Trees across Mount Macedon have been knocked down after being clear felled, devastating the local Landcare group.
Macedon and Mount Macedon Landcare was made aware of the felling of more than five hectares of native forest in July.
Mount Macedon president Kate Lawrence said it was done in place of planned burning.
“It is just devastating to walk around this area that was a native forest right near the top of Mount Macedon and see trees smashed on the ground for hundreds of metres,” she said.
“This area was home to wombats and birds, wallabies and echidnas, and now those animals will be struggling to survive.”
The cleared area begins just beyond Cameron Picnic Ground and runs parallel to the road for nearly 600 metres, ending 500 metres before the Mount Macedon car park and tea rooms.
On the other side of Cameron Drive, directly opposite the felled area, a large project is underway to revegetate over 100 hectares of harvested pine forest.
“It makes no sense to wantonly destroy an area, instead of planned burning,” Ms Lawrence said.
“It breaks every principle of environmental care that Forest Fire Management claim they use when they do planned burns.
“It also makes no sense to say it was done to protect the nearby telecommunications towers because they’re still surrounded by bush.”
Ms Lawrence said clear felling leaves nothing, completely clearing the native vegetation in the area.
“This is destruction … this will have quite long lasting effects on the area,” she said.
Ms Lawrence and the Landcare group are now calling on the state government to initiate a comprehensive masterplan to be developed for the Macedon Regional Park.
The current park management plan was written in 2009, and Ms Lawrence said a lot has changed over the past 16 years.
“We’ve had a huge increase in tourism in the last decade, and the forests are also under enormous stress from weeds and pest animals, extreme weather events, and the ongoing threat to cut down the snow gums around the Memorial Cross,” she said.
“We need a master plan based on wide community discussion and deliberation so we can balance the needs of the environment with the needs of tourism, fire protection and cultural history of the ranges in a cohesive and considered way.”
In a statement, Forest Fire Management Victoria said the area is a bushfire moderation zone that is actively managed to reduce the bushfire risk.
“Due to unsuitable weather conditions a planned fuel reduction burn was unable to go ahead in March 2025. Between May 12 and 15, 2025 mechanical mulching was undertaken as it was deemed an appropriate alternative fuel treatment for an area of about 4.8 hectares,” the statement read.
“While achieving fire management objectives is a priority, we acknowledge that these actions can sometimes impact other environmental and community values. Forest Fire Management Victoria aims to minimise such impacts wherever possible.
“Within the area that was mulched, a sensitive area was excluded from mechanical treatment. Furthermore, the area will undergo planned revegetation works using native plant species with local progeny.”
