Forestry Corporation apologises for the accidental removal of 17 trees from an area that should have been set aside for protection in Coopernook State Forest during a forestry operation two years ago in 2021 and welcomes the suite of projects it will deliver as part of the Enforceable Undertaking developed in conjunction with the EPA to compensate for the error.
General Manager Hardwood Forests, Daniel Tuan, said compliance with the environmental regulations is of paramount importance.
"We are disappointed that we did not comply on this occasion and we are sorry."
"When we identified the error we immediately self-reported it to the EPA. We have worked collaboratively with the EPA over the past 12 months to identify investments that will deliver tangible environmental and community benefits to compensate for the damage this operation caused."
These investments include a project to protect threatened frog species in the vicinity of the operation and improved community tourism facilities in the forest.
"We have also undertaken to improve the information on our website so the community can get a greater understanding of forest operations and how they are conducted."
"Importantly, we have committed to development and testing of an in-cab boundary warning system, which is a first-of-its-kind system designed to alert operators when they are approaching boundaries ensuring we reduce the risk of an error like this occurring again."
These projects will be delivered over the next 12 months and progress will be reported regularly to the EPA.
In the interim, Forestry Corporation continues to review its systems, processes and training to ensure it can fully implement the strict environmental rules that apply in forestry operations.
