Moonlight (Castlemaine) Plantation Harvesting & Haulage operations

July 29, 2021

HVP Plantations wish to advise of harvesting and haulage operations in Moonlight (Castlemaine) plantation, which will continue the life cycle of pine plantations in this area.

Harvesting

Plantation areas surrounded by Colles Road, South Break, East Break, Lawson Track and Nicholson Gully are due for harvest, commencing July 2021 and continuing into November. The crew will take approximately four months to harvest the trees.

• The harvest worksite and a number of roads feeding into the worksite will be closed for the duration of the operation. For everyone’s safety, be aware of increased heavy vehicle traffic, machinery and road closures within the plantation.
• The current crop of trees is between 49 and 30 years old, and ready to be converted into sawn timber and other building and paper products. Please visit our operations page for further information about the plantation life cycle and the range of HVP operations.
• HVP’s mission is to manage our plantation estate in a safe and sustainable way. As such, we are going to great lengths to ensure the safety of our harvesting and haulage contractors, our staff, neighbours, and the community.

Transport

Our drivers will transport the plantation logs from the Moonlight worksites to HVP’s customers in Benalla, .

• Transport will commence in July, and is expected to continue from these sites to November.
• We have placed temporary restrictions on HVP managed roads and shire managed roads while the plantation and haulage trucks operate. These include Colles Road, Plantation Road, Mosquito Gully, Nicholson Gully, Ruths Road, East Break, Williamson Road, West Break, and we may close other roads to ensure health and safety.
• HVP will close sections of roads within the HVP plantation during this operational period.

Preparation & tree planting

• A new crop of trees will be planted in winter 2022/2023. Crews will control weeds and use excavators or bulldozers to prepare the harvested site for replanting.
• The management of pine slash left after harvesting may also include a combination of mechanical site preparation as well as burning.

Safety

HVP takes safety seriously, please note the following:

• Worksites are hazardous, and risks to people’s safety are not always obvious.
• The worksites will be closed (to vehicles and pedestrians) for the duration of their operations. For everyone’s safety, obey all safety signs, and be aware of increased heavy vehicle traffic and machinery.
• We ask the community to respect all signage, and do not be tempted go past signs for a closer look, including when crew is not present on site. While we apologise for any inconvenience caused, you will understand that we will not compromise on safety.

Please respect all signage, and do not be tempted go past signs for a closer look. This includes when the crew is not present.

For more information please contact 03 5339 0000.