A man who collects Australian native forest hardwood for instrument making is advocating for ecologically sustainable production of hardwood timber in state forests, as PHILIP HOPKINS reports.
James Kidman harvests native forest hardwood for guitars made by Australian instrument makers and played by Australian and international artists.
He has an honours degree in botany, ecology and conservation from Melbourne University; has worked as a land manager with traditional Pitjantjatjara owners in Central Australia; he collects seeds of locally rare plant species for indigenous species; and has long been a supporter of local environment groups.
However, James is adamantly opposed to the Victorian Government’s Forestry Plan, which will ban harvesting from the state’s native forest by 2030 and transit the industry to plantations.
“The reasons that are being put forward for ceasing timber harvesting in native forests don’t stack up,” he says.
Scientific consensus is that the greatest threat to forest fauna comes from land-clearing, wildfires, invasive species and feral animals, he says, as “to date, no Australian mammals have gone extinct due to timber harvesting”.
“The VFP is largely a political decision,” he says. “The Andrews Government is taking forest management into its own hands, ignoring advice from experts.“
“The plan overlooks the ecological benefits of multi-aged stands (produced by sustainable harvesting) in creating greater biodiversity, ecosystem resilience and adequate floristic complexity for not only threatened species but species in general.
“The plan also lacks detail and the meagre two pages of tables is an insult to all those that care about this connection with timber.”
To this end, James has written a comprehensive submission on forestry that is the basis of a petition to government.
The aim is to amend the VFP to provide for ecologically sustainable production of hardwood timber in state forest, with a focus on high-value products.
Ultimately, the Victorian plan ignores that society’s connection with timber is as old as humanity.
“The Australian bush is intertwined in our culture; we are part of it. Removing our connection with the wood from the bush is like telling an Australian they shouldn’t be making boomerangs or didgeridoos,” he says.
James’ operation is based in the Otways, where about half a hectare of forest is selectively harvested to produce about 60 cubic metres of Blackwood timber.
“This method of timber harvesting creates light wells to encourage natural regeneration and can promote the establishment of rainforest species.“
The timber is used to produce material for more than 6000 guitars from local and international luthiers. Australian musicians using these guitars include Paul Kelly, Archie Roach, John Butler, Shane Howard and John Williamson.
His submission concentrates on the forests of the Central Highlands and eastern Victoria, which provide timber for processors in Gippsland, the Yarra Valley and the North East.
He highlights the overwhelming (98 per cent) influence of bushfires on the extent of old-growth forests and as the largest threat to the habitat of forest-dwelling, hollow-dependent species.
The submission covers a range of topics, ranging from old growth forest, threatened species, traditional burning, biodiversity and disturbance, fire, Victoria’s high biodiversity protection, regional forest agreements, misinformation fuelling the anti-logging narrative, and the transition to plantations.
For example, James emphasises that in ecology, an intermediate level of disturbance plans a key role in increasing biodiversity, species richness and ecosystem resilience.
“Small-scale disturbances are essential for species recruitment, fresh food and habitat. As long as timber harvesting fits within these ecological parameters, it can serve to benefit the environment and increase biodiversity,” he says.
“It is delusional to think that by excluding disturbance from the bush we will be protecting it.”
He cites the importance of ecological thinning. “It can be used as a tool to accelerate old-growth characteristics, reduce drought stress on canopy trees, reduce the risk of fire-induced mortality, remove understorey fuels, create conditions suitable to re-establish indigenous burning techniques, maximise biodiversity through mosaics and generate revenue, timber products and carbon storage as biproducts,” he says.
The submission criticises prominent academic authors who he maintains have published misleading statements on timber harvesting, and also many environmental non-government organisations who are anti-logging activists and ignore concrete, scientific solutions to forestry issues.
“I have been a member of a couple for over a decade,” he says, “but their fight to cease timber harvesting is extreme and unjustified”.
“It is disheartening to see lead spokespersons from some organisations informing forest management investigations despite having no relevant qualifications in ecology or conservation.
“Their louder misguided voices have gained unwarranted attention in the current political climate.
“This combination of misinformation and litigation attempts has likely been a strong influence for the extreme measure of the VFP.“
Added James: “Now is the time for open conversation about how timber harvesting can be tailored to provide nature-based solutions. If we ignore this, then we will lose a valuable opportunity to understand and look after our forests.”
Petition: parliament.vic.gov.au/index.php?option=com_rsform&view=rsform&formId=74&Itemid=1054&petition_id=419
Submission: cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0480/2114/3707/files/Petition_for_Instrument_Timbers_V1.0_online.pdf?v=1638746548
