The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on Monday, June 20, revealed it had launched a prosecution alleging Forestry Corporation breached conditions imposed to aid the recovery of the Yambulla State Forest after the 2019/20 bushfires.

The EPA alleged that between March and July 2020, FCNSW's contractors carried out harvesting operations, cutting and removing 53 trees in a Category 1 Environmentally Significant Area in the Yambulla State Forest.

When contacted by Australian Community Media, Forestry Corporation said "it would not be appropriate to comment on the merits of this prosecution while the matter is before the courts".

EPA acting executive director regulatory operations Greg Sheehy said, "these actions if proven, would contravene the conditions of forestry rules, the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval, and the site-specific operating conditions issued by the EPA after the 2019/20 bushfires".

"Bushland along our South Coast was severely damaged by the devastating fires, and the EPA established additional protections for bushfire affected forests like the Yambulla State Forest in order to limit further harm," Mr Sheehy said.

"These conditions were imposed to prevent FCNSW harvesting trees in areas considered environmentally significant that were less damaged or completely untouched by the fires.

"The additional protections, applied to certain forests in NSW, were designed to help wildlife and biodiversity recover in key regions."

Last Friday, Forestry Corp was fined $135,600 and ordered to pay $150,000 of the EPA's legal cost after the Land and Environment Court found tree felling during 2018 in exclusion zones had done "actual harm" to koala habitat in Wild Cattle Creek Forest near Coffs Harbour.

The EPA said the alleged breach in Yambulla State Forest occurred because FCNSW failed to mark the area as off-limits in the operational map used for the harvest.

The Forestry Corporation spokesperson said the organisation "recognises the importance of complying with the strict environmental regulations that apply to forestry operations and worked with the EPA to develop special conditions that address environmental risks following the fires to harvest areas that have already been damaged by fires, to limit impacts on critical unburnt remnants while supplying the renewable timber that has been critical to the rebuilding efforts.

"Since the 2019-20 bushfires, Forestry Corporation has also adopted additional environmental safeguards above the requirements of the strict ruleset in place in NSW, the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval, to balance providing timber to local industry employing local people to produce important timber products and ensuring the forests can regenerate after the bushfires.

"These measures remain in place today," the spokesperson said.

"We have also increased our focus on compliance with additional resources on the ground for planning and monitoring and are committed to complying with the stringent ruleset and minimising any environmental impact from operations so that the forests regenerate and provide both wildlife habitat and timber supply for future generations."

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