The unburnt areas of the Victorian high country are increasingly rare and incredibly precious.

One of these areas lies in the headwaters of the Little Dargo River, just south of Mt Hotham. It is a pristine area, without roads, and containing mature forest, much of it dominated by Alpine Ash.

The state government logging agency, VicForests, intends to log a total of 11 “coupes,” or sections, of mature forest in the upper Little Dargo River, probably this spring.

This morning, ABC Radio National described the alliance that has formed to protect the Little Dargo River and surrounding areas.

Groups like Friends of the Earth, Gippsland Environment Group, and Friends of Bats and Habitat have joined forces with the Treasure’s—a cattle family who have a connection to the Dargo High Plains stretching back five generations—to protect the Little Dargo River catchment.

The coupes have been included in the most recent Timber Release Plan, which is issued by VicForests, but not yet scheduled for logging.

We can stop this area from being devastated. But we need your help:

Step 1 – Call Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio’s Office:

Give the Minister’s office a call today. Say that you’d like to leave a message for the minister and give them your name and address.

Be polite and say that you’re concerned about the threat posed by logging in the Little Dargo River catchment. Urge her to protect this precious area by taking the area off the Timber Release Plan.

You can reach the ministers office by calling (03) 9637 9504.

Step 2 – Email Minister Lily D’Ambrosio:

Follow up your phone call by emailing the minister to urge her to remove the Little Dargo areas off the Timber Release Plan. You can contact the minister here: lily.dambrosio@parliament.vic.gov.au

If you’re short on time, you can use our online tool to send the minister an email. It takes less than two minutes. 

Step 3 – Promote the campaign on social media:

Post about plight of the Little Dargo River catchment on any social media platform to show key decision makers that the community is watching and wants action.

Please share a link to the ABC’s recent coverage or images from the area (you’ll find some here) with a simple message and tag in the following: @DanielAndrewsMP, @MaryAnneThomas, and @LilyDAmbrosioMP.

Suggested Tweet (or retweet):

Please #SaveLittleDargo – Too precious to log. An unburnt gem in the Victorian High Country. #SpringSt

Friends of the Earth and allies will continue to build the community campaign to protect this important area from logging.

You can find out more about why the Little Dargo needs to be protected on our website and by tuning in to the latest episode of Friends of the Earth’s Dirt radio show.