Stewards of the Forest released

FT has released a new publication, Stewards of the Forest, which for the first time, brings together our key public reports (including the 2007 Annual Report) in one easy-to-access format.

Stewards of the Forest provides an overview of the way our business delivers environmental, social and economic benefits to the Tasmanian community. It is available in hard copy, or as a download by clicking on the links below:

Stewards of the Forest
Forestry Tasmania Annual Report 2007
Sustainable Forest Management Report 2006
Division of Forest Research and Development Report 2006
Sustainable High Quality Eucalypt Sawlog Supply from Tasmanian State Forest

The scientific face of FT

The front cover of Stewards of the Forest features Erin Trainer, a project officer in FT’s Division of Forest Research and Development. Erin undertakes the vital role of developing methods for predicting movement of chemicals in forest soils, to ensure that our high standards for water quality are maintained.

















FT’s native forests are chemical-free – no fertilisers or pesticides are used when we re-grow a native forest coupe after harvesting. FT also works to minimise the use of chemicals in plantations, which cover about 4 per cent of Tasmania’s public forest land. In recent years, FT has made significant advances in reducing chemical usage and maintaining water quality in plantations.

Since 1993, FT has conducted water sampling in areas where pesticides or fertilisers have been applied to plantations. Through this program, FT has refined its policies on chemical use: for example, use of the herbicides atrazine and simazine on State forest ceased in 1995 and 1996 respectively. FT has been monitoring water quality surrounding pesticide applications for over a decade, and so has a large quantity of data for predicting pesticide movement in the Tasmanian environment. Erin's research involves sampling water from streams in harvesting coupes, comparing the water quality results to predictions of chemical movement through soils, and improving the associated risk ratings.

Erin's project is funded through the Australian Water Quality Monitoring Initiative, a collaborative effort involving FT, the Department of Primary Industries and Water (DPIW), the University of Tasmania, the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) and CSIRO.