Upper Florentine Valley

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Upper Florentine Valley
Upper Florentine Protest Camp 3.jpg
Upper Florentine protest camp near Timbs Track.
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Upper Florentine Valley
Location of Upper Florentine Valley in Tasmania
Area60 square kilometres (23 sq mi)
Geography
Location Australia, Tasmania
Coordinates 42°46′S146°24′E / 42.76°S 146.4°E / -42.76; 146.4 Coordinates: 42°46′S146°24′E / 42.76°S 146.4°E / -42.76; 146.4
Upper Florentine protest camp near Timbs Track Upper Florentine Protest Camp 2.jpg
Upper Florentine protest camp near Timbs Track

The Upper Florentine Valley is a valley in the south of Tasmania, Australia, is an area recognised for its landscape and old growth forests. It is situated along the Gordon River Road near Maydena in the southwest of the island, roughly three hours drive from Hobart and comprises around 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi) of temperate rainforest and tall eucalypt forest. The Upper Florentine forms part of the Florentine catchment upstream (south) from Churchill Creek. Geographically it is an area of generally low relief valleys and flats. The area is a known habitat for threatened species of flora and fauna, including myrtle elbow orchid, grey goshawk, and spotted-tail quoll. [1]

Contents

In 2009, the Upper Florentine received attention in the media for a series of arrests made by Tasmanian Police of protesters taking part in various pro-conservationist rallies. [2]

Management controversy

The valley was managed by Forestry Tasmania [3] on behalf of the Tasmanian Government and featured in the ongoing political debate on deforestation and the logging of old-growth forests of Australia. [4] While Forestry Tasmania asserted that only ten percent of the Upper Florentine catchment is available for sustainable timber production, environmental groups argued that protected areas consist of shrubs and trees that are of little use to the timber industry, whereas old growth and high conservation value forests have been specifically targeted for timber harvest. [5]

Reaction to logging operations

Ongoing logging operations in this area have prompted pro-conservationist groups such as the Derwent Forest Alliance and The Wilderness Society (Australia) to set up a permanent blockade in the area known as Camp Florentine as early as 2006. [6]

In 2011, community activism and environmental civil disobedience were continuing in the Upper Florentine with over 80 arrests being carried out in the area in 2010. [6] Protesters utilised obstructionist techniques, such as blockading structures attached to tree sits to stand in the way of logging operations and prevent forest harvester equipment from moving into the valley. The conservationist camp was manned by environmental campaigners, including the organisation Still Wild Still Threatened. [7] In 2013, the Upper Florentine was protected from logging when the area was added to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Protected areas of Tasmania consist of protected areas located within Tasmania and its immediate onshore waters, including Macquarie Island. It includes areas of crown land managed by Tasmanian Government agencies as well as private reserves. As of 2016, 52% of Tasmania's land area has some form of reservation classification, the majority is managed by the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. Marine protected areas cover about 7.9% of state waters.

Chaelundi National Park, a national park comprising 19,174 hectares, is located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia.

<i>Eucalyptus regnans</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus regnans, known variously as mountain ash, swamp gum, or stringy gum, is a species of medium-sized to very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straight-trunked tree with smooth grey bark, but with a stocking of rough brown bark at the base, glossy green, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers and cup-shaped or conical fruit. It is the tallest of all flowering plants; the tallest measured living specimen, named Centurion, stands 102 metres tall in Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree sitting</span> Occupying trees as a political protest

Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down. Supporters usually provide the tree sitters with food and other supplies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Brown</span> Former Australian Greens politician, medical doctor, environmentalist

Robert James Brown is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasmanian Greens ticket, joining with sitting Greens Western Australia senator Dee Margetts to form the first group of Australian Greens senators following the 1996 federal election. He was re-elected in 2001 and in 2007. He was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia and the first openly gay leader of an Australian political party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tasmania

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering 15,800 km2 (6,100 sq mi), or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last expanses of temperate wilderness in the world, and includes the South West Wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old-growth forest</span> Type of forest

An old-growth forest, sometimes synonymous with primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forest—is a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological features, and might be classified as a climax community. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines primary forests as naturally regenerated forests of native tree species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed. More than one-third of the world's forests are primary forests. Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the biodiversity of the forested ecosystem. Virgin or first-growth forests are old-growth forests that have never been logged. The concept of diverse tree structure includes multi-layered canopies and canopy gaps, greatly varying tree heights and diameters, and diverse tree species and classes and sizes of woody debris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wilderness Society (Australia)</span>

