This region includes the Eden MA which is located on the far south coast of NSW. The management area encompasses a range of environments from coastal through to escarpment and tablelands and such variation is reflected by the large range of vegetation communities encountered. In broad terms the coastal, southern foothills and escarpment forests are relatively intact, while the forest and woodlands of the Bega and Towamba valleys and the tablelands have been extensively modified for agriculture. While there is a relatively extensive reserve network in place, previous gazettals have been biased towards steep or otherwise relatively unproductive lands.
Fire has shaped the forests of Eden to a greater extent than most other areas in NSW. Since records commenced around the turn of the century, extensive high intensity fires have occurred in1926, 1939, 1952, 1954, 1964,1968,1972,1980 and 1983. These fires damaged and degraded much of the native forest in the course of the past 100 years or so.
The town of Eden has been a timber production centre for most of this century, producing timber and railway sleepers for export and domestic consumption. In more recent times, this long tradition of logging has been continued by integrated logging for sawlogs and export pulpwood and the establishment of a sawmill at Bombala.
Today, the managed forests are a mosaic of advanced regeneration from earlier wildfires, regeneration from logging and remnant stands of the original forest. They constitute a healthy, fast growing resource which can support both a value adding sawn wood industry and an industry based on thinnings and residues.
The outcomes achieved here are different from the other negotiation regions. They are:
Outcome 1 Conservation Criteria (90 000 ha total)
The outcome is designed to:
The outcome provides for a sustainable yield of 24 900 m3 based on the wood resources model with 41 861 ha of State forest being unavailable for logging.
Given the constraints of size and volume, the outcome is aimed at maximising vegetation targets in preference to maximising old growth forest targets (to some extent) and fauna targets (to a greater extent).
Accordingly, targets for a number of conservation features were not achieved.
Due to the constraints of size and volume it does not address the identified Nadgee wilderness and sections of the identified Coolungubra wilderness were not included.
Outcome 2 Industry and Union preferred outcome
(90 000 ha total).
The outcome is designed to:
The outcome provides for a sustainable yield of 26 200 m3 based on the Wood Resources Model with 46 721 ha of State forest unavailable for logging.
This outcome allows for the reservation of Eastern Tantawangalo and other koala moratorium areas, and a link between Tantawangalo SF and Bournda National Park through Yurramie State Forest. It also provides for the establishment of a corridor along the Murrah River.
Adoption of this outcome would maintain access to some high sawlog volume areas of Coolungubra, Glenbog, Nullica and Yambulla State Forests which are proposed for reservation under Outcome 1.
Targets for a number of conservation features were not achieved.
Outcome 3 Extended National Park outcome
(120 000 ha total).
This outcome builds on Outcome 1 by adding key areas of conservation interest, in particular:
The outcome provides for a sustainable yield of 18 100 m3 based on the Wood Resources Model, with 72 831 ha of State forest unavailable for logging.
This outcome includes areas considered by the conservation movement to be of particularly high conservation value but which are outside the areas identified for reservation under Outcome 1. While this outcome more fully meets conservation targets than Outcomes 1 or 2, a number of targets are not met.
Outcome 4 - Deferred Forest Area Outcome (equivalent to an area of in excess of 140 000 ha).
The outcome provides for a sustainable yield of between 12 000 m3 and 14 000 m3 (depending on availability of timber in partially deferred compartments) based on the wood resources model with approximately 106 207 ha of State forest unavailable for logging.
The outcome includes both full compartment deferrals and further deferrals on a part compartment basis. Part compartment deferrals are proposed in order to defer features which occur in small patches within a compartment while allowing the majority of a compartment to remain available to industry.