FOREST DEFENDERS HIT THE POLLS EARLY

Faces of the Florentine

Ordinary people standing up for an extraordinary forest

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday 11 March 2010

FOREST DEFENDERS HIT THE POLLS EARLY

Vote 1 for the Upper Florentine

Derwent Valley and Central Highlands residents have hit the polls early, voting ‘1’ for the protection of Tasmania’s old-growth forests by delivering more than 1200 signed postcards to Premier David Bartlett calling on him to end logging in the precious Upper Florentine Valley.

Ellendale resident Lynda Blyth today stated: “We strongly encourage all Tasmanians to only vote for candidates who commit to not log the Upper Florentine.”

The over thousand postcards was placed in a box marked with the words “Vote for the Florentine”, a symbolic gesture acknowledging the importance voters place on the protection of high conservation value forests.

The conservationists, mostly middle-aged Derwent Valley and Central Highlands residents, are among the 22 people who were all arrested in the Upper Florentine forest on Mother’s Day this year. The arrests took place during a rally at which more than 200 people voiced their dissent against the destruction of the World Heritage quality values of the Upper Florentine forests.

The Upper Florentine valley is virtually surrounded by Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and is largely untouched by industrial logging. The forest contains large areas of old growth forest that has been shown to be amongst the most carbon dense in the world, as well as caves containing evidence of Aboriginal occupation stretching back around 30 000 years.

Faces of the Florentine will continue to encourage fellow Tasmanians to visit the Upper Florentine forest to judge the situation for themselves.
Lynda Blyth