Biodiversity of Wielangta Forest - Wild Wielangta - Edublogs

Introduction
1
Biodiversity of Wielangta Forest
Wielangta Forest is a large area of forested land on the east coast extending south from Orford to
Marion Bay. Its extent westwards is less well defined, but generally accepted as approximating to
Nugent.
In the minds of Government agencies Wielangta Forest may be associated more with the Wielangta
Forest block - State Forest in the centre of the area. To others it includes some or all of the adjoining
land tenures that form the various State Reserves. Ecologically, the land does not follow tenure
boundaries. The forested land extends into private ownership. Functionally as a land system, it
encapsulates some of the cleared farming land that irregularly incises the remaining native
vegetation. At the centre of the area is the remnant of the sawmill town of Wielangta with surviving
school house and scattered residences.
Wielangta Forest has been the focus of numerous studies and assessments. It has in recent times
been used as the subject of a High Court challenge, as a test case of the Regional Forest Agreement
and the Commonwealth EPBC Act. It is one amongst many Tasmanian hotspots of contention within
the conflict between the forest industry and nature conservation.
The aim of this report is to provide a single source of information summarising the known biological
values of the Wielangta Forest and surrounds.
Wild Wielangta