Fellas Coupe to Return to Native Vegetation
Turtons Creek, Victoria — September 23, 2025
Press Release:
Hancock Victoria Plantations (HVP) has announced a major decision regarding the Fellas Track site at Turtons Creek.
A statement made on the HVP website says, “the area will no longer be managed for timber production and will instead be regenerated to native forest.”
This marks a significant shift in management and comes after extended advocacy from the Gippsland Forest Guardians (GFG) and the local community, who have long advocated for protection of Fellas coupe due to the site’s high conservation values.
Fellas coupe will now protect 174 Hectares of forest including wet Mountain ash forest, Cool Temperate Rainforest and rare Warm Temperate Rainforest. Additionally, HVP has also decided not to harvest a 19-hectare area marked for logging, including Mountain Ash, further safeguarding local biodiversity and enhancing connectivity for native species.
Fellas track is home to the Slender Tree-fern (Cyathea cunninghamii), a critically endangered and locally significant species that caught South Gippsland’s attention in 2023. Slender Tree-ferns were found in Fellas coupe and further botanical surveys revealed Turtons creek to be the home of Australia’s largest population of the beautiful but critically endangered Tree-ferns. Gippsland Forest Guardians raised the alarm when HVP were found to be harvesting to within meters of them when expert government advice recommended 200 meter buffer zones.
Concerns have been raised over the past years about HVP operations, including questions around adherence to FSC standards and local laws, with the clearing of native vegetation on Council Land adjacent to Fellas Coupe causing much community concern.
Fellas coupe supports a range of rare and threatened species, including the Gang-gang Cockatoo, Blue-winged Parrot, and Pilotbird. It also contains a large population of the critically endangered Slender Tree-fern and the rare Netted Brake within its surrounding Cool Temperate Rainforest. Together, these values highlight the site’s high conservation value.
Stuart Inchley, spokesperson for the Gippsland Forest Guardians, said: “HVP’s decision to return the site to native forest is a welcome step in the right direction. This will create the conditions that Slender Tree-ferns and rainforest need to survive. And it is great for our local Gang-gangs… the Mountain ash that are to be retained are already 50 years old, so will start getting the hollows that Gang-gangs need to breed much sooner.”
He added:
“We would like to thank everyone who has worked to better protect our local threatened species. To those of you who helped with donations, wrote letters, signed petitions, and came out to see the Slender Tree-ferns and to experience these ancient and precious forests— we say thank you.”
HVP emphasises that this decision is the start of ongoing dialogue. “As we explore future plans for this site, we look forward to engaging with affected stakeholders to understand their concerns, needs and rights,” the company statement reads.
This announcement is expected to resonate positively with the broader community, reflecting a growing recognition of the importance of native forest, threatened species, and habitat protection in the Strzelecki Ranges.
For more information:
[email protected] 0422 248 851