South Sister St. Marys, Tasmania
Mr G Wilkinson
Chief Forest Practices Officer
Forest Practices Board
30 Patrick Street
HOBART 7000
25/05/05
Dear Mr Wilkinson,
Thank you for your advice of 26 April in respect of machinery entering the above coupe.
I wish to raise a further issue regarding the Plan for the coupe. A variation to the Plan dated 17 February 2005 inserted a new Section E.1.h Flora (lichens)- Machinery Exclusion Zone around Rocky Outcrops, containing prescriptions in respect of felling and snigging "to minimise the microclimate conditions associated with the rocky outcrop". Would you please confirm whether this prescription is intended to mean 'to minimise disturbance to the microclimate conditions'.
Further, would you please advise the definition of 'rocky outcrop'. The Forest Practices Code 2000 refers to 'rocky knolls' (pgs. 7 and 60), but provides no definition as to dimensions or other characteristics. Similarly, for the prescription to have any meaning, rocky outcrops on the coupe need to be mapped and identified, otherwise the required machinery exclusion zones and provisions regarding snigging track cannot be implemented.
In the absence of definition and mapping it is impossible for operators to conform with the prescriptions. Identification, mapping and flagging would need to be undertaken before any operations commence; identification could not be carried out on an ad hoc and arbitrary basis during operations, particularly as the purpose of the prescription is to avoid disturbance to habitat and microclimate, identification of which requires specialist professional knowledge which would not be possessed by machine operators and the like.
I look forward to your response
D W Clement
5083 (1, 4, 34, 62)