Fatima Halloum
Werribee Riverkeeper John Forrester is calling on residents in Wyndham to help protect the Werribee river and keep surrounding wildlife safe.
Mr Forrester raised concerns about VicForests’ decision to log trees in Wombat Forest, which he says will have a “multicore outcome” that will eventually reach waterways in the municipality.
“We have just completed a report in the Werribee River, and it centers around Werribee where there’s a viable platypus population, but it’s under threat,” he said.
Mr Forrester said waterways have lost about 20 per cent of their rainfall due to climate change over the last few decades, but the figure could rise if the logging goes ahead.
“If we put this new growth in there, where the loggers remove all the trees and put in new trees, then that area will soak up more water, so we’re likely to reduce down to about 40 per cent of rainfall,” he said.
The reduction in water will affect the quality of the river and sediment from the logged trees will stop invertebrates from growing and feeding, affecting the main food source for platypus.
But Mr Forrester said it won’t just be the animals that are impacted.
The pandemic highlighted the value of open space areas, particularly local waterways, which Mr Forrester said provided residents with a “healthy respite from their daily grind”.
Mr Forrester said residents will have even more limited access to nature if the logging goes ahead.
“They’ll have water which will be impacted with Blue Green Algae floats … people won’t go near the water because it stinks and it’s poisonous,” he said.
Members of the community wanting to “help out” can join the Werribee River Association, Mr Forrester said.
“They could also write to [Premier Daniel] Andrews and say ‘look we’re worried about this logging in the forest because it does a few things’,” he said.
A VicForests spokesperson said the trees marked for removal present a hazard or need to be logged for operational necessity.
“VicForests is operating to strict environmental standards provided for the protection of soil and water quality,” the spokesperson said.
“We are moving this heavy debris in a planned and controlled manner to reduce the fire risk from windthrown trees and debris and for the long-term protection of the water quality in the catchments from major bushfire events.”
