Despite a Ban on old Growth Logging, 400 year old Trees are Being Cut Down
On a recent visit to the south-west Geologist and Palaeontologist – Marjorie Apthorpe carbon-dated the Jarrah Trees in the Challar Forest of WA.
They were much older than she imagined and her test proved them to be at least 400 years old. This means that they are old trees and should not be logged. Yet for some reason these ancient trees are being cut down every day.
Her first thought was – ‘It’s a disgraceful misuse of some of our most magnificent trees. Jarrah is WA’s iconic species and the trees have been here for hundreds of years, so why don’t we leave them alone?’
Then she thought – they probably want wood for furniture and building works. But no, the timber from these beautiful trees is not even being used for furniture or buildings works. The timber from these trees being cut down every day is used for firewood and railway sleepers.
So she did some research to find out, and asked everyone – Why are these ancient trees being cut down every day?
Ancient Trees are being cut down
It seems that despite the ban on old growth logging, the State government’s Forest Products Commission is ‘harvesting’ in the 490 Ha forest which partly sits in the Walpole Wilderness Reserve.
I took this photograph of these ancient forests a few years ago as I wandered through the tall trees. This is part of the forest that is now being cut down and used for firewood and railways sleepers.