North Coast Environment Council president Jim Morrison accused Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (Forest Corp) of endangering lives and disregarding ecology.
He said Forest Corp is using a 100-year-old habitat tree at Cherry Tree State Forest, west of Casino, to block the heritage-listed Cherry Tree Road.
The road provides flood-free access to residents of Old Lawrence Road near Mallanganee. Morrison said the region is being lashed by heavy rain and Forest Corp has cut off access to residents who may need to evacuate, or go to town for supplies or appointments.
鈥淭he normal route out of the valley, via Old Lawrence Road to the west, has a causeway which has been flooded at least three times so far this year,鈥 Morrison said on March 2. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same to the east where the creek crossings regularly become impassable through to Busby鈥檚 Flat. The Cherry Tree Road follows a ridge through to the Bruxner Highway, with no dangerous water courses to cross.鈥
The road was blocked last November following extensive protests regarding the logging operation at Cherry Tree State Forest.
When an impacted resident contacted Forest Corp in December about the need to keep this flood-free route opened to local residents, she was told that it had blocked the road for 鈥渟afety reasons鈥 and would monitor the situation and remove the log if need be.
鈥淚 was given the same response by a Forest Corp spokesperson in December,鈥 Morrison said. 鈥淕iven that the causeway can go under after just a few hours of heavy rain, this response was pointless.鈥
Morrison said a car washed off the causeway during a flood in early February, and the occupant was lucky to escape.
鈥淪omeone could die. The fact that Forest Corp is using such a huge old tree to block a road highlights their callous disregard for the environment as well as community safety.
鈥淭his tree was doing a great job as home for wildlife and sequestering carbon. Its purpose now is to block a road. Yet, the logging operation has been suspended for the past month.鈥
Morrison called on the relevant ministers to 鈥渟tep in and demand that all old growth trees be left for habitat, and the road immediately reopened to allow access for local residents鈥.