Woodland plan to protect vegetation

A 10-year conservation plan to protect 16 million hectares of woodland in WA’s south-east will aim to halt the loss of vegetation in an area heavily sought after by the mining industry.

But in announcing the plan in Kalgoorlie this morning, Environment Minister Donna Faragher has promised it will not impact existing mining tenements and timber harvesting will also continue in the area.

The Great Western Woodland, as it has become known, covers an area three times the size of Tasmania and is the largest temperate woodland remaining on the planet.

Scientists attacked the government earlier this year over what they claimed was the benign neglect of an area containing more than 3000 flowering plant species and a variety of animal species.

Mrs Faragher this morning pledged $3.8m over three years to get the strategy rolling.
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