World's tallest flowering plants threatened

Tasmania's Valleys of the Giants

The Styx Valley, about 90 minutes from Hobart, Tasmania (Australia's island State) is home to the world's tallest hardwood trees - majestic Swamp Gums which can grow up to 95 metres and over 400 years old. These giants are currently being felled for woodchips and sawlogs. They need our protection.

The tallest trees in the Styx are the mighty Eucalyptus regnans – the tallest hardwood trees and flowering plants on Earth. In Victoria, these trees are known as ‘mountain ash’, and in Tasmania as ‘swamp gum’. They are second in height only to the famous coastal redwoods of North America (softwoods). This was not always the case – an E. regnans in Victoria in the 1870s was measured at over 120 metres - the tallest tree ever recorded. There may well be even taller trees that are as yet undiscovered in the remote, roadless parts of the valley.

The Styx also contains large areas of unlogged tall E. obliqua, E. delegatensis and rainforest. Together these make up one of the most spectacular forests in the world. These forests are home to many native species of wildlife, including the majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle, the Eastern Pygmy Possum, the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, owls and rosellas. [Source]

Howard Governement "reneged on promise"
"Australian Greens senator Bob Brown has criticised the federal government for going back on its election promise to protect Tasmanian forests.

"Prime Minister John Howard on Friday visited Tasmania's Styx Valley to announce a $250 million package to extend the state's old growth reservation past the one million hectare mark.

"Senator Brown said the details of the package showed the government had reneged on its election commitment."
Source: The Age

"While The Wilderness Society welcomes protection of important forests in the Tarkine and Styx valleys, many magnificent old growth forests will still be sacrificed to the woodchipping industry under the forest plan."
Source: Wilderness Society

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