Water quality

See how we manage harvesting near waterways to reduce erosion and protect water quality.

Protecting water quality

The Code of Practice for Native Forest Timber Production on Queensland’s State Forest Estate 2020 (PDF, 4.3MB) sets clear provisions to protect watercourses and maintain their integrity and water quality.

Watercourse-protection buffers are established around all watercourses, wetlands and water features. These buffers restrict harvesting activities and enhance natural filtration by trapping sediment before it reaches waterways.

Minimising soil disturbance

We conduct harvesting operations to reduce soil disturbance and the risk of erosion.

Measures include:

• ensuring all snig tracks and haul routes used for timber removal are drained and stabilised
• using walk-over machinery techniques to minimise the removal of surface vegetation, leaf litter or topsoil
• restricting harvesting on steeper slopes
• postponing operations when ground conditions are saturated.

More information

For any queries or concerns, please email ForestryEngagement@daf.qld.gov.au