Joslyn van der Moolen believes the reserve campaign has “a lot of momentum”. Photo: Andrew Kaineder.
A Eurobodalla-based conservation group is renewing calls for extra protection around one of Australia’s tallest trees.
‘Big Spotty’ is believed to be the world’s tallest spotted gum (standing at 72 metres) and has a 12-metre circumference.
It stands within North Brooman State Forest, in the southern Shoalhaven region.
A motion calling for Shoalhaven City Council to add its voice to calls for the forest to be declared the Big Spotty Flora Reserve was narrowly defeated during a council meeting earlier this year.
A proposal from Shoalhaven councillor Brett Steele on the matter was also deferred at a recent meeting.
It included calls for the NSW Forestry Corporation to consider funding infrastructure at the tree, and for the council to oppose a Flora Reserve as part of a push to ensure public access.
But National Parks Association’s Eurobodalla branch convener Joslyn van der Moolen isn’t deterred.
“There really is a lot of momentum towards protecting Big Spotty’s forest as a reserve,” she said.
She described visits to Big Spotty as a “very unusual phenomenon of nature”.
“It really is a unique experience … Big Spotty stands well above the canopy – there’s drone shots of it towering above the forest.”
As part of the plan, a boardwalk and viewing platform would be installed near the tree.
Signage would also explain the site’s history and significance, she outlined.
Ms van der Moolen said the infrastructure would protect the iconic tree, and also create a new tourism draw for the area.
She said it would attract people, including international tourists, who were keen to see Big Spotty and other ecotourism sites in the Shoalhaven region.
“The reason it’s so important is that if Big Spotty is … embraced by the local tourism and hospitality sector, they then become stakeholders.”
She said 2021 Census data showed only a few jobs in the forestry industry in the Shoalhaven, and argued that opening Big Spotty to tourism would support far more.
“[The Flora Reserve will] provide jobs in fire management, feral animal and weed control and guided tourism services.
“National parks are joint-managed with Aboriginal land organisations, so it also provides employment for local Aboriginal people.
“These jobs are locally based and far outnumber the few jobs from cutting our forests.”
Dr Larraine Larri and Bron Vost at a protest at Big Spotty. Photo: Knitting Nannas.
Ms van der Moolen pushed back on part of councillor Steele’s motion, which called for measures to protect public access into the forest and job security for forestry workers.
She pushed back on the belief that the reserve would limit people’s access to the outdoors for things such as camping, dirt bike riding and horseback riding.
She said the reserve would mean people could still enjoy the outdoors.
“Public access will continue and instead of our forests being cut down primarily for export woodchips and firewood, they will remain standing for international economic tourism and conservation,” she said.
Ms van der Moolen also believes the road network within the state forest would still be maintained, should logging stop in the state.
“Whether [the Forestry Corporation of NSW] manages them or the NSW Government’s transport department is managing them, the funding comes from NSW Government taxpayers.”
She also said the NPA Eurobodalla branch supported a transition strategy for forestry workers.
She said declaring North Brooman State Forest as a reserve would mean conservationists could stop “wringing our hands” about the possibility of future logging.
“[It’s] an immediate step as we work our way towards ending logging of our public native forests in NSW.”
Ms van der Moolen said that while a 60-metre exclusion zone was around Big Spotty, stopping logging immediately near it, other trees were being left unprotected.
“Even though we know Forestry will not actually cut down Big Spotty, when the big trees around it are cut down … [It would be] subject to much stronger winds – the big trees around it reduce the wind velocity,” she said.
Cr Steele’s motion is expected to be discussed at a future meeting of the council.
