MEDIA RELEASE 7th July 2006
EAGLE’S NEST DESTRUCTION AN INDICTMENT ON THE SYSTEM
Yesterday’s late afternoon announcement by Forestry Tasmania that an endangered wedge-tailed eagle’s nest had been cut down and destroyed makes a mockery of the forest practices system and the logging industry’s management of threatened and endangered species, The Wilderness Society said today.
“This example proves that despite the best intentions, logging is still destroying breeding habitat of endangered species,” said The Wilderness Society spokesperson Vica Bayley.
This example comes as the federal court considers the case Brown vs. Forestry Tasmania. This case challenges the logging industry’s exemption from federal threatened species legislation and uses key wedge-tailed eagle habitat at Wielangta as a case study. Presented as part of this case was a report by well known eagle expert Nick Mooney, who concluded that the future of the eagle was tenuous due to the long-term effects of the increased disturbance of their habitat and ongoing deaths from un-natural causes.
This in turn follows a Melbourne University report that showed the eagle has an increased risk (up to 97%) of localised extinction in the north-east if planned logging operations proceed.
“Claims by the timber industry that logging and endangered species can co-exist in perpetuity are proven to be more spin than substance by examples such as this,” said Mr Bayley. “The science shows that habitat loss and nest disturbance, due mainly to logging, are key threats to the survival of the species.”
The Wilderness Society also challenges Forestry Tasmania to substantiate its claim that there are 457 breeding pairs of eagles in Tasmania. Mooney (2005) estimates that there are a total of 457 pairs. However, breeding is severely compromised by habitat loss and disturbance and he estimates there to be only 255 active territories. A webpage of the Parks and Wildlife Service estimates that “about 400 territories exist in Tasmania, although not all territories have successfully breeding pairs” (http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/threatened/wteagle.html).
“The wedge-tailed eagle is one of many threatened or endangered species placed under increased risk due to logging practices in Tasmania’s forests. Spin will not save species from extinction. Until key habitat areas are protected, the future of these plants and animals is far from secure,” concluded Mr Bayley.
