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Victorian Government's plan to save the Leadbeater's possum

MARK COLVIN: The endangered Leadbeater's possum is Victoria's faunal emblem, and it's also come to represent the battle over forestry in its home state.

Today the Victorian Government announced a plan which it said would allow forestry to coexist with the Leadbeater's possum. It involves reducing the amount of timber available for harvesting and greater protection zones for possum habitats.

The foremost expert on the animal says it is an improvement, but it won't work, and he expects the government's plan will still drive the possum to extinction.

Simon Lauder reports.

SIMON LAUDER: The Leadbeater's possum was once thought extinct, until it was rediscovered in 1961. Since then it's come to symbolise the battle being waged over the forests of Victoria's Central Highlands, especially since the 2009 bushfires wiped out much of the animal's habitat.

Last year the Victorian Government put the fate of the possum in the hands of an advisory group. But the Leadbeater's possum Advisory Group was not just about the possum; it was asked to focus on supporting the recovery of the possum while maintaining a sustainable timber industry.

The Government received the group's report early this year. Today the Environment Minister Ryan Smith revealed the Government's response.

RYAN SMITH: Now I can say that I'm really pleased with the recommendations, because they support the recovery of the Leadbeater's possum as well as support the sustainable timber industry.

SIMON LAUDER: Membership of the Leadbeater's Possum Advisory Group included Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria, The Victorian Association of Forest Industries, and the state forestry agency VicForests.

The Minister says the Government will adopt all 13 recommendations, including one which will reduce the amount of timber available for VicForests to harvest.

RYAN SMITH: Recommendations include an exclusion for two years on harvesting in the areas of probable habitat while we do some more specific surveys to identify colonies. It's about putting retention harvesting through 50 per cent of the available coops, and also putting in a 200 metre radius of buffer zones around known colonies. So they are significant moves.

SIMON LAUDER: The Minister says the changes will mean 5 per cent less timber will be available for harvest. The Government will also investigate installing more nest boxes for possums, and what it calls 'translocation' of the elusive animal.

RYAN SMITH: The issue that we're dealing with is the uncertainty of the amount of possum colonies we have. So of course we can't make a statement on how many possums are out there in these certain areas, but these actions are designed to assist the recovery of the possum and make sure that we have a sustainable habitat for the possum going forward.

SIMON LAUDER: Australian National University ecologist, Professor David Lindenmayer, was consulted by the advisory group He's been studying the Leadbeater's possum and its habitat requirements for about 30 years.

DAVID LINDENMAYER: Under this plan I think Leadbeater's possum is likely to be extinct within 20 to 30 years. Without this plan it will be extinct in less than 20 years. So, we've probably bought another five to 10 years. I still think that's unacceptable, and I still think we can do much better; in fact, we have to do much better.

SIMON LAUDER: Professor Lindenmayer says the forests of Victoria's Central Highlands should be protected from forestry.

DAVID LINDENMAYER: We needed a Great Forest national park to take out the key threatening process that's threatening this animal, and that's industrial clear-felling; needed to take that out of most of the system. We needed to reduce the sustained yield by a lot more than the present 5 per cent, that's really not anywhere near enough.

DAVID LINDENMAYER: Five per cent is not significant at all in this case. When we look at how much forest has already been logged, and how much forest has been burned, and how much forest is planned to be logged in the next 10 years, that's absolutely way and truly over-committed and over-cut, and there isn't enough margin there to conserve Leadbeater's possum, nor conserve the other critical values in the forest, including carbon, water, tourism, et cetera.

So, you know, this is a small step, but it's nothing like the kinds of leaps that we need to actually secure this forest and secure Leadbeater's possum.

SIMON LAUDER: The Government says its forestry agency VicForests will change its harvesting practices from July and the Government will spend $11 million implementing the changes.