The fight is on to save the Stewart tree

Tweet

Vince went to his monthly Men’s Shed meeting on Tuesday night where the guest speaker spoke about the threat to the survival of the Stewart tree. What? You’ve never heard of the Stewart tree? That’s okay. Neither had I until Vince told me about it. The Stewart tree is a karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) which is located about 20 kms west of Manjimup in a valley at Record Brook which is an eastern tributary of the Donnelly River. At 85 metres high, it is Western Australia’s (WA) tallest tree and listed as the 15th tallest in the world. First named and measured in the 1940s, it was passed over as a potential location for a fire lookout tower. Karris are endemic to the wet south-west corner of WA and some were measured at 90+ metres high before logging began in the area. The tallest tree in Europe is a karri (73 metres) which was planted in Portugal in the 1890s. The survival of the tree will be compromised when a 15 gigalitre dam is built just downstream. Nearly 80 hectares of old-growth karris will be cleared for the dam footprint and billions of litres pumped out of the Donnelly River to fill it. This will impact on what is at the moment a pristine environment. Disturbing the area in this way will have a serious impact on the surrounding bushland. You do have to wonder why humans have to tamper with rivers, etc. I’ll add a link to the article that supplied my information. Now I’m off to write some letters to politicians. Those opposed to the plan have given a draft letter with some very convincing facts and references. I’m pretty sure it won’t make a difference but it will make me feel better. Photo of the Diamond Tree which was used as a fire lookout tree. Imagine going up that ladder every morning – and down again at night.