This morning, peaceful conservationists around the country have shut down woodchipping operations in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria. This national day of action highlights the exclusion of forests covered by Regional Forest Agreements from the key federal environment legislation, the EPBC Act. This gives the industry largely unrestricted access to high conservation value forests, for logging and woodchipping, without accountability. Today’s actions coincide with the release of the Interim Review of the EPBC Act, which has demonstrated widespread community concern over the RFA exclusion. Triabunna, Tasmania: Two women have locked themselves to the woodchip conveyor belt Gunns Ltd.’s mill at Triabunna. Midway, Victoria: Two women have locked themselves to the conveyor belt at the Midways woodchip export facility near Geelong. Eden, New South Wales: Two women have locked themselves to the conveyor belt at the Eden Woodchip Mill. Tea Gardens Mill, New South Wales: Two people have locked themselves to woodchipping machinery "RFA old growth forests, with their exceptional environmental, economic and social values are critical habitat forests housing many endangered species. These globally renowned ecosystems are among the most important carbon dense reserves on the planet and deserve immediate protection" said Tasmanian spokesperson Bridie McEntee. Forest Watch

Students of Sustainability national conference 2009 will be held in Melbourne from the 6 to 10 July, with camping close by the conference site. Students, community and Indigenous activists, academics, public intellectuals, environmental educators, social change agents of all stripes and from all over Australia are invited to participate in a range of educational, practical and participatory forums and workshops. The theme for SoS 09 is about doing things for ourselves, as individuals and communities, and we're looking for anyone with skills, knowledge and experience to share. SoS

The controversial north-south pipeline will have a devastating impact on the environment both now and in the future, a report released by Friends of the Earth (FoE) has revealed. The report Out of sight, out of mind? An assessment of the ecological impacts of the North South pipeline outlines the environmental costs associated with the current construction of the pipeline and the potential impact it will have on the Goulburn River following the completion of the project. FoE’s campaigns coordinator Cam Walker said the report showed the construction of the pipeline, together with the February 2009 bushfires and logging operations, was having a significant impact on the Toolangi State Forest and the endangered species that live in the area. "A 12 kilometre long, 30 metre wide corridor has been cleared through the Toolangi State Forest to make way for the pipeline. Along this corridor at least four Special Protection Zones (SPZ) have been badly impacted by the pipe operations," he said. "SPZs are established by the government to ensure threatened and sensitive flora and fauna species in the area are not disturbed, logging is also prohibited in these areas. Yet the pipeline project has damaged a number of SPZ, one of which was established to protect the endangered Leadbeater’s Possum, our faunal emblem." FoE Full Report

An environmental advocacy group has labelled the lack of flows in the New South Wales Snowy River as "tragic" given the fanfare surrounding the original initiative. Environment Victoria's Healthy Rivers Campaign Manager Juliette Le Feuvre says an agreement on flows seven years ago held promise. The group has read legal advice from the Environmental Defenders Office that says legislation surrounding the river's flows in not enforceable. Ms Le Feuvre says it is disappointing given the highly publicised agreement between Victoria, New South Wales and the Commonwealth. "It's just a terrible disappointment to find the whole thing... in terms of flows delivered it's been a house of cards but in terms of legal agreement as well it's a house of cards," she said. "You know we had the State Premiers standing at the dam turning on taps and all that sort of stuff and it seemed to be such a great deal heralded as a new beginning for river systems." EV