Conservationists have scored a major win for one of Victoria's most significant state forests, with an interim injunction placed on plans to log the habitat of endangered species.
The Victorian Supreme Court today granted an interim injunction on a VicForests' timber harvesting operation in the Wombat State Forest.
The harvesting was originally designated as a salvage operation after a 2021 windstorm felled trees across several thousand hectares of the forest.
But it is now classed as a commercial firewood operation.
Lawyers representing Wombat Forestcare successfully sought an injunction to halt the logging operation after VicForests refused to confirm it had undertaken adequate surveys for threatened species.
Wombat Forestcare's legal team argued VicForests was legally required to conduct comprehensive surveys for threatened species.
Wombat Forestcare's Gayle Osborne welcomed the Supreme Court decision.
"This injunction is a major victory for endangered species like the Mountain Skink and forest owls living in the Wombat State Forest," Ms Osborne said.
"VicForests must now abandon these environmentally destructive logging operations that are wildly out of step with community expectations and their legal obligations under the Code of Practice for Timber Production."
"With native forest logging set to end next year, it makes no sense to push ahead with plans like these that wreak havoc on unique flora and fauna."
"Expert evidence from Associate Professor Grant Wardell-Johnson made it clear that the surveys for forest owls were inadequate and showed the potential impact that this operation could have on on endangered reptiles."
"We will continue to fight against logging operations like this one to ensure that these biodiverse natural environments are protected for future generations."
