ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Dave....not with that glass in ya hand...anyway, you'll be the Treasurer.

Good one Marty. Bring back the horse & cart....DOWN with freeways!!

G'day Stephen...

They used to shoot the bloody things... I reckon I have shot hundreds, but because they are as tough as old nails... I put five .22 rounds into one and it still scurried up a tree and hissed at me before I stuck one straight down its throat and that did the job... but now because the buyers don't want the hides looking like a swiss cheese, they cyanide them.

It's a tricky business mate. Cyanide doesn't have many freinds. Then when they are good and dead, they pluck the fur out like plucking a chook and put it in bags and send it to the skin buyers who sell it on to the mills and thats where it gets spun. Any garment made from wool and possum fur is out of the game expensive... but it's not aimed at the local markets... it's aimed at the tourist industry. And the tourists buy it up good-o so the price remains bloody over the moon

Thats how it's done old mate.. In the good old days, I had a big gun... a nato .762... and I used to point it at the possums and they just slipped their coats orf and handed them over.

Go well...
...croc

...
Marty... they are infested with bovine t/b... you would not want to be eating any N/z possums. I used to shoot them by the score and chop the back legs orf and boil them up for the dog if I was running a bit thin on dog tucker, but you have to really boil them hard to kill the crap that swims around in them. I would recomend eating a Macdonalds burger before an N/z possum... it's probably on the safer side.

carefull with the diet mate...
...croc

Dave...
Yeah well the idea isn't as silly as it might first appear. If science can get the fertilisation of the Leadbeater done in vitro, then the egg could well be stuck into any old possum and maybe a Leadbeatrer would be the end result. I dunno... ask Stephen, he might know, or have a mate who does... What do you reckon Doc... idea any good.

Stay cool...
...croc

Who knows? Anything's possible in the future, isn't it? Aren't they bringing back the mammoth?

The other animal said to be threatened by the logging at Toolangi is a native fish, the Barred Galaxias. This is my tribute to that wee aquatic treasure.


The Barred Galaxias

© Stephen Whiteside 12.08.2011

Barred galaxias its name,
Eating insects is its game;
Little grubs and worms as well,
And little fish that have a shell.
It is a most specific liver.
Streams that reach the Goulburn River
On the Great Divide’s north face
Would seem to be the only place
In all the world this fish can swim.
Its future could be fairly grim.
They’re chopping lots of forest down,
Which turns the crystal waters brown
And tends to rather put it out.
Then, of course, there are the trout
That eat it up. Alack, alas,
For pretty barred galaxias!
 
If I had my way I’d let
The forests stand. I’d not forget
The role of trout. I would ensure
That barred galaxias no more
Was eaten by this foreign fish.
Yes, that would be my fondest wish.
I’d let the anglers fish them out,
And clear the streams of all the trout,
And though folk would, no doubt, complain,
I’d not put any back again.
If campers wanted food to fry
I’d tell them to give eggs a try.
If fishy crave should pass their lips.
I’d send them off for fish and chips.

...
Yeah... and when they do, just imagine how many big logs that buggar will be able to haul out of the forests... and what are they going to feed it on.
They could stick it in my paddock for a while. The grass, prior to a willy-willy going through late yesterday arv, was well over my head and driving the ute down the 'track' was by guess or by god at times. I had a cow dive out in front of me yesterday... the grass parted and out she bolted. However, the wind flattened it down to about a meter and now I can find things again... and cows can't hide in it anymore... good-o. I have asked old mate next door to slash it for me, but his time is like my money... neither of us has got any.
Anything interesting going on in those huge halls of 'justice' re the possum. Nice little bit of work re the fish.
Keep your powder dry...
...c

Yesterday the court conducted a 'site visit'. I imagine they all visited the logging coupe, in which case they probably all had quite a late day. I haven't received any news of it yet, but expect I will sometime today.

Here's another 'cut and paste' of the latest from Steve Meacher.


Good evening everyone,

What a day it has been in the Supreme Court. After the usual 'housekeeping' tasks (corrections to transcripts etc.), Professor David Lindenmayer took the stand to give his awaited evidence for the plaintiff.

