Woodland plan to protect vegetation
A 10-year conservation plan to protect 16 million hectares of woodland in WA’s south-east will aim to halt the loss of vegetation in an area heavily sought after by the mining industry.
But in announcing the plan in Kalgoorlie this morning, Environment Minister Donna Faragher has promised it will not impact existing mining tenements and timber harvesting will also continue in the area.
The Great Western Woodland, as it has become known, covers an area three times the size of Tasmania and is the largest temperate woodland remaining on the planet.
Scientists attacked the government earlier this year over what they claimed was the benign neglect of an area containing more than 3000 flowering plant species and a variety of animal species.
Mrs Faragher this morning pledged $3.8m over three years to get the strategy rolling.
The plan has promised no net loss of vegetation in the area, essentially meaning that vegetation lost will be replaced through rehabilitation via a combination of mining companies, an exhaustive fire strategy, feral animal eradication and protected areas.
As part of the feral animal program the strategy will implement a buffer zone for wild dogs that are currently posing a threat to pastoral leases. The dogs will be killed in the buffer zone area.
The plan also incorporates a branding strategy that will aim to position the Great Western Woodlands as a must-see tourist destination for visitors to WA.
Independent Kalgoorlie MP, John Bowler, this morning supported the strategy but said he feared a future Labor government would strip back the protection it offered to the mining industry.
He urged Mrs Faragher to turn the strategy into legislation so it could not be easily dismantled.
Green groups have welcomed parts of the strategy but concerned about the lack of detail it offers.
