Community & Business
17 February, 2022
Fines issued for illegal activity in forest
CAMERAS have captured dozens of vehicle owners illegally entering Danbulla State Forest recently and has caught footage of many camping without permits, travelling unrestrained in the back of utes, lighting unlawful fires and chopping down trees to make tracks.
The Danbulla forest covers 12,000ha between the Tinaroo and Lamb ranges, and bordering Lake Tinaroo.
Those who were captured by cameras can now expect to receive fines following a safety blitz by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
Ranger Roger James said cameras installed at seven locations late last year had captured drivers illegally accessing the state forest and conducting a lot of poor and dangerous behaviour.
“The registered owner of every vehicle captured by our cameras is going to receive a $275 fine in the mail,” Mr James said.
“It is illegal to access some areas of the state forest for safety reasons, and we want people to read the signs and avoid the fines.
“We’ve taken photos of drivers who ignored our signage and cut locks on gates or created new dirt trails into the state forest by chopping down trees.”
Mr James said illegal access in the state forest was associated with other offences including camping without permits, illegal littering and lighting unlawful fires, which had impacted on vegetation in the past.
“Some of these people have been using the state forest tracks as their personal racetracks and often drive recklessly and cause damage by doing donuts or digging mud holes when they get bogged,” he said.
“What is clear, is that all the drivers have ignored locked gates, vehicle bollards and signage advising them not to enter.”
Mr James said the hidden cameras not only took photos of vehicle number plates, they also captured illegal driving behaviour.
“We have multiple photographs of people traveling unrestrained in the back of utes and four-wheel-drives, which when combined with speed and careless driving, is a fatality waiting to happen,” he said.
In a state forest, a person must not drive or ride a vehicle or recreational craft at speed or in a way that causes damage to the area; cut down trees or constructing a new road.
The maximum penalty for damaging a state forest is $2,740. The maximum penalty for prohibited acts in a state forest is $411,000 or two years’ imprisonment or both.
