New plan to save possums

THE State Government has released a new $11 million plan to protect the endangered Leadbeater’s possum.
Making the announcement at Healesville Sanctuary yesterday afternoon (Monday), Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith said the government would accept all 13 recommendations from the Leadbeater’s Possum Advisory Group, made up of the Victorian Association of Forest Industries and Zoos Victoria.
Supported by Minister for Agriculture Peter Walsh and local MP Cindy McLeish, Mr Smith said that the plan would provide greater protection for the threatened species.
He said that accepting the advisory group’s findings meant altering timber harvest practices in the Central Highlands.
“The Victorian Government acknowledges the challenges ahead for the timber industry as the recommendations are enacted, but there is now much needed operational certainty for the future,” he said.
The 13 recommendations include doubling timber harvest exclusion zones from the current 100 metres to 200 metres, two years delayed harvesting in areas predicted to have colonies of the Leadbeater’s possum, transitioning to retention harvesting and revising regeneration practices.
In two years, the group will review the effectiveness of the 200 metre buffer zone, with the rest of the changes to be monitored and reviewed in four years.
– JESSE GRAHAM