Cloud hovers over State Forest logging program

CLOUDS Creek State Forest residents are putting up a fight against Forests NSW's plans to log the area, but say so far no-one is listening.

Local woman Meredith Stanton said residents were first told of plans to log the area back in March.

However, they could not access a harvest plan detailing exactly where logging would take place and the expected environmental impact or told when the logging would begin until December 23.

When she and other residents tried to contact Forests NSW with their concerns on Christmas Eve, they were unable to speak to anyone as the department had closed for the holidays until January 12.

With logging scheduled to begin on January 12, Ms Stanton said she was concerned there was no real opportunity for community consultation.

"They just decided to lay this on us and go on holidays," she said.

"There's no-one to talk to about our latest concerns; we have no idea how long this will last for."

Ms Stanton said the area was logged in 1998. She was worried the 10-year cycle was unsustainable. She said she had already seen one large blue gum tree she believed was hundreds of years old, with a two-metre diameter, marked to be felled.

Fellow resident Michele Smith shared concerns. She said logging the area would threaten wildlife and destroy koala habitat.

"There just isn't enough concern for native animals," she said.

Ms Smith said Clouds Creek State Forest was also susceptible to Bell Miner dieback, which is a condition in which trees progressively die from the top downwards. The condition is caused in some instances when a canopy is thinned and the aggressive bell miner bird moves in, scaring off other birds that eat sap-feeding insects called psyllids.

Ms Smith said excessive logging could cause more dieback to the blue gums.

The Daily Examiner contacted Forests NSW but was unable to obtain a response before today. More information will be published in tomorrow's Examiner.