The Wilderness Society is an Australian, community-based, not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy organisation. Its vision is to "transform Australia into a society that protects, respects and connects with the natural world that sustains us."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunns</span>

Gunns Limited was a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. It had operations in forest management, woodchipping, sawmilling and veneer production. The company was placed into liquidation in March 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarkine</span> Region in Tasmania, Australia

The Tarkine, officially takayna / Tarkine, is an area containing the Savage River National Park in the north west Tasmania, Australia, which contains significant areas of wilderness. The Tarkine is noted for its beauty and natural values, containing the largest area of Gondwanan cool-temperate rainforest in Australia, as well as for its prominence in Tasmania's early mining history. The area's high concentration of Aboriginal sites has led to it being described by the Australian Heritage Council as "one of the world's great archaeological regions".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Styx Valley</span> Valley on the island of Tasmania, Australia

The Styx Valley is a valley located adjacent to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site on the island of Tasmania, Australia. The Styx River is the main drainage system of the valley that lies about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Hobart, with the nearest town being Maydena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wielangta forest</span> Forest in Tasmania, Australia

The Wielangta forest is in south-east Tasmania, Australia. It is notable for its role in a 2006 court case that called into question the effectiveness of Australia's cooperative Commonwealth-State forest management regime known as Regional Forest Agreements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodchipping in Australia</span> Australian timber export sector

Woodchipping is the act and industry of chipping wood for pulp. Timber is converted to woodchips and sold, primarily, for paper manufacture. In Australia, woodchips are produced by clearcutting or thinning of native forests or plantations. In other parts of the world, forestry practices such as short rotation coppice are the usual methods adopted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Forest Alliance</span> Grassroots environmental organization in British Columbia, Canada

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a grassroots environmental organization in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in January 2010, and is dedicated to protecting British Columbia's old growth forests in areas where they are scarce, and ensuring sustainable forestry jobs in that province.

The Weld Valley is a valley located in southern Tasmania. It is an area of aboriginal cultural heritage and natural history within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The valley stretches north-west of Huonville and is approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Hobart.

Forestry in Tasmania Australia has been conducted since early European settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Grande (tree)</span>

El Grande was a massive Eucalyptus in Tasmania and Australia's largest tree. It was located on a ridge in the upper Derwent valley, adjacent to the World Heritage Area of the Florentine Valley, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Hobart. The tree stood 79 metres (259 ft) in height, had a girth of 19 metres (62 ft), and a volume of 439 cubic metres. While it was not the tallest tree in Australia, it was considered to be the largest in terms of volume, and the world's biggest-stemmed flowering plant.

The Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement (TFIA) is an agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Tasmania. It is designed to create additional areas of forest reserves in the State of Tasmania, while ensuring ongoing wood supply for the forest industry. It was signed by Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Tasmania's Premier, Lara Giddings, on August 7, 2011.

Allana Beltran is an Australian performance artist and environmental activist. She is known as the "Weld Angel" for her protests on behalf of old growth forest in the Weld Valley.

Florentine Junction, also known as Pillinger’s Creek, Risby’s Junction, Florentine Rail Yard and Florentine Depot, is the terminus of the Derwent Valley Railway, a 3’ 6” narrow gauge railway that operates from New Norfolk in Tasmania, Australia. The station opened in 1936 but closed in the mid twentieth century when the railway beyond Kallista was closed.

References

  1. Environmental Tasmania http://www.et.org.au/system/files/userfiles/Upper%20Florentine%20Special%20Values%20Dec2006.pdf Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "More arrests in the Upper Florentine". ABC News. Australia. 11 May 2009.
  3. Upper Florentine Valley, Forestry Tasmania, 2009. http://www.forestrytas.com.au/topics/2009/01/upper-florentine-valley
  4. "PM - Debate over forests policy". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  5. Friends of the Earth Australia http://www.foe.org.au/resources/chain-reaction/editions/105/tasmanias-old-growth-forests Archived 2011-04-09 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "A brief history of activist activity in the Upper Florentine - Information on raising testosterone levels for Australians". 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  7. "- YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  8. The Guardian - Tasmania's old growth forests win environmental protection https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/24/tasmania-forests-environmental-protection-heritage