Forestry Corporation NSW has been found illegally tree felling in koala exclusion zones in bushland near Coffs Harbour, with a judge saying it caused 'actual harm' to koala habitat.
Forestry Corporation NSW will pay more than a quarter of a million dollars in fines and costs after the Land and Environment Court found it damaged koala habitat near Coffs Harbour.
EPA executive director of regulatory operations Carmen Dwyer said the prosecution sent a clear message to the forestry industry and operators. "The felling of the large eucalyptus trees and the construction or operation of snig tracks were highly likely to have had an adverse impact by reducing the size and the quality of the habitat available to the breeding female and offspring," they said.Environmentalists concernedMark Graham is a local ecologist who works in close collaboration with groups such as the Bellingen Environment Centre and the North Coast Environment Council.
"And in this case, actual koala habitat has been destroyed that accelerates the decline to the extinction of our koalas."In a statement, a FCNSW spokesperson said they acknowledge the organisation had made some mapping and marking errors during an operation in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2018."We set aside around 6,000 additional trees for koalas during the operation to compensate for the trees that were harvested in error.