This area has now been logged with large tracts of forest removed. All was prime koala habitat and feed source. Such logging occurring at a landscape level leaves any surviviors of clearfell operations nowhere to go.

Strzelecki Ranges Morwell River catchment: Ryton Link 05 before Hancock logged the area.

February 2008: Strzelecki Ranges, Grand Ridge Road and Morwell River Road. Traffic hazard caused by dumped rocks to fix dangerous road caused by logging trucks.

Strzelecki Ranges February 2008. Childers 'Plantation'/Elizabeth Creek catchment. A couple of hectares of 1957 mountain ash was logged at this site in 2006. Inside this forest of predominately 50 year trees, were also old growth trees possibly over 100 years old. This particular example measured 6.1 metres (20 feet) girth at the base. The site has now been reestablished with shining gum, a non endemic species to the Strzeleckis. This is a clear case of Hancock lopping old growth and thereby converting native forests into plantations.

Strzelecki Ranges February 2008. Childers 'Plantation'/Elizabeth Creek catchment. This old growth tree had a 6.5m (21 feet 4 inches) girth at the base. More old growth converted to plantation by Hancock.

Approximate location (red dot) of what were possibly the oldest (& largest) trees in this region. Most of the vegetated land in this image is plantation and is less than 30 years old!

Strzelecki Ranges February 2008. Childers 'Plantation'. The forest type wiped out by Hancock's logging operation under the guise of plantation logging.

Strzelecki Ranges January 2001. Childers 'Plantation' that has now been converted to a shining gum plantation.

Strzelecki Ranges February 2008. Childers 'Plantation'. The forest type wiped out by Hancock's logging operation under the guise of plantation logging.

Strzelecki Ranges February 2008. Childers 'Plantation'. The forest type wiped out by Hancock's logging operation under the guise of plantation logging.

Childers 'Plantation' - Elizabeth Creek Catchment. This 60 year old forest is the type being converted to shining gum plantations, with FSC blessing.

Feb 08: Strzelecki Ranges Childers 'Plantation' - Elizabeth Creek Catchment. 60 year old mountain ash reforestation recently converted to shining gum plantation. This is a breach of FSC principles.

Feb 08: Strzelecki Ranges Childers 'Plantation' - Elizabeth Creek Catchment. Shining Gum being established on ex pine plantation in domestic water supply. No buffers on creek. Water supply for Meeniyan.