Mending Bribie’s Heart: Replant the past, or restore the future?

In just a couple of months, HQ Plantations will begin the first major harvest of Bribie Island’s pine plantations in a quarter of a century. In the 25 years since that harvest ended, the island's population has more than doubled. For many of the 15,000 new residents, this will come as a surprise, with many not even aware that industrial forestry operates on the island.

HQ Plantations recently circulated a letter to residents, advising that harvesting will begin on Bribie Island in July 2025. Logs will be trucked off the island via Hornby Road and Benabrow Ave, then across the bridge to Bribie Island Road.

Today, pine plantations cover 2,700 hectares– almost 20% of Bribie Island. They were established through the 1960s on land originally covered in rich native woodlands growing on the island’s most productive soil. The plantations replaced thousands of hectares of vibrant habitat, with a monoculture of exotic pines . Those original woodland ecosystems had been home to many species, including Bribie's coastal emu population population–which finally succumbed to habitat loss and became locally extinct in 2015*. 

Industrial plantation forestry conflicts with the protection of the Bribie Island’s natural values. While growing pines for building materials and fibre is considered one of the original renewable industries, Bribie’s pine plantations are ‘green deserts’– large-scale, exotic monocultures managed to maximise timber yield at the expense of biodiversity.

For BIEPA, the start of this round of harvesting signals more than just a change in the tree line. In this UN Decade of Restoration, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore what’s been lost. BIEPA's vision is for Bribie Island to become a safe haven for coastal biodiversity—a refuge that restores, protects and celebrates the rich natural heritage of Moreton Bay’s coastal nature. To achieve this, this harvest should be the last.

Rather than replanting pines, we urge the State Government to work with HQ Plantations, traditional owners, restoration experts, stakeholders in the emerging Nature Repair Market and with the community to develop a plan to gradually replace the plantations with endemic woodland, through systematic restoration that would follow in the wake of the harvest. This is a decades-long project that needs to be started now. Having a safe haven becomes more vital every day, as we watch urban development pressures in the region continue to intensify at the cost of nature.

This is the moment to choose a visionary path for Bribie. With community determination and industry cooperation, government lead and market support, this harvest could be the beginning of a landmark restoration project—one that heralds an era of ecological recovery, supports indigenous stewardship–and mends Bribie’s heart.

Bribie Island at a crossroads – we can continue with business as usual, or put Bribie Island's nature first and restore the island's vibrant woodlands.

*Footnote added 2/6/2025

Bribie’s last remaining emu, affectionately known as Eric (but actually Erica) was killed by a dog in the national park in 2015… Erica was the last remaining individual, as numbers declined as the habitat required to support a viable population was no longer available. Erica’s remains are held by the Queensland Museum.

BIEPA will continue to raise concerns directly with HQ Plantations over plantation management practices that are currently impacting the conservation values of the national park.

Here are some of the issues:

• Inadequate control of feral pig populations is an ongoing concern, and BIEPA has called on HQ Plantations to increase their feral animal control efforts. As a major land manager on Bribie and in the surrounding region, HQ Plantations has been identified as one of the major stakeholders as BIEPAs moves forward in developing an area-wide pig control strategy.

• HQ Plantation's fertilisation program planned for 2024 had the potential to pollute surface and groundwater and severely impact the water quality of the Ramsar-listed wetlands. BIEPA brought concerns about this to the attention of Dept of Environment, Science and Innovation and HQ Plantations in May '24. HQ Plantations agreed to undertake only a trial application, with a concurrent water testing regime in place to gather baseline data from surrounding wetlands. These tests will inform any future plans to fertilise the pines. That testing program is currently underway. and will continue over coming months.

• In February '25 herbicide drifted from drone operations and damaged trees and other native vegetation in the national park. The event was reported to BIEPA at a meeting with HQ Plantations in February '25 (see photo below, bottom-left)

• The ongoing issue of pine "wildings" invading the national park continues to undermine the island’s ecological integrity. This problem will not be solved without active management. HQ Plantations have a General Biosecurity Obligation to keep the pines within their boundary, but have shown no signs of meeting that obligation. The Department of Primary Industries (who administer biosecurity in the state) have been advised of the issue but show no appetite for enforcing rectification actions (see below, top photo)

• Biosecurity is an identified risk, including the threat of fire ant introduction through the regular movement of logging trucks from identified fire ant hotspots (see fire ant infestation hotspots below, or take the link to the hotspot map )