This Forest Near Bellingen’s Promised Land is Being Logged

Koala habitat in Tuckers Nob State Forest on NSW’s Mid North Coast is being systematically logged, despite being surrounded by forest earmarked for inclusion in the Great Koala National Park.

Just a short drive north of Bellingen lies the Promised Land, home to the Gumbaynggirr people for millennia, known for its magical swimming holes along the crystal clear river that flows directly off the Dorrigo plateau. The river is called the Never Never and gives strong Peter Pan vibes as it gently weaves through towering prehistoric Gondwana rainforest and tall eucalyptus forest.

The swimming holes have become a popular tourist destination over the past few years, as the cool water is not only the perfect place to laze about with a picnic on a warm summer day, but there’s also something tangible about them that feels very spiritual.

@tim_ashelford

What’s the big deal with Tuckers Nob?

The short drive towards the Promised Land out of Bellingen township takes you past a small amount of farmland, then along 10km of windy road through dense forest. This forest, and a great deal of the Promised Land, is part of Tuckers Nob State Forest, with the exception being along the banks of the Never Never River.

The road to Promised Land was recently closed for some time due to road works. When it reopened, many locals and tourists were horrified to find that Forestry Corporation had clear-felled along the side of the road, part of an ongoing suite of logging operations in the area that have cleared almost 300ha of forest habitat. All the remaining debris was then burnt to clear space for seedings. 

Photo by Friends of Tuckers Nob Facebook Group

Since burning, the area quickly naturally regenerated into a beautiful biodiverse forest; however Forestry returned to poison the area. They will likely return to reburn the area so it becomes a blank slate to seed out one species of eucalyptus. This creates a highly flammable monoculture that’s hostile to koalas and other native animals. 

Forestry only removes trees from areas zoned ‘plantation’, which elicits an image of trees neatly planted in rows for the sole purpose of wood production. While this is the case for most other states in Australia, NSW is an exception, where an area marked as ‘plantation’ may also have native forest, rainforest, and other species naturally regrowing after previous logging. 

The Department of Primary Industries states that ‘A plantation may contain some non-planted trees and shrubs that have not been planted but it is still a plantation if the predominant canopy is planted’. Therefore, the actual trees that were physically planted are by no means the only forest included in the plantation zone. 

The result is that much of the ‘plantation’ forest on the Mid North Coast of NSW is biodiverse, natural forest, and home to endangered native flora and fauna. In fact, Griffith University Adjunct Senior Research Fellow and koala expert, Dr Tim Cadman, has also found evidence of plantation areas within Tuckers Nob that include remnant forest dating back to pre-Colonisation. 

‘These plantations are being progressively cleared, and the clear-felling will kill koalas’, Dr Cadman said. ‘They’ll be replanted again and when Forestry comes back, if there are any koalas left, the cycle will start all over again’.

300ha of forest in the area has been destroyed in the last three years – approximately 741 football fields. This is part of an ongoing series of logging operations that will ultimately cover almost 1,000ha of forest (2,470 football fields). Forestry operations are still ongoing in the Promised Lands, with the increasing impact visible from the road. 

A representative of Forestry Corporation NSW has stated, ‘The Tuckers Nob plantations were cleared farmland that was acquired by the Crown and planted by Forestry for sustainable timber production. Those compartments have been harvested and replanted many times over the decades. Every tree harvested is replanted and a replanting program is happening there again soon.’

Photo by Friends of Tuckers Nob Facebook Group

Logging has recently continued along an adjacent road, with truckloads of trees regularly removed. The drive out to the Promised Land now feels less like a magical meander through the rainforest and more of a stark reminder as to how destructive humans can be. 

Why Tuckers Nob Needs Protection

With this in mind, Tuckers Nob is a particularly important area to protect as it provides critical habitat for koalas. The state forest acts as a corridor between the coast and hinterlands of Bindarri National Park and the World Heritage-listed forests along the Dorrigo escarpment. 

Koalas require great distances to forage and breed to ensure genetic diversity, and they need to be able to move between moist coastal forests and mountainous areas in times of drought and bushfire. 

The NSW Government’s plan to create the ‘Great Koala National Park’ is coming under criticism, as scattered sections of forest that make up the proposed park are surrounding areas scheduled for logging, including Tuckers Nob. Dr Cadman refers to the plan as ‘the Swiss cheese effect’ as the greater park boundary is pockmarked with excluded zones marked for logging.

A representative of Forestry Corporation NSW has stated, ‘The hardwood plantations in Tuckers Nob State Forest – like all of the state forest eucalypt plantations on the Coffs Coast – sit outside of the State Government’s Great Koala National Park assessment area’.

However, Dr Cadman argues that the current proposed park isn’t viable. ‘All Forestry activities must be ended within the proposed park’s footprint, and the area protected has to be expanded and listed as World Heritage’, he said.

The current reserve design, he claims, ‘will not preserve the internationally acclaimed icon from extinction’, rather the ongoing destruction of habitat will create ‘permanent killing fields’ and makes a mockery of the 2022 upgrading of the koala’s status in NSW from vulnerable to endangered. 

And the most mind-boggling part is that all of this destruction isn’t even making a profit. Forestry Corporation NSW’s 2022-23 annual report revealed a loss of $15 million for its native Forestry operations. This is despite receiving $246.9 million since the 2019/20 financial year. 

Whilst some argue that logging is critical to provide timber for building, approximately only a third of the wood coming out of Tuckers Nob will be used as sawlogs, a felled tree used for quality timber. Another third will be used for planting stakes and pallets, with the last third turned into pulpwood for paper or possibly even ‘residues’ which sees the remainder of the trees burnt for so-called ‘green’ electricity, as has been the case in other nearby forest areas.

What can you do about it?

Citizens have lots of power to reduce, end, and prevent logging of areas that provide critical habitat. The actions individuals and groups take make a difference.

VicForests, like NSW Forestry, recorded staggering financial losses including $60.1 million in 2022-23. However, after pressure and litigation from community groups it will be shutting down native forest logging on the 30th of June this year.

Less than 20km south of Tuckers Nob State Forest is Newry State Forest, also home to a number of endangered native animals as well as sites sacred to First Nations people. It recently made nationwide news as protesters and the community combined to stop the logging by running vigils, organising camps, and even locking onto machinery. A court injunction even halted the logging, but not before much harm was done. 

Here’s what you can do to help the fight to save Tuckers Nob.

Less than 10 seconds

Like, follow, share – knowledge is power. Sharing information on social media helps spread the word.

Less than 10 minutes

Report sightings of koala on ispykoala.com or inaturalist. Sign petitions, donate to activist groups, vote accordingly. 

Longer

Attend marches, vigils, write to ministers, write to newspapers, join grassroots activist groups, learn about community-led surveying, connect online, and offer assistance. Join the network of ‘Friends’ groups formed to share information and work together to protect the precious State Forests of NSW. You can find Friends of Tuckers Nob and others on Facebook. 

‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’ – Margaret Mead