'El Grande'

[lederhosen]

Last year, a eucalyptus regnans known as 'El Grande' was discovered on a ridgetop in a logging zone in Tasmania's Styx Valley. It is the biggest known hardwood tree anywhere in the world - if numbers help, it stands about 80 meters high, and the trunk is about 6 meters in diameter at chest height.




Forestry Tasmania agreed to protect this tree, placing an exclusion zone of 100 meters around it. In April, after logging nearby trees below the ridge, they then conducted a 'regeneration burn' in the logged area. Apparently nobody had told them that fire can travel uphill.

According to Forestry Tasmania's press release:

"Tasmania's largest hardwood tree, 'El Grande', has once again demonstrated the natural resilience eucalypts have to fire... it is expected to shed its current covering of leaves before new leaves began to shoot... In deference to the tree's advanced years and fragile condition, Forestry Tasmania will exclude any harvesting or the passage of machinery within 100 metres."

FT have since back-pedalled, claiming that it will be a year before we know for certain whether the tree has survived. However, an experienced botanist has declared the tree 'clearly dead, from the roots to the crown'; he also noted that additional damage had been inflicted by a bulldozer or similar.



I think Bob Brown's response (starting p. 73 of the PDF) says it all, really.

Comments

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

That's terrible news.

I live in some hope that our experienced botanist is in error and the tree does regenerate but I don't hold too much hope.

We really can be a clumsy species at times, can't we?

I wonder which bureaucrat will accept responsibility for this almighty fsck-up.

It sort of reminds me (but on a grander scale) when Marie Tehan as environment minister in Victoria managed to log out of existence an entire species of moth a few years back.

Sure, it's only a moth some might say, but I have this niggling sense that there's something in the principle of biodiversity.

Either that or I'm just a tree-hugging hippie :/

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

The sort-of-good news is that in the aftermath of this fiasco, they found some of El Grande's relatives, almost as large, and maybe FT will be marginally more careful this time... though, of course, the wider the exclusion zone, the less money to be made.

I wonder which bureaucrat will accept responsibility for this almighty fsck-up.

Probably none at all, since even the Democrats aren't supporting an inquiry into this one. Some days I think Bob Brown is the only member of either house who didn't sell his soul for a seat.

[chaos-crafter.livejournal.com]

Actually, despite the fairly good reasons for one, I agree with the democrats on this one. It should be followed up with publicly accessible enquiries in the relevant departments, but a senate enquiry is too much given that the rating scheme used to declare it's importance was so irrelevant. Maybe an enquiry would show that there should be a better scheme for categorising and protecting environmental treasures, but as it is, a senate enquiry for a tree that, to be frank had at best been categorised as "hey, wow, that's really big" by the department, seems a little pointless.
A senate enquiry into the (slightly) broader issue of appropriate recognition, protecting etc. for environments in Australia would be much more relevan.
And really: I _am_ a tree hugging hippy.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

I agree, sort of. Looking at it with a level head, the Democrats may have the right of it.

What bugs me here is not that there isn't going to be an inquiry, but that Bob Brown seems to be the only one angry enough to want one - or, indeed, anything beyond an expression of regret. It's not the lack of an inquiry that really bugs me, it's the lack of passion. Some things, people should be angry about.

Not sure if I'm making any sense there.

[chaos-crafter.livejournal.com]

Now that I agree with completely. I think he's right that this should be seen as equivalent to accidentally sinking the opera-house by drilling a tunnel under it or something.
I don't doubt not enough will be done.
Unfortunately most politicians are there 'cause of their people manipulation skills (or 'cause their A^&e is wide enough for the puppeteers hand.) not 'cause of their understanding or love of anything.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

... this should be seen as equivalent to accidentally sinking the opera-house..

APPLAUSE!

I've been a grump all day and when I read this I openly laughed. Well done... Such a fine mental image.

[turnberryknkn.livejournal.com]

That's a terrible loss.

[texas-tiger.livejournal.com]

Damn.

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

Oh, dammit.

Dammit dammit dammit.

I don't really have words strong enough.

[notasquirrel.livejournal.com]

*sob*