Timber Harvesting in Native State Forests
There are around 2 million hectares of native State forests in NSW. In managing these areas, Forests NSW aims to supply forest products and other natural values and services to the community to meet the twin objectives of ecological sustainability and commercial efficiency.
Part of Forests NSW management role is to administer the harvesting of forests to provide timber for products such as furniture, building materials and paper.
 Ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM)
Ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM) is the guiding philosophy for forest conservation and management. The forest is managed to maintain ecological processes and biodiversity while optimising the benefits to the community from all uses of the forest, both now and into the future.
Within native State forests, up to 50% is set aside permanently as part of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) reserve system and is managed primarily to conserve forest values.
Outside the CAR reserve system, values such as forest plants and animals, water quality and Aboriginal and European cultural heritage are also protected through a rigorous process of planning, approvals and prescriptions that are required by law.
ESFM plans will be published for all State Forests Regions across NSW by February 2008. The plans provide the ecological framework for forest management over a five-year period, and are part of Forests NSW Native Forest Environmental Management System.
These plans ensure that the amount of timber harvested from a forest is matched, over time, to the amount by which the forest is growing.
Each year, only a small percentage (approximately 2%) of native State forests in NSW is harvested. This Forest Facts sheet aims to explain the levels of planning and approvals which are required before, during and after harvesting takes place in State forests.
The harvest plan
Each harvesting plan draws together specialist information on soil and water, threatened species, Aboriginal and European heritage, silviculture (the care and cultivation of trees), road construction and maintenance, and inventory data (information on the numbers and types of trees in the area). The information is condensed into a succinct plan, including detailed maps developed using a Geographic Information System (GIS). All harvest plans are available for the public to view in the local Forests NSW office where the plan has been prepared.
It is essential that Forests NSW staff, contractors and operators follow the site-specific conditions set out in a harvest plan as well as observing the Forest Practices Code for Timber Harvesting.
Harvest plans are generally prepared on a forest compartment basis, covering an average area of 250 hectares. The harvest plan contains conditions that maintain environmental values while permiting timber harvesting by;
- restricting the area to be disturbed to suitable locations and defining which trees will or won’t be felled
- ensuring protection of the soil through erosion control
- retaining wildlife habitat, and maintaining undisturbed vegetation around streams, drainage lines and wildlife corridors
- rehabilitating timber harvesting sites
- avoiding environmentally sensitive areas which may include habitat for endangered species, rainforest, steep terrain, archaeological sites, scenic areas or recreation areas.
Each harvest plan also addresses regulatory requirements for road construction and fire management and other Forests NSW activities.
Harvesting the forest
Timber harvesting in State forests is undertaken by contractors. Forests NSW staff, in particular supervising forest officers (SFOs), strictly supervise harvesting contractors ensuring compliance with the harvest plan and regulations that protect the forest environment.
Forests NSW directly employs some contractors under timber merchandising agreements. Each harvesting contractor has a Contractor’s Licence that authorises their company to work within and remove timber from State forests, while people employed by the contractor must have an Operators Licence. Operators Licence holders are suitably trained and accredited in the safe and proficient handling of equipment to undertake harvesting work, including chainsaws and heavy moving equipment.
Forests NSW also requires ope rators of harvesting machinery to have successfully completed a training course in forest soil and water protection.
Licencing
All timber mills in NSW must have a Sawmill Licence regardless of the origin of their logs.
To purchase timber from Forests NSW, sawmills and other customers must have a Timber Licence. This involves a yearly fee for the licence as well as payment for the timber purchased from State Forests, otherwise known as ‘royalties’. Current royalties for pulpwood, firewood or low quality logs are usually about 10% of the royalties of high quality sawlogs. The royalty value of specialist products, such as veneer logs, telegraph poles or wharf piles, is currently about twice that of high quality sawlogs, but this depends on the tree species, log quality, log size and other factors.
The higher quality sawlogs are termed ‘quota’ sawlogs and form the basis of sale agreements with sawmills. Sale agreements set maximum volumes of quota sawlogs that can be harvested each year.
Regulations for timber harvesting
Timber harvesting on State forests is subject to NSW environmental planning, protection and management laws. In some regions comprehensive regional assessments have resulted in Forest Agreements and Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOA) under the authority of the Forestry and National Parks Estate Act.
