Forest Matters (October 2026)

08 October 2026

Image of a tingle forest with text reading 'forest matters'

Welcome back to Forest Matters!

The regular haze from prescribed burning recently is a constant reminder of the damage the program is doing to forests and woodlands across the Southwest.

Alcoa’s forest destruction continues to attract media attention locally, nationally and even globally.

Our friends at Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) have released a new report Back from the Brink: A Protection Agenda for Nature calling for sweeping nature law reforms in Western Australia to avoid further threatened species extinctions.

Keep reading for more news about Alcoa, prescribed burning, and our upcoming events, what our friends are up to, and how you can take action for WA’s Southwest forests.

Jess Boyce

WA Forest Alliance Director

Save the date!

Big Jarrah Rally attendees out in the rain

Will you rally for the jarrah forest?

Join us for the biggest WA forest rally in decades as we call for an end to forest mining!

The Government’s decision on Alcoa’s future is imminent, but while we wait, the US aluminium giant is allowed to continue recklessly clearing precious forests.

Together, we can end forest mining. Join us at Freo Esplanade this December to rally for the jarrah forest.

I'll be there!

Update on ecological thinning

A large pile of logs left behind after a thinning operation

Climate change is a significant threat to the health and resilience of Southwest forests. Instead of stopping new and expanding fossil fuels projects, the WA Government’s solution is “ecological thinning” to remedy altered forest structures from logging. We’re not convinced it’s worth the downsides.

There is currently insufficient evidence to support large-scale thinning as a climate adaptation across all forest types, and it must not continue at the current scale until there is.

We’re working on an updated position statement on thinning, but in the meantime check out these articles from the ABC for more information.

Scrutiny over WA government's decision to 'eco-thin' landmark South West forests

Woodchips, charcoal the end result of ecological thinning in WA's South West forests

Help get End Forest Mining signs on our streets!

An end forest mining placard at Glen Forrest conservation area

We’re looking for local volunteers to help make our campaign visible.

We want to see End Forest Mining yard signs popping up all over the streets of Perth and the Southwest – and we need volunteers to help make it happen!

Yard signs are a simple but powerful way to show that communities across WA are standing up and calling for an end to forest mining.

We’re looking for volunteers who can commit to a few hours here and there to deliver signs to supporters in their local area, and help get them up on fences, stakes and front yards.

You could help with things like:

Picking up yard signs from our office
Delivering signs to supporters in your local area
Helping put signs up on fences or stake them in yards
Coordinating others in your area to deliver signs together
Keeping track of which signs have been delivered
Helping us identify opportunities to get even more signs out into your community

You don’t need any particular experience – just a bit of time, enthusiasm and a willingness to get out into your local neighbourhood!

Our goal is to see these signs everywhere. If you can spare a few hours to help make the End Forest Mining campaign impossible to miss, we’d love to hear from you.

Email nat.edwards@wafa.org.au to get involved!

Community win: No North Stoneville development

A huge congratulations is in order for the crew at Save Perth Hills who have campaigned tirelessly since 1991 against Satterley’s plan that would have seen 535 ha of land cleared. This decision means 60,000 trees, which consist predominantly of 100 to 200 year old jarrahs and marris will remain standing.

Satterley's plan to build town site in bushfire prone Perth Hills knocked back

Hands off T-shirts now in shop

Jess wearing a brown hands off wa forests tee featuring a cockatoo and jarrah leaves.

Missed out on our Beers not bauxite event? We have a limited number of these hand-printed shirts now available in our online shop, plus some new stickers.

WAFA Merchandise

From our friends

Join Save Dalgarup for their Beneath the Canopy Save Dalgarup Walk on RSVP details on Facebook. (Sunday 11 Oct 9:30 am – 2 pm)

Join LEAP at Ye Olde Quindanning Inne for the LEAP extravaganza! There will be art, information stalls, live music by the Jarrah Celts and performances by local First Nations folk. (Saturday 10 Oct 12 – 4 pm)

Tour the Northern Jarrah Forest with Jarrahdale Forest Protectors- various dates. RSVP at Humanitix (18 Oct, 1 Nov, 15 Nov)

Time to Burn exhibition at Holmes à Court Gallery no.10 (until 31 Oct). More information on Holmes à Court Gallery website.

Join the Protect Boranup Forest Discovery Walk with Margaret River Regional Environment Centre (9am Sun 18 October)

Come along to the Wonders of our Wetlands Festival by Five Rivers NRM at Coodanup Foreshore Reserve (Saturday 7 Nov, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm)

The Conservation Council WA Regional Gathering will be held on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st of October at Sabina River Farm, Busselton & on Country. For more information and tickets, visit the CCWA website.

Are you one of WAFA’s member groups? If you would like a brief note of your group’s event, activity, or call for submissions included in this section of the Forest Matters newsletter, please send to forests@wafa.org.au

Not a member group? Find out more about the alliance here.

Want Forest Matters straight to your inbox?

Protect the tingles from prescribed burning, for good

Tingles are a large, ancient tree species that are only found in a small area in WA’s Southwest, close to Walpole. They can live for more than 400 years, reach heights over 55 metres and have the largest base of any eucalypt, and provide critical habitat to many threatened plants and animals. They are vulnerable to frequent fire.

In December 2024, Giants East, a tingle forest block in the famed Valley of the Giants, was torched as part of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)’s prescribed burning program.

More than 100 giant trees collapsed in the intense burn, with flames reaching the tops of many trees in one of the worst outcomes seen by WA’s prescribed burning program.

After persistent community action, three tingle-karri blocks, Nornalup, Coalmine and Mount Clare received a reprieve at the end of 2025 and were removed from the burn plan until July 2026.

But these blocks, and other tingle forests, aren’t safe forever. They could be on the burn plan for 2026-27. There must be a commitment from the WA Government to permanently protect tingles from prescribed burning and revise how fire is managed in these areas.

Over time, tingle forests self-thin and become naturally less flammable. Left unburnt, they are less of a fire risk than forests burnt in the last 30 years.

In a drying climate that is increasingly prone to bushfires, it’s important to be bushfire ready, but prescribed burning shouldn’t be the only tool in our bushfire prevention kit. It is vital that the Southwest’s prescribed burning practices reflect current science and a changed climate, and funding is directed towards rapid detection and suppression of bushfires.

Smoking collapsed Tingle after the giants east burn

It is of the highest priority that the tingles are protected from fire not just in this burn plan, but for good.

Please contact the Premier and relevant Ministers using our template to urge them to permanently protect tingle forests from prescribed burning. Enter your details to start writing your email.

Read more about the Giants East burn or about rapid suppression technology.