No matter where you stand in the forestry/logging/clearfell and tourism debate, this is a story of how intense the debate can become ...
It all started in December 2001, when a Channel 9 ACA film crew ventured to the still greatly undervalued North-East forests of Tasmania to record the discovery of some groves of giant eucalypts at Weld Hill, above the Mutual Valley, due to be clearfelled for plantation.
My then 16-year-old son Holger and an old friend who was visiting Tasmania from Germany wandered off the track for a couple of hours. When they returned they where totally excited to report, that only a kilometre or so away there was this fantastic, mind boggling rainforest with huge tree ferns and an absolute giant of a myrtle...
Some weeks later I had the opportunity to go and look for myself.... and I found that they were absolutely right. They had discovered something very special - as every single person who has visited this place since has confirmed.
In January 2003 I invited a film crew from Channel 9's Sunday program, and extensive interviewing was done. We sat on a nearly 10 metre long fallen tree fern. This was the hottest day of the year and the temperature difference measured between the logging road outside the rainforest, and inside next to 'Holger's Myrtle' was 10.6°C.
The ABC film team for the Four Corners program visited the Weld Hill area this year. Instead of just showing them the devastated former rainforest nearby, I was happy to lead the team to the remarkable myrtle, that is now located near the middle of a planned logging coupe.
I had informed Forestry Tasmania's Bass District Officer Steve Manson about this rainforest discovery within days of the initial visit in 2001, and urged him to review their logging plans to build on the unique ecotourism and environmental education potential of the entire Weld Hill region...
Now that the "Lords of the Forests" has been broadcast Forestry Tasmania and others have come to the conclusion I and the ABC were misleading the public in saying that this giant myrtle was a real living tree. They said the tree was a dead stump!
See for yourself ... here is the myrtle:
THE MYRTLE
Frank Strie is a German trained and qualified Forstwirtschaftsmeister = Master forester (1983). In 1987 the Tasmanian Forest Industries Training Council sponsored Frank Strie to Australia as Training Development Officer. In 1989 he resigned from this position and has since been a self-employed, working as an independent Operator Training & Ecoforestry Consultant, Accident Investigator, and Mobile Sawmiller. Over the past 16 years, Frank is active as volunteer Community Adviser in Forest Practices and Forest Management issues.
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Friday, March 26, 2004
