The biggest known Spotted Gum in the world is under threat on the NSW South Coast after a 50 hectare compartment containing the tree in North Brooman State Forest has been added to the NSW Forestry Corporation logging schedule.
While the tree itself has been set aside from logging operations, Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment, Sue Higginson, says "Forestry Corporation have identified just a 60 metre radius exclusion zone around the tree - protecting just 1.1 hectares of the forest.
Glenn Ellard of ACM reported in the Bay Post on May 2nd 2023, "The Forestry Corporation says there is no need for environmental activists, Shoalhaven Council or the community to worry about the fate of Australia's largest spotted gum, known as Big Spotty.
"I want to reassure the community that the tree known as Big Spotty is well protected within an area of forest that will never be harvested," said the corporation's southern regional manager, Lee Blessington.
The tree, known as Big Spotty, is more than 70 metres in height and thought to be more than 500 years old. Big Spotty is in Compartment 50 of North Brooman State Forest which is the Compartment next on the Forestry Corporation’s order of logging works.
Earlier this month Shoalhaven Council unanimously passed a motion to advocate for the compartment to be excluded from logging operations.
Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said: “Big Spotty is a natural wonder that we must be doing everything we can to protect. I am pleased that the Forestry Corporation agrees that the ordinary logging rules are not sufficient to protect Big Spotty, but the voluntary 60 metre exclusion zone is nowhere near sufficient to protect this giant and magnificent tree. Forest science shows that when we over harvest and destroy the canopy in forest ecosystems, the increased exposure to wind and drying conditions increases the risk of harm to giant trees.
“This minimal logging exclusion zone around Big Spotty ignores the interconnected nature of forests and the critical relationships within the ecosystem that allow giant trees to stay standing. We have seen in areas that have been impacted by logging and fire, giant trees collapsing as a result of increased exposure to wind. We cannot risk this happening to Big Spotty - the best case for Big Spotty is to remove the compartment from the logging schedule.
“The nature of industrial scale logging in these sensitive forest environments is that harm is done and mistakes are made. In South Brooman State Forest there have been 74 protected trees accidentally felled - we can’t offset these trees or undo this damage.
“Big Spotty offers a unique tourist opportunity on the South Coast, but unless Compartment 50 is protected from logging visitors would have to travel through an area of heavily logged destroyed forest in order to reach the tree. We know that logging our public native forests is coming to an end, it is just a matter of when. Big Spotty offers a worthy pivot point to work with the local community to develop a sustainable plan that harnesses the tourism opportunities. This will work best if we protect Big Spotty and ensure that it is surrounded by a community of other trees that are growing into giant trees, like Big Spotty.” Ms Higginson said.
