| Agency Name: | South Australian Forestry Corporation (trading as ForestrySA) |
| Formed: | 1 January 2001 |
| Superseding: | Department of Woods and Forests |
| Jurisdiction: | State of South Australia |
| Employees: | 93 (2014)[1] |
| Chief1 Name: | Adrian Hatch[2] |
| Chief1 Position: | Chief Executive |
| Website: | www.forestrysa.com.au |
South Australian Forestry Corporation (trading as ForestrySA) is a business enterprise owned by the Government of South Australia which is responsible for management of publicly owned plantation forests in South Australia including the commercial production of timber and the management of forests for non-commercial purposes such as community use and as protected areas.
The South Australian Forestry Corporation was established on 1 January 2001 under the South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000 from the assets remaining from former government entities such as the former Department of Woods and Forests.[3] [4] [5]
The corporation operates under the name ForestrySA which was previously used as the name of a unit within the former South Australian government department, the Department for Administrative and Information Services.[5]
ForestrySA has responsibility for the management of forestry reserves in three parts of South Australia which it describes in its publications as “regions” with the following names - Green Triangle Region, Mount Lofty Ranges Forest Reserves and the Northern Forests Region.[6] [7] [8]
As a commercial operator, ForestrySA is responsible for the management of plantation forests in the Green Triangle region for the on behalf of the plantation owner, OneFortyOne Plantations Pty Ltd, and in the Mount Lofty Ranges and Northern Forest regions on behalf of the Government of South Australia. The plantations are reported in 2014 as covering an area greater than 95000ha and as being planted principally with softwood timber. The focus of the commercial operation is the production of log and chip, which is used to produce the following products - sawn timber, pulp, paper and posts.[9] The Green Triangle region operation will be reduced from 17 October 2017 when responsibility for plantation management is transferred to OneFortyOne Plantations Pty Ltd.[10]
ForestrySA is required by its charter to manage the following non-commercial activities:[11]
- native forest management
- Community use of forests
- Forestry industry development
- Community protection (Including fire) and forest industry support activities
- Other activities as directed by the Minister of Forests
- Management of the Mid North forests
As of 2014, ForestrySA was responsible for a total of thirteen forests in its three regions.
The Green Triangle Region consists of the following six forests located in the south east of South Australia within the region known as the Limestone Coast and covering an area from about 280km (170miles) to about 390km (240miles) to the south-east of the Adelaide city centre:[6]
The Mount Lofty Ranges Forest Reserves consists of the three following forests located in the Mount Lofty Ranges and covering an approximate area of 19500ha:[7]
The Northern Forests Region (also called the Mid North Region) consists of the four following forests:[8] [12]
Forestry SA as the statutory corporation established in 2001 by the South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000 operates as “a business enterprise with the principal responsibility of managing plantation forests for the benefit of the people and economy of the State.”[13] The operation is overseen by a board which is responsible to the South Australian Minister of Forests as per the “Act” and to both the minister and to the South Australian Treasurer as per a charter enacted in 2014 following the sale of three crops of timber (known as “three forward rotations”) from plantations in the Green Triangle region to OneFortyOne Plantations Pty Ltd in 2012.[14] [15]