Sunday, September 03, 2006
Logging to Extinction 3
As previously mentioned here, Australian endangered species appear to present little obstacle to logging companies:
Logging to extinction 1 - Superb parrot & Leadbeater's possum
Logging to extinction 2 - Long-footed potoroo
The latest potential casualty was reported in The Age: Battle for Baw Baw frog: log it and see
"A leaked PaperlinX memo says VicForests has recommended the logging of the 10 Baw Baw frog environmental coupes on the plateau's southern escarpment."
"The frog, found only in Victoria, has all but disappeared, with the population falling to a few hundred from up to 15,000 in 1984. The proposal to log the 200 hectares is part of the habitat experimental harvesting program to determine if clearing would harm the frog, which is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature red list, and is protected under state and national laws."
As previously noted, a cynic might think removal of critically endangered species from logging areas was a priority. This isn't a new or local phenomena - a famous U.S. example:
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
In 1938, the last 20 were located in an old-growth forest called the Singer Tract in Louisiana. The logging rights were held by the Chicago Mill & Lumber Company, who brushed aside pleas from governors and the National Audubon Society, and clearcut the forest. The last known Ivory-billed Woodpecker, was gone by 1944.
Scott Weidensaul, "Ghost of a chance" Smithsonian MagazineAugust 2005 pp 97–102.
Picture from: Museum Victoria
See also: Frogs of Victoria
Logging to extinction 1 - Superb parrot & Leadbeater's possum
Logging to extinction 2 - Long-footed potoroo
The latest potential casualty was reported in The Age: Battle for Baw Baw frog: log it and see"A leaked PaperlinX memo says VicForests has recommended the logging of the 10 Baw Baw frog environmental coupes on the plateau's southern escarpment."
"The frog, found only in Victoria, has all but disappeared, with the population falling to a few hundred from up to 15,000 in 1984. The proposal to log the 200 hectares is part of the habitat experimental harvesting program to determine if clearing would harm the frog, which is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature red list, and is protected under state and national laws."
As previously noted, a cynic might think removal of critically endangered species from logging areas was a priority. This isn't a new or local phenomena - a famous U.S. example:
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
In 1938, the last 20 were located in an old-growth forest called the Singer Tract in Louisiana. The logging rights were held by the Chicago Mill & Lumber Company, who brushed aside pleas from governors and the National Audubon Society, and clearcut the forest. The last known Ivory-billed Woodpecker, was gone by 1944.
Scott Weidensaul, "Ghost of a chance" Smithsonian MagazineAugust 2005 pp 97–102.
Picture from: Museum Victoria
See also: Frogs of Victoria
Labels: Baw Baw frog, extinction, Logging
