As we approach another fire season memories of the 2019/20 Black Summer are never too far from the minds of landholders and communities affected by that devastating fire season

Although the seasonal outlook is promising for average to rainfall for spring dry conditions can return quickly.

The Nature Conservation Council calls on the NSW Government to scrap planned logging operations near towns and settlements after new research found logging significantly increases the risks of catastrophic fires.

Australian National University researchers found regrowth forests were at much higher risks of catastrophic, crowning bushfires than older stands for 10 to 40 years after logging. [1]

Lead author on the paper, Professor David Lindenmayer, said "Our findings show there should be no logging near rural towns and other communities."

"At a time when the risk of extreme fire weather has risen 10 times since the 1960s, we must do everything possible to keep country people safe. Reducing the flammability of forests is crucial." "This new research supports a ban on native forest logging near rural towns and settlements to minimise the risks of catastrophic bushfires like those that ripped through eastern NSW in 2019-20," Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said.

"Right now, Forests NSW is preparing to log forests very near several towns on the South Coast, including Mogo, which was almost wiped off the map by the Black Summer fires.

"Mogo is not the only settlement in NSW that is being put at risk by logging - there are many others. "The NSW Government has a clear responsibility to protect communities from catastrophic fires by banning logging close to these vulnerable settlements. "Under modern logging practice, most forests are logged on 50-year cycles.

"This means most of these production forests are ticking time bombs that could go off at any time, potentially wiping our whole communities. "These forests should be left to grow old, with appropriate fuel management, so to minimise the risk they pose to people."

Settlements at risk right now from logging operations

NORTH COAST