THE future of logging in the Wombat State Forest rests with the local community after the government bought out the last sawlog licence in the forest.
Dwyers Sawmill in Leonards Hill will close after voluntarily surrendering its Wombat State Forest sawlog licence this week.
Future management options for the forest will be developed in consultation with the community.
Any decision to introduce alternative timber harvesting or restorative forestry practices in the forest in the future will only be made with the support of the broader community, a government spokesman has said.
Environment minister John Thwaites said buying this licence would ensure the needs of the community and multiple uses of the forest could be managed more sustainably.
Member for Ballarat East Geoff Howard said the decision was a sensible outcome that would allow for more constructive community input over the future of the forest.
"The issue of logging can be emotional and, while logging continued in the forest, discussion regarding its future was being clouded," Mr Howard said.
"Wombat State Forest is still a productive resource and now we can assess how it can be sustainably used."
Mr Howard said the decision would ensure the Community Forest Management program, established over the past three years, would have a greater capacity for success.
Jim Dwyer from Dwyers Sawmill was disappointed by the announcement and said it would have complications for the forest.
"It's a terrible result for the forest because there's still ample logs left," Mr Dwyer said.
"There will be no revenue base for maintaining the roads."
Mr Dwyer said the fuel load would increase and there would be increased fire danger.
"There was no common sense in the decision. A lot of fires start in national parks," he said.
"The bush will be kept open for firewood but the cost of the wood will be expensive."
Mr Dwyer could not confirm when the mill would close its doors but said there were enough logs to last months.
Norman Endacott was a district forester in charge of the Daylesford district for six years.
He was responsible for the western half of the forest.
"I came to love it very much and now I've become very angry," Mr Endacott said
Mr Endacott feared the forest would become a national park.
"What once was a profitable industry, going for over 100 years, will be denied," he said.
"I claim the present manner in which logging takes place is a criterion in biodiversity."
Mr Endacott was also concerned about maintaining the extensive road network in the forest, a key bushfire fighting resource.
"Sawmills are obliged to make manpower available on-call. They will no longer be there to provide assistance," he said.
"The road network will be maintained by the public's expense because the resource of funding will no longer be available."
Mr Howard said he supported the Dwyer family and the 20 workers who would be receiving a redundancy and adjustment package.
The exit package for the sawmill will be based on the government's Our Forests, Our Future Voluntary Licence Reduction Program.
It includes an assistance package that provides retraining and re-employment assistance to workers at Dwyers Sawmill.
Mr Thwaites said the Department of Sustainability and Environment would continue to work constructively with Wombat State Forest communities and users to improve forest condition and its capacity to provide the full range
of forest uses.
The minister said that arrangements for the supply of firewood from Wombat State Forest would need to be established, recognising that firewood from sawlog harvesting residue will soon be unavailable.
A critical project for DSE and the community will be to develop a firewood strategy.
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