Rainforest trees 200 years old have been cleared to make way for a wind farm transmission line in Tasmania’s Tarkine, prompting claims of green “hypocrisy”.
Myrtle and sassafras trees were among those felled along a 10.5km corridor widened for transmission lines associated with the $280 million 112-megawatt wind farm at Granville Harbour, in Tasmania’s remote northwest.
Special species timber advocate Andrew Denman, who discovered the felled trees, said it raised concerns about environmental impacts, wastage of high-value timber and wind power’s “green” credentials.
He estimated that some of the felled trees, highly valued in specialty timber production, were 200 years old, given they typically grow at 0.3cm a year and were 60cm in diameter.
With more wind farms planned for Tasmania, including another in the northwest requiring a 170km transmission line, he believed any further clearing, if it must occur, should be coordinated to ensure timber was not wasted.
“With much of the special timbers in short supply … there could have been a more coordinated effort in utilizing it to make sure that timber was going to a [sawmill] in a timely manner so it could be processed and not wasted,” said Mr. Denman, a boatbuilder.
While not critical of the wind farm proponent, whom he did not doubt had complied with regulatory requirements, he understood clearing for electricity infrastructure was exempt from the Forest Practices Code, which seeks to mitigate impacts on keys species.
He believed it was hypocritical of the Greens to oppose “sustainable” harvesting of rainforest timbers while backing the Granville Harbour wind farm and, by implication, associated logging of such trees.
“An old-growth tree is an old-growth tree,” Mr. Denman said. “Why is it acceptable to cut it down for a transmission line but not acceptable to cut it down sustainably and regenerate that area and put it to good use?”
Read more at The Australian
Old growth forests are very important because they have the greatest biodiversity. Forests start with colonizing plants, and as these change the environment there is a succession of species. After hundreds of years the forest reaches the point where a number of different species can thrive. This is why cutting down old growth trees has a much higher environmental impact. The environmental movement has suffered goal replacement, where everything they used to care about has been replaced by the climate change movement.
Happy now Eco-Freaks all because you push this Wind Turbines that maim Birds and Bats and cause a irritating sound and are a big time eyesore now because of the lines think of all the Birds and other Animals who have lost their homes all so you can go home and watch your mindless Enviromental specials
The only “green credentials” are that they only want to control us via our power. When pristine forest is destroyed by them it is ok, if anyone else did what they did there would be a worldwide outcry. We suffer a chronic case of “don’t do what we do, do what we say!”
So the “Greens” demolished high value timber for a wind farm transmission line. Hilarious that wind power has any “Green” credentials at all after the bird and bat deaths, and land clearing activities that they initiate.
Don’t forget the huge amounts of concrete, iron ore that must be mined, and coal to make steel out of the ore that it takes to make wind farms. This is for low yield intermittent power from turbines that only last half as long as a fossil fuel power plant.