Swift parrots recorded in Tasmanian forest days before clearing
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- Bob Brown Foundation scientists and citizen volunteers logged 68 swift parrot observations over December and January in the Wielangta forest's coupe WT003E, an area marked for clear-felling in Tasmania's south-east
- Forest Practices Authority sent an ecologist to survey the area on 10 February and reported 'no swift parrots were observed breeding in the harvest area'—but foundation scientist Dr Charley Gros said the forest had already been cleared by the time the ecologist arrived
- Sustainable Timber Tasmania said it acted within the law, with general manager Suzette Weeding citing 'Tasmania's strict forest practices framework' and 'careful planning and oversight'
- The swift parrot population has slumped to roughly 750, down from 2,000 a decade earlier, with peer-reviewed studies warning the species could be extinct by the early 2030s and identifying forestry as the biggest threat to its survival
- Scientific advice to the Tasmanian government has previously warned that all potential swift parrot habitat on public land should be protected, regardless of whether the birds are present at the time of planned logging
- Wilderness Society is lobbying Bunnings to stop taking wood from a mill it found takes logs from the WT003E coupe; a Bunnings spokesperson said its own review found 'no evidence to indicate non-compliance with Tasmanian environmental or logging laws at this site'
- An exemption for state-run forestry from national environment law ends in July 2027, after which logging may require federal approval where it has a significant impact on threatened species
Why it matters: The regulator's ecologist surveyed the Wielangta coupe on 10 February and found no nesting birds—but the trees had already been cleared. With only ~750 swift parrots left and peer-reviewed warnings of extinction by the early 2030s, the episode crystallizes a gap scientists have flagged: current rules protect habitat only when birds are demonstrably present at the moment of inspection, not months earlier when nests are active.
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