Central Region

The Central Forest Management Area (FMA) covers some 290,000 hectares of public land located north of the Great Dividing Range, south of the Goulburn River and between the Mt. Disappointment forest near Broadford on the Hume Highway and the upper reaches of the Big River south of Lake Eildon. Of the forested land, over one third is set aside for National or State Park.

Current Issues - see below

Commercial Activities in State forests
Trail Bikes
Boundary Issues

In this section

Current Issues

Commercial Activities in State forests

Commercial Activities in Victoria's State forests encompass a range of ventures, such as the harvesting and utilisation of quality hardwood timber to the hosting of events and tours.

In eastern Victoria, DEPI allocates timber resources to VicForests for sustainable harvesting and commercial sale. DEPI manages the licensing of areas of State forest for a range of other activities including stock grazing, apiary, commercial recreation tours and events such as concerts and orienteering.

Conservation measures that apply to commercial activities in the Central Highlands area include:

The Central Highlands Forest Management Plan includes values in State forest such as rainforest, old-growth and Leadbeater's Possum habitat into Special Protection Zones, which exclude activities such as timber harvesting.

The Code of Practice for Timber Production requires that all rainforest and a surrounding buffer be excluded from timber harvesting. The width of buffers surrounding rainforest in State forest in the Central Highlands range from a minimum of 40 m to 100 m depending on the significance of the rainforest stands. The minimum buffer of 40 m is considered to adequately protect rainforest stands from increased exposure to light, temperature and wind as a result of timber harvesting outside the buffer. It is also considered to provide adequate protection against physical disturbance from forest operations, which is relevant to minimising the spread of Myrtle Wilt (a fungal disease affecting Myrtle Beech trees).

Leadbeater’s Possum habitat is protected by prescription and in Special Protection Zones. DEPI has recently reviewed the adequacy of the retained Leadbeater’s Possum habitat system, outlined in the Central Highlands Forest Management Plan. The new permanent reserve system consists of larger patches of forest greater than 50 hectares which contain mostly older forest with some regrowth. These areas will not be harvested for timber. Smaller patches of high quality habitat, known as Zone 1A, will also be protected by Forest Management Plan prescriptions. The reserves provide current food and shelter as well as potential habitat in the future for Leadbeater’s Possum.

Within the more productive ash-eucalypt forests, 99-100% of Old-Growth Forest within the Central Highlands is protected in conservation reserves or Special Protection Zones.

Areas of State forest of high scenic quality are zoned as Special Management Zones. Timber harvesting is permitted in these zones, subject to meeting landscape guidelines.

Trail Bikes

Over the last several years Victorian land managers have become increasingly aware of conflicts between recreational user groups in the bush and the impacts of some recreational activities, particularly trailbikes, on adjoining landholders. Central Highland’s State forests are very popular with trailbike riders because of their close proximity to Melbourne and the quality of the experience, but their impacts on adjoining landholders must be addressed. This is particularly true for those that have settled in trailbike hotspots, such as Paul’s Range, Mt. Disappointment, Rokeby/Crossover and Rawson. There are also concerns over the potential environmental damage that trailbikes may cause.

The Trail Bike Initiative considers options to address the concerns of residents, trailbike riders, other forest users and government land management agencies (DEPI, Parks Victoria and local councils) across the Central Highlands. It will outline changes and control measures that need to be implemented in order to protect the environment and the interests of residents, trailbike riders and other forest users.

Boundary Issues

Issues associated with managing public land adjoining residential or other freehold land are many and varied, often with a number of agencies involved and at times overlapping responsibilities. Some management issues may include:

recreation facilities including camping and walking tracks
recreational activities including trail bike riding, fishing, hunting, etc.
fire protection
weed control
water frontage management
removal of native vegetation
management of historic sites
mining
road and track maintenance
Committees of Management
location of boundaries
occupancy or use of Crown land

Areas of public land may be managed by different agencies, with some areas set aside and managed by Committees of Management. Written permission is required to hold events or to carry out any works on or along the boundary of public land from the managing authority. Initial contacts for responsible agencies are noted in the document below.

Points of Contact for Management Authorities in Central FMA

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