As the Trees Fall

It is to no surprise that the current state of the world's forestry industry has caused environmental problems. However one might not have realized that there is a constant battle of the forests between the environmental activists and the logging companies. Currently in Australia environmentalists are struggling to stop these industries from cutting in old growth forests that support endangered species such as, sugar gliders and owls. Zoologists and Botanists have been pouring over maps and Google Earth, tracking breaches of logging conditions-trees cut down in protection zones. Documents maintained by Forests NSW staff show there were 13 breaches recorded in south-eastern NSW last year.The breaches include cases of ''lack of care taken by operator'', ''operator did not see marking tape'' and ''poor rigor in completing surveys''. Some could be explained by mishaps such as a vehicle slipping on a steep hillside into a protected area. In one case a logging contractor cut down trees in an area marked as ''old growth forest'' because a global positioning system device had run out of batteries.
This tug of war over trees has led to frustrations on both sides of the argument. Antagonist Workers complain of "manic hatred" whilst Anti-logging activist say damage to state forests is routine and systematic due to the obvious disregard to the NSW(New South Wales) Forest Agreements.''It's not exactly a surprise to us that there are so many breaches because the fox is in charge of the hen house,'' says Lisa Stone, a campaigner with South-East Forest Rescue. ''It keeps happening over and over again. You have got areas where they are supposed to be taking out single trees and then you go there and it's practically clear-felled.''
A wood chip company, South-East Fiber Exports, is planning to build the state's first wood-fired electricity plant at Eden, burning ''offcuts''. The company says opposition to its power plant is driven by people with the broader agenda of ending logging in native forests altogether. Some may say these mistakes are due to tight dealines and rugged working conditions but environmentalist are not prepared to let them off that easy. The North-East Forest Alliance has identified damage to stands of trees inhabited by koalas, stuttering frogs, sooty owls, powerful owls, golden-tipped bats and yellow-bellied gliders. The group has also walked through south coast state forests Tantawangalo, Yambulla, Glenbog and Dampier, collecting photographs of logging sites. Earlier surveys of the various regions by the Environment Department show habitat supporting sooty owls, yellow-bellied gliders, square-tailed kites, giant burrowing frogs, bent wing bats, tiger quolls, glossy black cockatoos and powerful owls may have been damaged.

The purpose of forestry is to continue to manage and ensure the continuation of sustainable forests while maintaining the social,biological, and  economical values of the logging industry. Reforestation is one way that forestry protects the continuation of forests. However when logging companies neglect to purpose of forestry it destroys our ever precious biosphere. Without a compromise old growth forests and many endangered species will be obsolete. 
http://www.sydneyalternativemedia.com/blog/DampierStateForestNSW3128Oct2010.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forestry
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/when-trees-fall-in-the-forests-20101111-17pgt.html