The IFOA stipulates the nature and extent of activities that can take place and the conditions which must apply in State forests. In other regions, Forests NSW has completed resource assessments and negotiated strategic timber supply levels, and harvesting can only proceed after the requirements of environmental legislation have been considered.
Forest Practices Code for Timber Harvesting - This code provides clear guidelines on all aspects of timber harvesting in State forests.
For example, it specifies the legislation and protocols which dictate:
- environmental protection measures for soil and water
- protection of flora and fauna
- occupational health and safety measures
- planning for harvesting operations
- standards for measuring, tallying and removal of timber.
Forests NSW Licence Conditions are an agreement between Forests NSW and licensees that operators and contractors will conduct harvesting operations in accordance with the Forest Practices Code for Timber Harvesting
Additionally, Codes of Procedure, a written agreement between Forests NSW and timber licencees, document the method and conditions of timber sales and collection of royalty.
External regulation
Licences under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, the Fisheries Management Act and the Protection of the Environment and Operations Act regulate how operations on State forests are to be planned, implemented and monitored. Each licence is administered by the relevant regulatory agency.
The Threatened Species Licence issued by the Department of Environment and Conservation specifies, among other things, how wildlife surveys are to be conducted and site specific requirements if threatened species are located before or during harvesting.
The Department of Environment and Conservation also administer the sections of the IFOA that specify practical measures (such as drainage structure spacing and requirements) to prevent water pollution during harvesting operations.
Harvest plans must also be consistent with provisions in Forests NSW Regional Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management Plans and ascribe to the overall objectives of ecologically sustainable forest management.
Additionally, the Forest Management Zoning (FMZ) system sets out in map format the way in which Forests NSW intends to manage each forest area across the entire State forest estate. The FMZ system is a landscape management tool that clearly identifies those areas of the forest managed as conservation reserves, recreation areas, historical sites and those areas managed for timber production. FMZ maps are important for the development of the more detailed harvest plan.
Forestry activities must also comply with a diverse range of other legislation, including the Rural Fires Act 1997, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000.
How is harvesting carried out?
Before any trees are cut down, a supervising forest officer or forester walks through the forest and uses paint or tape to mark the trees to be retained or removed, and the buffers and boundaries specified in the harvesting plan.
Trees are often felled using a chainsaw, with the operator removing the limbs and head of the tree where it has fallen. Increasingly, under log merchandising contracts, mechanical harvesters are being used to fell trees and remove limbs and bark. A bulldozer or skidder then takes the tree to a log landing, or log dump, where an excavator removes bark. The logs are then sorted and graded by a qualified log grader before being hauled by truck to a timber mill.
In the cooler months following harvesting, post-harvest burns are carried out to promote regeneration and reduce the fire hazard.
To ensure compliance with regulations, harvesting operations are continually supervised and monitored by Forests NSW. Supervising forest officers oversee operations mostly on a daily basis and write fortnightly audit reports for the regional harvesting forester.
The harvesting forester also makes regular inspections. To ensure the system is working, Forests NSW Forest Management Unit formally audits a random selection of operations in each region of the State. The external regulatory authorities such as the Department of Environment and Conservation, Department of Planning and DPI Agriculture and Fisheries also carry out random inspections.
Where breaches of conditions occur, penalties are imposed on the licensees involved. These may range from official warnings or fines for relatively minor offences, through to legal action by external authorities. However, effective management of operations and training and supervision by Forests NSW minimises the incidences of non-compliance with operational conditions.
References:
- RegionalForest Agreements for Lower North East, Upper North and Eden,1999, NSW Government & the Commonwealth of Australia.
- Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management Plans (ESFM) for Eden. Lower North East and Upper North East, 2000, State Forests of NSW
- Forestry and National Parks Estate Act 1998 (included the Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals), NSW Government.
- Managing our forests sustainably: Forest Management Zoning in NSW State Forests, State Forests of NSW, 2000
- Forest Practices Code for Native Timber Harvesting, 1998, State Forests of NSW
For more information:
Forests NSW information centre:
Phone 1300 655 687
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