THE Parks and Wildlife Service has enlisted some high-tech help in the fight against the age-old scourge of illegal wood cutting.
People engaging in the practice of illegally taking wood from the state's parks and reserves have been put on notice: beware, the trees have eyes.
Dozens of carefully hidden remote cameras are watching areas where wood thieves have felled trees -- heedless of the habitat destruction, erosion and property damage their unlawful activities cause.
PWS state compliance co-oordinator Justin Helmich said the seasonal surge of wood theft was in full swing and covert surveillance was already showing results as a dozen cases worked their way through the courts.
Mr Helmich said hundreds of trees had been removed from reserve land in recent years, causing great damage, cost and inconvenience to the parks service as well as landholders.
Among the areas hit by wood-hookers were the Meehan Range nature recreation area, the Gravelly Ridge conservation area and Seven Mile Beach public reserve.
Mr Helmich said some thieves were taking trees to fuel their own fires, but others were dodgy commercial firewood sellers.
"With power prices increasing, we've noticed an increase in it in the last 12 to 18 months," he said.
"We get a large amount of what we consider to be commercial wood theft from within the reserves as well, but that's usually noted by the fact that people are returning again and again.
"We use cameras fairly heavily. A lot of reserves have neighbours as well, so we get fair bit of information and intelligence from neighbours and we have people out doing patrols."
Environment Parks and Heritage Minister Brian Wightman said cutting down a tree in a reserve carried a maximum fine of $65,000 or two year's jail and having or using a chainsaw in such an area attracted a fine of up to $2600.
"Taking wood from a reserve not only threatens the natural and recreational value of the area but impacts on habitat for native animals," he said.
"It is that classic situation where, if everyone who wanted firewood simply plundered their local park or reserve, the very values that make them such popular recreation areas would be totally trashed."
Mr Wightman said Parks officers would be patrolling known wood theft hotspots as well as conducting joint operations with Tasmania Police to ensure roadside wood sellers' supplies were legitimate.
david.killick@news.com.au
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