By Dongyun Kwon
The Eminent Panel for Community Engagement from Depart of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is engaging with local communities in the Central Highlands on the future use of state forest areas following the end of native timber harvesting.
The Panel is chaired by former CEO of the Latrobe Valley Authority, Karen Cain, and is set up specifically to talk with people and organisations to understand values and priorities for forests.
It is committed to genuine partnership with Traditional Owners and hearing from a wide range of voices from communities, stakeholders and peak bodies interested in these forests.
These conversations will inform the Panel’s recommendations to the Victorian Government on future use and management of state forests in the Central Highlands.
Eminent Panel chair Karen Cain said the Panel is appreciative of the interest and knowledge shared by the community.
“Over 100 people attended community drop-in sessions held in Healesville, Warburton and Yarra Junction, where participants came to talk to the Panel about what they value in the Central Highlands forests, including recreation activities they enjoy,” she said.
“Get involved by completing the online feedback form, or dropping a pin on the map to share locations that are important to you.”
Representatives of a number of trail horse riders groups had a meeting with the Eminent Panel in the Multipurpose Room at Healesville Community Link on Monday 8 April to discuss sustainability and the long-term development for Central Highlands state forests.
Yarra Valley Trail Horse Riders president Lewis Storer said the meeting went well with professional representatives.
“The Panel talked about locking the state forests into one big national park and restricting access for recreation including camping, trail horse riding, bushwalking and mountain bike riding,” he said.
“We’ve got about 100,000 people in Victoria that use horse riding as a means of recreation and we talked to them to help shape the future management of the Central Highlands state forests by sharing our forest experiences that are important to us.
“We want to see the forests healthy and sustainable for our future generations but not being locked out of our state forests.”
Mr Storer said the trail horse riders are not intending to destroy the forests.
“We are actually the eyes and ears of a lot of things in the bush where we can report on things that are damaged and vandalised and what we might consider [to prevent] fire dangers,” he said.
“We’ve spent millions of dollars in the community spreading the money around in some of the small villages and towns with weekend riding campings.”
Other than the meeting with the trail horse riders groups, the Eminent Panel held five more drop-in sessions in Healesville, Warburton, Yarra Junction and Gembrook.
Yarra Ranges Councillor Jim Child attended the drop-in session in Yarra Junction on Wednesday night.
Cr Child said he was pleased to see the Eminent Panel coming out to communicate with the community.
“The Panel was well represented and courteous. They listened to what people were saying and they were very receptive to the people’s comments,” he said.
“The pace of work that the government is doing now is really good to gauge how the community uses the state forests at present, that’s why I’m encouraging people to be involved in this process.”
