Furphy: Koalas do just as well in logged forests as they do in mature forests.

Fact: Female koalas need mature forests with older trees, structural complexity and a diverse range of species.

Based on their monitoring of koalas in Pine Creek State Forest, independent researchers Andrew Smith and John Pile found that high intensity logging has a detrimental impact on koala populations on the NSW north coast. They stated: “The absence, or low density, of breeding female koalas in young (20-30 year old) uniform-aged forest dominated by a low diversity of tree species … is evidence that forest regenerating after high intensity, clear-fell logging of the type carried out in the Pine Creek State Forest since 2005 and currently underway in nearby forests … is unlikely to support breeding female koalas” (Smith & Pile 2024, pp.V).

This debunks claims by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), which monitors the impacts of forestry operations in NSW on threatened species, that neither selective logging nor intensive harvesting 5-10 years previously decrease koala density (NRC undated 2022, 2023).

The research on which the NRC claim is based used acoustic monitoring of koala calls and has been critiqued on multiple fronts, especially because loud calls are only made by male koalas (Smith & Pile 2024; Pugh 2022b, 2024b, pp.51-55).

Using both call counting and direct observation of koalas in Pine Creek State Forest and neighbouring Bongil Bongil National Park, Smith and Pile demonstrated that habitat quality (including tree size and density, species diversity and past logging intensity) is important, because while male koalas were found in low quality habitats, breeding females “were more abundant in older more structurally complex forests, consistent with findings of numerous other studies that koalas prefer larger trees for both sleeping and feeding” (Smith & Pile 2024, pp.X).

Further reading

Pugh, D. (2024). North East Forest Alliance Submission to: Reviewing the NSW Koala Strategy Discussion paper, pp.51-55. Available at https://www.nefa.org.au.

Smith, A.P. & Pile, J. (2024). ‘Koala density, habitat, conservation, and response to logging in eucalyptus forest; a review and critical evaluation of call monitoring’, Australian Zoologist. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2024.023.