VicForests manages a vast array of social, environmental, and economic values during a comprehensive pre-harvest planning process.
Key values include the identification and management of:
- threatened flora and fauna
- old growth forest
- rainforest
- Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural heritage.
Our management of values are steered by science and global best practice. To help achieve this, we work closely with scientists, universities, land managers, and other relevant stakeholders. This helps guide the sustainable harvest and regeneration of forests for the Victorian public.
Pre-harvest surveys
Each coupe planned for harvest is subject to a range of values assessments aimed at identifying and addressing risks associated with timber harvesting.
Pre-harvest surveys, including desktop and field assessments, focus on identifying significant values such as threatened species and important habitat. They help us identify values that may require specific management actions prior to the commencement of harvesting.
We use a risk-based approach for every coupe to determine what and when forest values are to be surveyed for, the most appropriate survey method(s), and the potential management options.
We work in conjunction with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and the Office of the Conservation Regulator (OCR) to implement the Forest Protection Survey Program and other special management plans which are designed to ensure the protection of forest flora and fauna whilst reducing disruption and uncertainty to the timber industry.