Nannup Timber Processing general manager Vincent Corlett said it was hard to know what would be permitted in Barrabup Forest until the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions finished its assessment of old growth and Aboriginal heritage.
Logging in the forest was halted after a group of concerned residents submitted an application to the DBCA to assess whether there was old growth and Aboriginal artifacts in the forest.
Nannup Timber Processing would be the primary destination for extracted sawlogs from Barraup Forest if DBCA find logging is permitted there.
Mr Corlett said while he understood there were concerns from people, the banning of old growth logging had been introduced by the federal government under the regional forestry agreement.
“In WA, 62 per cent of native forests were put in a permanent reserve and of the 38 per cent that were left, about 0.5 per cent were logged on a rotational basis annually.”
Mr Corlett said there were mechanisms built into the forest management plan for people to alert authorities if they had concerns about old growth and Aboriginal heritage.
“Those mechanisms are all part and parcel of the FMP and we have no concerns about people using those mechanisms to alert the authorities of any areas of particularly high value,” he said.
Mr Corlett said there was a perception that people thought they were decimating the forest in an area which they did not want logged, which he said was not the case.
“If people just left it alone and let it play out it would be fine, it is the other mis-truths we have an issue with,” he said.
“They keep banging on about tourism in Nannup but the fact of the matter is it would be a pretty sad old town if this operation were to close.”
Currently, Nannup Timber Processing employ around 60 people and paid $2 million in wages each year, along with a spend of around $3 million on transport and services.
FPC South West native forest manager Jane Charles said the Barrabup coupe was a valuable timber resource due to the quality and close proximity to the Nannup Timber Processing’s sawmill.
Ms Charles said this coupe was scheduled for harvest as part of the FMP 2014-2023, which was developed by the Conservation and Parks Commission in consultation with the DBCA.
“The plan was based on robust science and calculates sustained yields across all native forest areas available for timber harvesting on public land,” she said.
A DBCA spokesperson said there was no time frame for the assessment of old growth and Aboriginal artifacts and there were no indications about the outcome which could see logging banned in the forest.
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