Common sense must prevail our forests selectively logged are healthy and sustainable and our koala populations are not endangered.

It is time to fight back against environmentalist groups with their tunnel vision. Some who have never done a hard day’s work to support their families like workers in our timber industry on the mid north coast.

I was raised in Wauchope and can remember back when we had 26 plus working timber mills supporting working families in a thriving community.

Hastings Shire Council was in Wauchope and we were the business hub.

I can remember as a kid reading in National Geographic about Wauchope and that they had the biggest population of Blackbutt forests in the southern hemisphere and it is still the same but here’s the catch -Blackbutt species require a fire to regenerate the seed but we can’t burn now because your Greenie neighbour will sue you if the fire gets into their overgrown property.

As far as koala populations east of the Pacific Highway prior to the 1930-40s, there were allegedly none.

The colonies there were established from orphaned koalas taken back to Port Macquarie by loggers working in the bush to the west and I have confirmed this by speaking to older locals involved in the timber industry.

Spend the monies on whatever project. The koalas are not in decline. Hire a helicopter on a clear sunny day and fly over the forests to the west of Wauchope you will see plenty of them.

I challenge Adrian Guthrie from NEFA North East Forest Alliance and Susie Russell vice president of NCEC north coast environment council to prove that the koala populations and our forests are in danger.

Steve Bryson,            

Pappinbarra