Faye O’Brien, from O’Brien Sawmills in Barham, has not seen John Williams, Chair of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), since the Red Gum forests started to flood in August last year.
During 2009, Dr Williams was a regular visitor to the central Murray Valley and his team at the NRC prepared a report for the New South Wales Labour government with recommendations for the future management of the red gum forests.
Implementation of the recommendations in Dr William’s final report, Riverina Bioregion Regional Forest Assessment: River Red Gums and Woodland Forests, has seen the decimation of a once thriving timber community with the closure of the five largest saw mills and many small operations.
I visited the forests early March 2011 with Mrs O’Brien and saw the red gum forests still underwater – forests Dr Williams claimed faced a “water scarce future”.
[Read more…] about Already Lost the Forests, Lost the Election, Waiting for the Beer
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.