The Goolengook valley is a remote forested region of south-eastern
Australia, located near
Orbost in the far eastern corner of
Victoria. It contains a number of forest types including a rare
warm temperate/cool temperate "Overlap Rainforest".
Goolengook is approximately 90 km
2 of forest. Some of the forest has been logged but there is over 20 km
2 of mature and
old growth forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...
remaining. Some of the best stands of temperate rainforest for this part of Australia occur there.
It is the traditional land of the
Bidawal Aboriginal people.
In 2006 the State Government suspended logging while an independent (but government-appointed) assessment was initiated to determine if it should be added to the Victorian Conservation Reserve System.
After ten years of campaigning for the protection of Goolengook, the
Victorian State election of November 2006 saw the Australian Labor party returned, with a promise to protect the Goolengook block within a new National Park.
[Ashley Gardiner]
Old growth forests protected
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald ...
, 18 November 2006
Ecology
It is home to several
endangered species such as the
long-footed potoroo,
sooty owl and
spot-tailed quoll. Goolengook area is one of a limited number of critical sites for the conservation of threatened treeferns – specifically slender tree-fern (''
Cyathea cunninghamii'') and skirted tree-fern (Cyathea × marcescens, ''Cyathea'' × ''marcescens''). This is due in large part to the general infrequency of prescribed fire and wildfire within the forest block and the low levels of logging disturbance across the upper Goolengook River catchment.
See also
*
Goongerah, Victoria
*
Rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...
References
External links
GECO - Goongerah Environment CentreA 2002 website about the Goolengook forest blockadeGoolengook: One of the World's Greatest Old Growth Forests Threatened The Wilderness Society, 22 April 2002
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Forests of Victoria (Australia)