UKVCA have received an update from VicForests that may be of interest to our community……
The 2019-20 fire season was significant, impacting approximately 1.6 million hectares. This included State forests, national parks and private properties, predominantly within the East Gippsland and North East areas.
As a result, VicForests has updated its Management of High Conservation Value (HCV) documentation. This update includes an amalgamation of the VicForests’High Conservation Value Management Systems document and Assessment of High Conservation Values document in a single more practical document.
The key changes since previous versions, completed in 2019, are centred on the Assessment of HCVs within VicForests’ Eastern Forest Management Unit, including:
- Changes to State government policy
- Impact of extensive wildfires in 2019/20
- Progressive implementation of new harvesting and regeneration practices
- Modernisation of the Regional Forest Agreements for Victoria
This update is a routine process that VicForests undertakes in the event of any significant impact on its operations and it welcomes input from stakeholders, which will help inform how we proceed.
VicForests are seeking input from interested and affected parties by 29th May, 2020 after which time VicForests will finalise this version of the Management of High Conservation document. If you are interested in providing a submission, please direct it to vfs.admin@vicforests.com.au. VicForests is happy to receive comment on any of its public documents at any time and will consider that input in its regular updates. The project team can also be contacted on (03) 9608 9500
