Leard Forest under threat

Some info about forest clearing in preparation for a mining project. The language is rather emotive but if it’s accurate then we need to get on board this campaign. Russell Woodford Birding-Aus List Owner [http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/action.retrievefile.do?ea.client.id=1845&ea_filename=GPUK%20template%20green%20logo.png] I’m writing this from my laptop at the Leard Forest Coal Blockade in northern New South Wales with a breaking update and an urgent request for your help. Right now, mining giant Whitehaven Coal is sending an army of bulldozers to flatten this ancient forest – teeming with threatened species hibernating for winter – to make a monster coal mine. We’re forming a human blockade which is just managing to hold off the bulldozers before they can cause any more carnage. Our blockade can’t permanently halt the bulldozers. To really stop this latest threat, we need to shame the same politicians who approved this destruction to immediately intervene and call off the clearing. That’s where you can help today. We’ve launched an emergency petition to newly installed NSW Environment and Planning Ministers – Rob Stokes and Pru Goward – asking them to stop the animal slaughter in Leard State Forest and save this irreplaceable environment. [Take action to save the Leard!] You wouldn’t believe some of the lines we’ve read in mining giant Whitehaven’s so-called ‘Biodiversity Management Plan’. On tree removal, they’ve told contractors to simply shake trees marked as containing hollows with machinery “to encourage any animals remaining to leave the hollows and move on”. Then they should “gently” push the tree over with their roaring bulldozers to avoid injuring or killing hibernating bats and nesting owls [1]. Yep, they’re actually serious! It’s so dodgy it sounds like a bad joke — but this is the very conservation plan to which our politicians have given the seal of approval. Thankfully, public opposition to this rapid and badly planned forest clearance is growing, even inside NSW Parliament House. Environment Minister Rob Stokes told journalists on Friday he’s “concerned” and that the community has a reasonable expectation that due process and community consultation should take place [2]. Labor and Greens parliamentarians have also spoken out against the clearing of this forest. The future of the Leard State Forest is now firmly on the political agenda, so now is the time to act. Add your name today to stop the Maules Creek Coal Mine. We’ll hand deliver it to the Environment and Planning Ministers during a snap rally in Sydney on Wednesday. It’s hard to put into words the carnage that has been unleashed in the last few days, and it’s going to get worse if we don’t get it stopped. We know that a coordinated, grassroots effort is exactly what can save the Leard from Big Coal. Just a few weeks ago, activists at the Bentley Blockade successfully prevented Metgasco from fracking in the local countryside. Let’s do it again in Leard State Forest and put an end to the Maules Creek Coal Mine. With thanks and determination, Nic Clyde Senior Climate Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific PS. Our work today, both on-the-ground and at NSW Parliament House, is a truly grassroots, people-powered campaign. Earlier this year, Greenpeace supporters pooled over $180,000 to pressure politicians, generate media coverage, and arrange direct, on-the-ground interventions just like this. Today we’ve reached a crucial moment, and an opportunity, to save Leard State Forest. Our action fund is really making a difference — so thanks if you were able to donate. Now, let’s ramp our efforts once again to protect this place. Please make sure your name is on this emergency petition. [1] Whitehaven Coal Maules Creek Biodiversity Management Plan, 16 May 2014. [2] Patience wears thin as miners drag out environmental plan for Leard State Forest, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 May 2014. [http://www.e-activist.com:80/ea-campaign/broadcast.record.message.open.do?ea.broadcast.id=45962&ea.campaigner.email=0D5yOhPRScl0%2B7bUC3jP4thhH4jjbgirO%2FN%2BTU4ETcza3xEzZ4tJzA==&ea.client.id=1845&ea_broadcast_target_id=0] — Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content filtering.http://www.mailguard.com.au/tt _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org