Armidale Pine Forest

Speakers - Torbay Mr Richard
Business - Private Members Statements, PRIV
ARMIDALE PINE FOREST
Page: 81
Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands—Speaker) [6.34 p.m.]: In September 2004 I spoke in the House about the Armidale pine forest, a unique resource in our region much valued by the local community. It has always been regarded as a magic place where families go for picnics or to walk along the many paths through the trees. I visited it again this week with Professor James Rowe, who lives nearby. It was a distressing sight. It looked like a wasteland—clear-felled, neglected and an eyesore from the road. Not surprisingly, its derelict state has made it a favourite haunt of trail bike riders who hoon around the moonscape, deterring the few walkers who now use it. There are no signs to indicate speed limits or that unlicensed drivers and unregistered motorbikes are not allowed. The walking paths have been destroyed, wildlife has scattered and, whatever values Forests NSW might boast in its mission statement, they have been totally forsaken in this instance.

The pine forest has a long history of community involvement. It is used by the Armidale Walking Club and is linked with the nearby Charlston Willows area by a new walking track. Orienteering club members, the Armidale Athletics Club and school groups use it for walks and cross-country training runs. The Herbert Park Landcare group, which has made excellent progress in developing the Charlston Willows area, particularly the riparian zone, would like to extend this plan to the pine forest but they have been not been encouraged. Initially the Armidale pine forest was part of a larger common that was set aside in 1866. In 1910 246 hectares were hived off to become the Armidale Afforestation Station, one of the earliest pine plantations established in the State. Plantings continued intermittently until 1936, when there was a statewide review of all pine plantations and it was proposed the area be disposed of as private farmland.

However, in 1947 the local State member of Parliament, David Drummond, stepped in to preserve the forest because of its local benefit as a children's forest, recreational area and community asset. Limited planting resumed in the mid-1960s and continued until 2001. The mixture of large, mature trees with abundant natural regeneration created a forest with a unique environment. The on-again off-again nature of its development with a combination of softwood and native and exotic species resulted in its behaving more like a natural forest than a traditional plantation. That unique ecology was threatened in 2000 when State Forests decided to undertake clear-felling. Around 20 hectares was lost in the first round, with regular rows of new trees being planted to replace them.

State Forests states that under the Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999 Forests NSW is entitled to undertake future harvesting in the Armidale Pine Forest as required to meet its commercial commitments. Historical, recreational, scientific, aesthetic, educational and research values are clearly incompatible with continued clear-felling, a routine practice in Forests NSW's Forest Management Zoning System. The Plantation and Reafforestation Act 1999 did not consider the specifics of this unique area, that is, the variety of species found in the small forest. In December 2006 the pine forest was hit by a severe hailstorm. It was claimed that all the pines were in a dangerous condition although botanists and retired foresters stated that the maritime pines and loblolly pines were not badly affected by the storm. But in May 2007 35 hectares of pines on the western side of the forest were removed.

The clear-felling took out all the trees, although the Forest Management Zoning System states that this system "takes account of the various historical and recreational values of the forest". The greatest values to the Armidale and wider community are the historic, scientific, aesthetic, social and cultural heritage values of the pine forest.

In the past few years repeated calls have been made to establish a trust with local management to preserve these values. Today I call for a meeting of all concerned government departments and agencies as well as local stakeholders to reach agreement on the future management plan for the Armidale pine forest. One of the most important items on the agenda will be to move from single-age class rotations with clear felling—with all its associated negative impacts—to applying selective tree harvesting to preserve the area and prevent future devastation of this valued community asset. The community has enormous goodwill and will support government initiatives in this regard. We want positive outcomes; I do not want to be forced to highlight the very poor state of this wonderful asset.