Green timber

Hi John,
Yes it still happens but the last lot I used was at Apsley Falls nearly a year ago and it burnt alright so would not have been all that green, but nicely sawn, Looked too good to burn. LOL.

Cheers, Bruce.

Nothing wrong with cutting dead wood down.
It’s going to fall down and rot anyway.

Dennis

Maybe you are just being flippant but there are signs everywhere in the Snowy and Vic high country to say not to cut it down. You never know it may be the habitat of some rare or endangered animals.

But then again maybe you really do not care.

Phil

Umm Dennis,

Many animals depend on hollows in dead wood for shelter and nesting. People wonder why they don't often see animals out in the bush. Near well used camping areas its partly because the dead wood has been removed and their habitat is gone, so no animals.

Even when collecting wood from the ground it pays to check for critters before throwing a log on the fire - or preferably dont burn hollow timber.

There is a reason for those signs when approaching some national parks telling people not to collect firewood within the park.

Cheers,

Val

In the Warrumbungle Shire, the council has signs on all roads in, advising that the collection of fallen timber from the roadsides is illegal.

They are doing their bit to protect the habitat of all fauna, and flora, no matter how big or small.

Next time you're out in the bush, have a careful look around and under timber on the ground, and see what calls this environment home, without willy nilly burning it on a bonfire.

You can still have a decent campfire without creating a flamin' inferno, and burning every stick in sight, and whatever lives inside it, or on it.

Cheers all, Fred.

I agree with Dennis to a point, The dead tree is going to come down eventually either in a wind or when its tottally eaten out with white ants, which makes it a dangerous thing anyway, As far as the bird nests and other critters, if you cut something down have a look first to see if there is anything visible ,if not no harm done, and besides the wood getting picked up off the ground by campers is from a dead tree that was standing originally!!, Can get to green with all this caper, common sense must prevail!.


Cheers Axle.

Fair comments Axle, and that's the thing, common sense, which isn't all that common anymore.

Fred

I don’t carry a chain saw so I’m not going to be knocking down trees big enough to have hollows in them.
I don’t collect in areas where it’s forbidden - but dry mallee or similar which I can cut with an axe or hand saw is fair game.
In Perth WA I burn 4 tonne of Jarrah a year in a slow combustion heater.
This is purchased from a local wood supplier who collects it as dead timber –it’s all perfectly legal.

Having "a look first" may be over simplistic. You may see nothing during the day, but at night the dead tree may be a habitat - maybe the occupier is inside the tree during the day and not visible. Maybe it is really small? Maybe the tree is used seasonally? We tend to put out own values on it - a dead tree to us is of little use - except to burn - but to native fauna it may be a vital part of their ecosystem.
I collect fallen wood to make my fire and have never had to cut a standing tree down - dead or alive. Not excessively "green" am I, but certainly can see what's right and wrong with respect to our impact on a site, both now and for the future.
What I am finding, worryingly, is far more widespread and severe damage lately since the advent of cheap and small chainsaws - even some of the most remote campsite vicinities have been decimated to neatly lopped stumps.

dont forget all the deadwood accumulates to make fuel for fires which is the purpose of fuel reduction burns

I go out of my way not to run over a snake or goanna - but where do you stop?
Peeling back the bark on a log before you burn it – to save the ants and cockroaches?
Come to Perth in autumn when CALM is doing a prescribed burn through the forests.
They’d be burnt in their billions - it’s like a drop in the ocean.

I take your point Dennis, but I am talking about smaller, confined areas where people camp. Cut down all the standing trees and what sort of campsite do you have left? We've all been to the moonscape campsites in otherwise lovely settings out in the bush where every living thing seems to have been used in the fire. I still can't see why a standing tree, living or dead, needs to be cut down for a one-off fire.

I’ve looped Australia twice in a 4WD – from Perth to the tip of Cape York.
There are many authorities and councils around Australia that encourage fires by supplying wood piles or fire places at campsites – I have rarely encountered signs restricting fires using either standing or fallen dead timber.

Brainless yes , absolutely.! Maybe it could be something for either Ron Moon or Pat Callinan to touch on strongly on one of their shows?
Something I have not seen them do yet. Too much time spent on raving about products.

cheers Unc

G'day Stephen. I put those people in the same category as city shooters heading bush.

They have to get their new saw out and chop down timber willy nilly and their campfire is usually a disaster of lots of smoke and no fire.

Just like the shooters, who have to shoot up everything in sight, as soon as they leave the street lights of the big smoke behind.

Fred.

Yeh, Maybe Pat and Ron could do a story on chainsaws.
MM

.......city shooters heading bush........as they leave the street lights of the big smoke behind......



