An already endangered animal, the Leadbeater’s Possum faces extinction and further challenges to its survival after government plans to undertake salvage logging. As Kim Brooks reports, it’s not the only animal in this position.

Many animals are facing a further loss of habitat and even extinction due to salvage logging plans. Picture: Pengo.

Victoria’s faunal emblem, the Leadbeater’s Possum, lost nearly half its population, and more than 40 per cent of its habitat in last February’s bushfires.

It now faces extinction and a further loss of habitat due to logging.

After an event that causes massive disturbance to forests, such as bushfires, the area is logged to salvage what remains. What is left of the timber is collected in an attempt to offset economic losses from the fire.

But salvage logging is considered to be more damaging than the bushfires. Experts say the forests need time to recover if they are to provide habitat and food sources for the future existence of wildlife.

The Leadbeater’s possum specifically uses the cavities of dead or decaying trees to nest in. According to Sera Blair, President of the Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum, there were areas where the possum was entirely wiped out by the fires and it is feared that the loss of trees due to salvage logging will not give it a chance to replenish.

“Salvage logging is extremely detrimental,” Ms Blair said. “The Government’s response is basically anything that didn’t burn we’re going to log.”

“There are many areas of the bush that have not regenerated and there’s some doubt that it will regenerate,” said President of Help for Wildlife, Denise Garrett.

But a representative of the Victorian government’s Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Lenina Carter, argues that changes have been made to the Fire Salvage Harvesting Prescriptions to protect species such as the Leadbeater’s possum.

The DSE’s October 2009 Fire Salvage Harvesting Prescriptions quotes the Code of Practice for Timber Production 2007, lists Habitat Retention as mandatory, meaning that habitat trees, such as those used by Leadbeater’s are to be excluded from salvage logging.

Furthermore, according to the Prescriptions, “Fire salvage operations shall only occur in State forest areas zoned for timber production and in accordance with an approved Timber Release Plan (TRP) or Wood Utilisation Plan (WUP).”

Wildlife experts fear that other endangered or vulnerable species are also at risk of extinction. These include the Sooty Owl, Barred Galaxias, Spotted Tree Frog and the Ground Parrot.

Australia has the worst rate of animal species extinctions in the world. Australian Wildlife Protection Council President, Maryland Wilson, said Australia is responsible for more than half the world’s extinctions.

Kim Brooks is a Journalism student from Monash University.