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All images on this and following pages are recent photos (9 Feb 2000) from
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Below are thumbnailed images of this conservation outpost, just inland from Apollo Bay.
Click on any image to see a larger version.
Conservationists, perched high in the trees they came to protect, or cemented into the path of logging vehicles.
Low impact, high ingenuity camping conditions.
The issue of logging in native forests is more important than it has ever been.
Still, most of the population seems apathetic. The majority of Australians say they would prefer not to see native forests clearfelled (click here for statistics), yet few take the time to voice their opinions unless asked. Fewer still take action.
Riley's Ridge is a particularly important site.
It is part of the Barham River water catchment system supplying the region with fresh water.
It is also the wildlife corridor between the East and West of the remaining Otway native forests. Due to pine plantations and cleared farming land, what's left of the forest has been almost cut in half. There is a wonderfully diverse range of wildlife that survives in the native forests ...not in the pines.
The government continues to subsidise the destruction of our wonderful forests with tax payers' money. All the while we are led to believe it's for a vital industry. WRONG!... look again. The majority of native timber removed from our Otways ends up as wood chips or pulp. Young trees aren't as viable for saw milling. Have another look at the photos at the top of this page. Where are the forest giants? No you won't see any! There is almost no old growth forest left in the Otways. The majority of it has already been logged. Now we have native forests struggling to rebuild their complex ecosystems after extensive clearfelling and replanting. DNRE and the timber industry won't give it a chance if they have their way. They're logging 50 - 60 year old trees where there were once giants, hundreds of years in the making.
SOME INTERESTING TIDBITS...
(Info below is gleaned from the Forest Facts File at OREN'S web site)
Victoria Forest Cover
1869 - 20.0 million ha. 88% of the State
Reference: Anna-Louise Allen, (1993) "Forest Changes", Published by Dept. Conservation and Natural Resources.
Timber Towns 10%+ in Victoria
Those towns with work force over 10% in the timber and wood products industry.
Reference: ABS Census of Population and Housing 1986 and 1991.
I'll close with a word of thanks to the amazing people who have camped in the trees at Riley's Ridge since October 1999. Without dedicated warriors like these, our forests would disappear before most of us even realised there was a threat.
The fight is far from over. You can help. YES YOU CAN. Have a look at OREN'S web site. Get in touch and get your body down to the Otways to make your presence felt. It's not far from Apollo Bay, about an hour and a half from Geelong. ...Ask questions of your local politicians. Why is clearfell logging still happening in Geelong's water catchment when no logging at all is permitted in Melbourne's catchment areas? Don't take it lying down. Think about our future.
For more images of what's happening in the Otways Forests, go to
For more details on the issue, including current conservation campaigns, go to:
The Otway Ranges Environment Network (OREN)
AND
Comments or questions regarding this web site to:
(Otway Ranges Environment Network)
.....definitely worth a look if you've read this far.
1972 - 8.1 million ha. 36% of the State
1987 - 8.0 million ha. 35% of the State
1989 - 5.4 million ha.
...that's less than 24% of the state.
Percentage Reduction: 64%
I wonder how little is left in the year 2000?
(logging, forestry, wood & wood products, furniture but not pulp and paper)
Years
1986
1991
Orbost
404
335
Forest
Omeo
95
19
Forest
Myrtleford
213
239
Plantation
The Mud Road Page
Paul McMahon, e-mail: gaia@pipeline.com.au