BIIIIIGGGGG generalisation there, Fred. Sounds like you have gripes about us poor useless city-folk.

Whilst I'm not a shooter and I do live in the city, I could equally tar everyone who lives in the bush as a dumb hick, couldn't I?

It would seem to me that there are plenty of knobs living in the bush as there are in the city!!!

Cheers,

Mark

I agree with Mark. City-dwellers don't have a monopoly on stupidity. Just check out all the drunk drivers going home from any get together in the bush, for example.

Lots of city folk don't understand life in the country, but the reverse is also true, so generalising probably isn't all that helpful.

Cheers
John

"City-dwellers don't have a monopoly on stupidity"

Too right they don't, but I think they have the blueprint :-)))))))

Green wood can take a year or two to dry out properly. Anything left at a campsite will probably end up on the fire long before it is dry enough to burn properly. It will just smoke without producing much in the way of heat.

Cheers,

Val.

Wilko,

Perhaps you don't realise this, but to a large extent, Australia's economy is reliant on population growth. Without it you and many people would be out of a job.

Hi Rob,

Some times I'd rather be out of a job and still have the freedoms we once had. One day they'll try to ban campfires, then camping, then having a good time. Australia Economy is reliant on Mining (till the government and greens kill it). If the worlds population leveled off, our mines and economy would still be strong.

Cheers Wilko

..ummm OK.

Wilko,

Sorry mate but I'm gonna have to pick a bone with you on this one.

"Leveling off" the population and expecting the economy to still be strong is pure nonsense. Any demographer would know that.

Our modern secular media always tries to con people into thinking that the world is over populated and that the economy will suffer as a result. Well, the answer is poor, perhaps corrupt, government and mismanagement - not population.

But it's thanks to the growing population in other countries (that still have a future) that the economy is getting stronger.

For example, in some parts of Africa (where many claim that it is over-populated) the economy is supported by its large, youthful workforce and thus ensures the future for all generations. The older residents don't have a formal 'pension scheme', but are supported by their large families. And just before you pay out and say, "why are some parts of Africa so poor, then?" the answer to this is corrupt government and vested interest by western powers.

However, the Western world is being crippled by an ever aging population, with fewer youth to provide care. Birthrates are below the replacement level, thus resulting in a demographic 'winter' that looms over certain countries.

Because many of us are so spoilt in western society, even slight 'inconveniences' become intolerable. You just take a look at many young people in our own country, and you'll know what I mean. Hence euthanasia and birth control (strongly backed by the Greens) become the apparent answer, only leading into further trouble.

Just remember, if we don't have respect for human life at any of it's many stages, then the economy is not relevant because nothing is more important than a human being.

Cheers,

Tim.

I’ve looped Australia twice in a 4WD – from Perth to the tip of Cape York.
There are many council supplied wood piles or fire places around Australia – I have rarely encountered signs restricting burning dead wood.
It’s legal, so if it offends you – stay away from places that allow it or encourage it.

Dennis, in NSW sawmill off-cuts are often provided to try to discourage people from collecting wood from the bush. Unfortunately the tactic often backfires as the supplied wood is green - so people go into the bush to get some wood so they can have a fire. Plus some people get the message that green wood is OK for firewood.

It is not unusual when approaching NPs for there to be signs advising campers to collect firewood before they enter the park. And FWIW landholders in NSW are not supposed to cut down even a dead tree without permission.

Ray I respect your views about not having a fire, although I would not try to emulate you. For one thing wood is a renewable energy source. Also the amount of energy in wood that we use in a small fire would be very small compared to the energy required (via petrol/diesel) to get to a lot of the camping areas that we visit.

(But I dont really accept other's argument that "I might as well burn it because it will rot anyway" because burning happens quickly while rotting takes quite a while.)

Also one of the things that I really enjoy about camping is having a fire - BUT we only ever have a small fire. We also use wood for home heating.

Its annoying to see people having a huge blaze then having to sit way back from it because its too hot to be close! Then throwing on any available wood at the end of the evening - why not leave unused wood for the next person?

As with most things a bit of of moderation and common sense goes a long way. We don't need to deny ourselves some small comforts. But we don"t need to overdo them either "just because we can".

Cheers,

Val

Hi Val - The places I get don’t have saw mills and its bush timber that’s used in the outback and northwest of Australia. I guess you get more civilized services around NSW - probably paid for by all that GST we send your way :-)

Gotta agree with that Val. Good comments.

Dennis, keep sending that GST mate LOL NSW needs all it can get :-)))

Love it love it love it :-))))))))

Yes, sadly that sums it up very nicely as far as some are concerned.

Cheers,

Val.