Victoria Forests Spokesman Denies Science Linking Salvage Logging To Fire Risk, Asks For Anonymity

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But alongside concerns about climate change driving the fires, a debate is growing about the role of "fuel loads" in forests. The more flammable material available to a fire, and the drier it is, the faster and more intensely the fire can burn - and the more dangerous it can become, researchers say.

Logging areas might sound like a way to cut risks - but the May study suggested the reverse can be true. "Our research shows that if you strip large trees out of a native forest system, the forest composition alters," explained Lindenmayer. "Forests, which should be moist, become drier and more fire prone, and flammable species will grow up and take the place of the original species." The debris left behind by logging activities also can increase the fuel load, raising fire risk, Lindenmayer added.

But VicForests, the only company allowed to harvest native timber in Victoria under a government mandate, challenges the study's findings. "Many academics and fire experts agree that harvesting does not elevate fire risk," a company spokesman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, asking not to be named. "We work with partner agencies and use scientific research to develop a harvest program that protects the environment and mitigates the impacts of bushfires," he said.

Ed. - Emphasis added.

VicForests has said that as part of its post-fire timber recovery plan it will not harvest trees in national parks or reserves. The timber industry's leading national body, the Australian Forest Products Association, has called for fire-damaged state forests and national parks to be opened to salvage logging. VicForests said that if it does start salvage logging, it will not harvest healthy trees within fire-damaged areas but instead focus on burnt timber which can be used to make low-quality products such as wood chips.

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https://news.trust.org/item/20200604081009-swn62/