It’s the east of Victoria’s unique position, jutting out between two oceans, that has graced it with such diverse and spectacular forests. The sheer variety of forest types and their grand old age—descended from the forests of the Gondwanan supercontinent—have given rise to an extraordinary diversity of plants and animals.

Here, an unbroken corridor of bushland and lush forest stretches from the coast to the alps, unlike anywhere else on the Australian mainland. Even after decades of clearfell native forest logging and successive bushfires, you can walk from the coast up through the temperate rainforests of East Gippsland and be met by towering trees in the Central Highlands, where magnificent stands of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) blanket the mountains.

First Nations people have long and continuing custodianship of the land and waters of eastern Victoria, and have cared for these special forests for tens of thousands of years.

• Traditional Owners of forest Country of the Central Highlands are the Taungurung people and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. 
• Traditional Owners of the forest Country known as East Gippsland are the Gunaikurnai people, representing five clans (Brataualung, Brayakaulung, Brabralung, Tatungalung and Krauatungalung). 

First Nations’ intricate knowledge of eastern Victoria’s forests—and all the life within them—is critically important as we work towards protecting and restoring these vital forest ecosystems.

Our work with Traditional Owners 

The Wilderness Society is working to build and expand relationships with Traditional Owners to ensure we respect the right to free, prior informed consent in decisions affecting their lands, waters and culture. 

We are also actively seeking to uncover common ground and the potential for shared work in our aspirations for care of Victoria’s forests. In seeking to protect and restore Victoria’s forests, we will always respect Traditional Owners’ diverse viewpoints on listening to and caring for Country.

Permanently protecting Victoria’s forests will help:

• 🌡️ cool the climate
  Victoria’s forests are the most carbon-dense on the planet, and vital to protect on a rapidly heating planet. Learn more about forest carbon
• 💧secure clean drinking water supplies
  The majority of Melbourne’s famously clean drinking water comes directly from the Central Highlands, so it’s critical we protect this precious water source.
• 🦇protect threatened wildlife and plant species
  Victoria’s critically endangered animal emblem, the Leadbeater’s possum, is only found in these forests—which they share with many other threatened species.
• 💰provide secure jobs and add millions of dollars to regional economies
  Community-led initiatives based on nature-tourism, and a multi-use park proposal, mean huge economic opportunities for Victorians.
• 💚enhance wellbeing for Victorians and visitors
  Spending time in forests has a proven positive effect on our mental, physical and social health and wellbeing. The tall forests of Victoria are only a 90-minute drive north-east of the CBD, so why not visit them today?

For decades, Victoria’s spectacular tall forests have been destroyed by chainsaws, bulldozers and post-logging burns. 

Through political advocacy and community engagement, the Wilderness Society has protected hundreds of thousands of hectares of Victoria’s forests in national parks and reserves, and convinced big businesses like Bunnings, Officeworks and NAB to move away from using paper and wood sourced from them. And thanks to the persistence and belief of our supporters and other environmental groups, we secured an end to clearfell native forest logging across the state. 

The decision to stop logging has saved the lives of countless species like the greater glider and ancient geebung tree, which would otherwise have been lost. 

While ending clearfell logging was a positive step for nature by the state government, the destruction of Victoria’s native forests is continuing in other ways—thanks to legally murky ‘salvage logging’ after natural disasters, and questionable planned burning practices.

We know that the owners of big corporations want to see the return of large-scale destruction of native forests, and have pressured the Victorian Opposition to commit to bringing back industrial scale native forest logging if they win government at the state election in November 2026.

So what needs to happen now?

• We need to ensure these forests are permanently protected by changing our laws to create a series of forest sanctuaries based on multi-tenure land use. This means sharing land in a way that benefits communities, while stopping big corporations from profiting off the destruction of forests. 
  Under this system, everyone has access to the forests, but agrees to look after nature first and foremost.
• Existing logging loopholes in laws need to be closed, and new rules made, so that people can enjoy these magnificent forests without the threat of them being cut down.