The pine harvest operation that was scheduled to begin in the Tantragee and Atmore Reserves on 7 October 2019, which includes the Codgers recreation area, has been postponed. A decision on when the harvest commences will be made once conversations with the neighbouring forest manager and key stakeholders have taken place to ensure minimum impact on residents and recreation users.

“The planning and deployment of a harvesting operation has to consider a range of factors before it can go ahead, such as logging crew availability, a market for the felled trees and access for other land users,” Mayor Reese says.

“The 7 October date that was originally chosen was favourable for a number of reasons, but after listening to feedback from a wide range of recreation groups and commercial operators, we agree that the impact on resident and visitor enjoyment of this highly valued area is too great. As a result, we are deferring the harvest until we have identified a time-frame that works better for everyone."

While the harvest operation was focused on areas that had minimum direct impact on the existing trail network, the need to remove the felled trees via forest roads that are used by the public to access the trails meant that it was necessary to restrict access to large parts of the area over the three month harvest period.

“I’m pleased that Council has been able to change its plans so quickly in light of the feedback we received. Nelson attracts visitors from around the world to enjoy our high quality and diverse mountain biking and walking trails and I know that having unrestricted access to the Codgers recreation area over spring and summer will be good news to residents and visitors alike. We will now begin discussions with all the key stakeholders and do our best to identify a convenient time for the trees to be harvested,” says Mayor Reese.

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