TWO men allegedly caught illegally cutting and splitting a freshly felled tree for firewood in Wandong Regional Park near Clonbinane in July have now been charged.
A 45-year-old man from Hurstbridge and a 41-year-old man from Diamond Creek face five charges under the Forests Act 1958 for felling, cutting, splitting or taking timber in a State forest and possessing forest produce without authorisation.
The 41-year-old man from Diamond Creek also faces a charge for giving false information to an Authorised Officer.
The men were intercepted by Conservation Regulator Authorised Officers with support from Victoria Police where they were allegedly caught loading cut and split timber into a tandem trailer at 5:15am on the morning of Monday, July 14. The trailer, two chainsaws, firewood and other cutting equipment were seized.
Greg Chant, Conservation Regulator, Manager Regulatory Operations Hume, says a no-tolerance policy to firewood theft is working.
“These charges demonstrate once again that we won’t tolerate commercial firewood theft and we will take action against those responsible,” he said.
“Our Authorised Officers work with partner agencies to patrol Victoria’s State forests and parks at all hours to help protect biodiversity and ensure people follow the rules.”
The men were caught as part of ongoing surveillance activities across Mt Disappointment State Forest and the Wandong Regional Park through ‘Taskforce Ironbark’.
Taskforce Ironbark is a state-wide initiative, led by the Conservation Regulator in partnership with Parks Victoria, cracking down on commercial firewood thieves stealing trees from forests and parks.
If community members observe suspicious firewood activity, they are urged to take action and report it to 136 186. Reports can be made anonymously.
