Greens even against removing fallen trees!!!
If you ever wanted an example of how extreme and nutty the Greens are on conservation this is it.
Nick Smith announced:
Special legislation is to be passed by Parliament to enable the recovery of high value native timber blown over in Cyclone Ita on West Coast public conservation land, Dr Nick Smith announced today.
“We need to take a pragmatic approach and enable the timber to be recovered where it can be done so safely and with minimal environmental impact. This initiative will provide welcome jobs and economic opportunities for the West Coast at a difficult time, and will provide a financial return to DOC that can be reinvested in conservation work,” Dr Smith says.
Cyclone Ita hit the West Coast on 17 April this year and caused the worst windfall damage in generations, felling an estimated 20,000 hectares of forest and causing significant damage to a further 200,000 hectares.
The West Coast Windblown Timber (Conservation Lands) Bill confines the recovery of useable wood to areas affected by Cyclone Ita and specifically excludes World Heritage Areas, national parks, ecological areas and the white heron sanctuary reserve at Whataroa. Authorisations are only to be issued where the Department’s Director-General is satisfied the proposed method of removing the timber is safe for workers and the public, and minimises environmental impacts. The recovery of timber is limited until 1 July 2019 when the Bill expires. All revenue from royalties will go to the Department of Conservation.
So who could be against that? These are trees that have been blown down, and will rot. It clears them away to allow new plantings, creates jobs, and generates revenue for DOC. I mean sure a few fallen trees are good for regrowth, but this is 20,000 hectares of fallen trees.
Eugenie Sage says:
“It is illegal to log these forests, a storm is no reason to change the law,” Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today.
This is why Whale calls them the Green Taliban – that is beyond extreme. They are against removing trees that have been blown down. I guess their view is Gaia decided to destroy the forest, so they must be left there to rot.