MORE than 500 thriving State Forests visited by millions of people and fundamental contributions to hundreds of thousands of house frames and tens of millions of newspapers are among the many achievements Forestry Corporation of NSW is celebrating as it marks its centenary this year.
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CEO Nick Roberts said the NSW Forestry Commission, now known as Forestry Corporation of NSW, was established to manage State forests for both timber production and environmental conservation and continues to sustainably manage more than two million hectares of State Forests today.
“A century after the NSW Forestry Commission was formed, the same State Forests that were set aside for timber production in November 1916 and have been building NSW for a century are still producing timber, still supporting an amazing diversity of flora and fauna and still available for the community to experience and enjoy,” Mr Roberts said.
“Timber from State Forests produced the sleepers that enabled the building of thousands of kilometres of rail lines, the poles for thousands of kilometres of power lines, the frames and floorboards for hundreds of thousands of homes, the pulp and fibre for millions of newspapers and the cardboard packaging used to transport goods across the nation.
“Production forests also supported the growth of many timber towns and communities of people involved in the timber industry.
These forests remain an important part of many communities today, both as a source of renewable timber and as a tourism drawcard – welcoming campers, bushwalkers, trail bike riders, four wheel drivers, horse riders and mountain bikers from near and far.
“The forests set aside for timber production have been harvested and regenerated many times since 1916, underpinning a forest products industry that contributes $2.4 billion to the economy annually and supports thousands of jobs in regional NSW in timber production, pulp and paper processing, and many other sectors that rely on wood products.
“Today, we manage over two million hectares of native forests and plantations and around a million hectares of this estate is managed purely for environmental conservation.
“One of the most important things that we do is ensure that the small areas we harvest for timber each year grow back as healthy, productive forests that the next generation can continue to harvest and enjoy.
“Because we continue to manage these forests sustainably, they will carry on regenerating and supplying renewable timber 100 years from now and beyond.”
For more information about Forestry Corporation of NSW, visit www.forestrycorporation.com.au.