As expected, David's evidence was rigorous, objective and thorough and Ms. Walker led him very systematically through his report. After 28 years of research on the ecology of the Central Highlands wet forests, his expertise and depth of knowledge shone through as he described the extent of transformation and disturbance he has witnessed and recorded. He carefully outlined his deep concerns for the future of Leadbeater's Possum and their forest habitat. Following the 2009 wildfires the population on Lake Mountain is now locally extinct (the last three surviving animals have been taken into captivity). Professor Lindenmayer explained we just don't know how well the species will deal with the projected population bottleneck.

Under cross-examination (after lunch) he patiently explained several times that his research team doesn't use the terms 'mature' and 'senescent' as they are not sufficiently rigorous terms for such work. He stressed his deep concern with producing high quality science. He was repeatedly asked, looking at photographs, to confirm that the trees shown were 1939 regrowth or other specific age classes, which he was unable to do. He explained several times that such determinations require seeing the tree in the field and in context. Cross-examination of Professor Lindenmayer continues tomorrow at 10:30 am.

Also, in court today Justice Osborn announced that he will not be available next Friday. It is currently expected that the hearing will be completed by Thursday and closing statements will then be made at the beginning of the following week.

If you would like to read full details of the case, full transcripts will be placed on the My Environment website as they become available. You can already read the transcripts of the first two days, in which the case for the plaintiff and VicForests' defence were outlined. They are available here.

There has been a very encouraging response to our call for financial donations, but more is still needed so if you are thinking about supporting us and haven't got around to it yet, please do!

And, once again, please forward this message to any kindred spirits, including larger environmental organisations that should be supporting us.

Many thanks,

For the forests,

Steve

Steve Meacher again.


Good afternoon friends of the forests,

We have come to the end of the first week of My Environment -v- VicForests with an early adjournment today, so I am pleased to be home early.

As announced cross-examination of Professor Lindenmayer continued this morning. In his responses he underscored the importance of tree hollows in which Leadbeater's Possums spend 75% of their lives. He was quizzed about whether he had carefully read several documents and about why he had not mentioned in his report a study prepared by Jacques Cop. He answered that it wasn't mentioned because it wasn't relevant - it was important to have his own researchers conduct their own measurements. He was also questioned about a statement in an early draft of his report that had been changed in the final version, bringing one of several interventions from Justice Osborn, who explained, "What you are attacking is a statement that hasn't been made, as far as I am concerned." On another occasion Justice Osborn declared a question "not fair" and took exception to the repetitiveness of the examination, saying, "The documents make clear what [Professor Lindenmayer] did - he keeps telling you that."

As in yesterday's evidence, Professor Lindenmayer was impressive with his compendious knowledge of the biology and ecology of Leadbeater's Possum, "a topic with which I have some familiarity," he commented with commendable modesty! At several points he was able to quote authorities and dates, including several of his own publications. Cross-examination finished with confirmation that in assessing the three Toolangi coupes the considerations had been based on hollow-bearing trees, occurrence of Leadbeater's Possum on the coupes, added risk of extinction if the coupes were logged, the presence of Zone 1A habitat and the impacts of coupe edge effects on the persistence of animals.

After a brief re-examination by Ms Walker, Professor Lindenmayer left the witness box just before 1:00 pm, so the court adjourned for lunch.

When we all returned after lunch we were greeted with the surprise announcement that, on the basis that Mr Waller had confirmed during the morning's cross-examination that he didn't, "make any challenge to the veracity of the underlying data," of Professor Lindenmayer's report, My Environment would not seek to call the next two witnesses who had recorded that data in the field. This was confirmed and after some further discussion regarding the further scheduling of the case, the court adjourned at 2:25 pm. The case will continue with the Evidence in Chief of VicForests on Monday morning at 10:30.

It remains the expectation of both sides that the hearing will be completed by Thursday of next week and closing statements will be made at the beginning of the following week.

If you would like to read full details of the case, full transcripts will be placed on the My Environment website as they become available. You can read the transcripts of the first three days, in which the case for the plaintiff and VicForests' defence were outlined here.

Our sincere and grateful thanks to all of you who have responded to our call for financial donations. We are well on the way but more is still needed to ensure the successful completion of this far-reaching case, so please dig deep.

And, as usual, please forward this message to any kindred spirits, including larger environmental organisations that should be supporting us in permanently changing the native forest logging industry in Australia.

Many thanks,

For the forests,

Steve

...
Glenny won't mind me logging in as her...

Thanks Stephen...

...croc