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Push for major change on Aussie tourist island after 25 years: 'Once-in-a-generation'
Just off the coast of Brisbane's north lies Bribie Island, a 34km stretch of land that has seen a rapid transformation in recent years. With its pristine beaches, growing population and rising property values, the island has become a hotspot not just for tourists, but for investors and sea-changers alike.
Yet, tucked away from the beaches, shops and golf courses is a huge pine plantation that takes up nearly 20 per cent of the island. It's been a working forest for decades, but it's also sitting on land that would be worth millions on today's market.
For the first time in 25 years, the trees are about to be harvested — and that's opened the door for a different conversation.
Many locals are calling for change. Rather than replanting rows and rows of introduced pines, they want to bring back native forests and parklands to "restore the heart" of the island. And with the harvest beginning in July, they feel like this could be a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to restore the land before more pines are planted and a new cycle begins.
"This is the best opportunity that we'll have to negotiate a better outcome for the environment," Richard Ogden, president of the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association Inc (BIEPA), told Yahoo News.
"Bribie is really trying to step up and do what's necessary to protect and conserve nature for future generations."
BIEPA say the plantation is impacting the natural landscape of the island in several ways:
Inadequate control of feral pigs with the plantation
Drifting herbicide damaging native vegetation
Pine 'wildlings' invading other areas of parklands
Fears of pollution from fertiliser
Big trucks loaded with logs could damage the Bribie Island Bridge
Several weeks ago, HQPlantations (HQP) sent a letter to residents advising of the upcoming harvest. The population has grown by more than 50 per cent since the last harvest took place, with BIEPA fearing that some new residents may not even be aware that industrial forestry operates on the island.
In a new statement on their website, HQP said they have modified their plans to minimise impacts to residents and road users. The pines will be harvested over the next 10 years at a rate of approximately 100 hectares per year.
While HQP didn't respond to Yahoo's questions about future plans for the land, it confirmed in the statement that it would be replanting pine seedlings in accordance with its licensing. The company has a 99-year lease with the state government that began in 2010.
HQP manages 310,000 hectares of plantation forests across NSW and Far North Queensland, planting up to 10 million seedlings annually. The Bribie Island site consists of 2,500 hectares of sustainably grown timber.
Richard and his fellow volunteers at BIEPA understand that HQP are running a business and is not breaking any laws, but they feel that the goal of a restored forest can still be achieved.
"What we'd like is for the state government to turn that back to a national park over time, but the only way that they (HQP) would probably agree to that is if the state government makes available an equivalent amount of land on the mainland," Richard said.
"We do like to see the plantation operators as neighbours and companions, and we like to see ourselves as valuable community partners.
"We're coming at it from a point of view of, obviously, conserving nature for the future and putting Bribie's nature first. But we also understand that there's a commercial imperative, and we have observed that there are very real perspectives on this, that it could very well be in the economic best interests in the future to move the plantations from Bribie.
"But as we understand, it's probably going to take a number of years. It could be a decade or even two decades before that actually became complete."
A spokesperson for the Department of Primary Industries said the plantation is essential to supply timber for the housing market.
"A sustainable local timber supply is required to manage the growing demand for housing and meet the Queensland Government's commitment of constructing one million homes by 2044," they said.
"Converting this plantation area to another use would require a change to the underlying State Forest tenure, and a compensation payment to HQP, which has a 99-year lease agreement. Further enquiries regarding plantation-harvesting operations on Bribie Island should be directed to HQP."
The City of Moreton Bay said it is committed to "protecting and enhancing its natural areas and wildlife habitats". "While these activities are a matter for the Queensland Government, Council remains focused on 'Going Green as we Grow', playing its role in managing and protecting its natural areas while planning for urban growth," a spokesperson said.
The council's Environment and Sustainability Strategy 2042 aims to maintain the region's current native vegetation cover of 42 per cent, with a view to increasing it over time.
"Council also has a Land Buyback for Environmental Purposes Program to acquire, restore and rehabilitate land across the City to conserve ecological communities and wildlife habitats for the benefit of our communities," the spokesperson said.
On June 24, HQP is holding a community drop-in session for anyone looking for more information about the upcoming work. Find those details here.
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