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Harvesting timber in WA

Posted on October 29, 2014 Timber milling Western Australia

Logging is a highly-controlled industry with strict legal requirements surrounding any access to, and harvesting from, state forests and timber reserves. In an effort to protect remaining forested areas, Western Australia ceased to allow logging to take place in old growth forests in 2001; it was the first state in Australia to do so.

The terms “state forest” and “timber reserves” refer to areas of Crown land that have been set aside for a number of uses. These uses can include timber production, conservation and recreation. These timber reserves are managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and it is in these areas only that timber can be legally harvested.

As with all other timber harvesters, WA Timber Products has a contract with the Forest Products Commission to enable the company to harvest timbers from any state forest or timber reserve in Western Australia. Included in this contract is a requirement that only registered timber workers can carry out timber harvesting and transport. The contract also includes restrictions on where trees can be felled within the state forest, with the forest officer in charge of each particular district determining which trees can be felled and which are marked for retention.

The importance of the work of the forest officer cannot be underestimated, as they ensure that all harvesting is done in a way which preserves the forest environment including all the plants and wildlife. This practice of sustainable forest management ensures that the forests of Western Australia from where timber is harvested are sustained indefinitely, providing future generations with a continuing source of timber as well as native forests to use and enjoy.

WA Timber Products source and harvest pine timber and jarrah timber from sustainably managed forests, and provide an extensive range of high-quality timber and timber products to industry, government and private buyers across Western Australia.