‎On the eve of Labor leader Mark Latham's visit to the Styx Valley, State Mfairs Reporter PHIL BECK provides an insight into the logging versus conservation debate ‎such stature that they have even been given names.

‎The Big Tree in the Big Tree Reserve was measured at 98m in 1957. It has since lost its top due to the ageing process, but still towers at an impressive 86m.

‎But the dilemma for politicians weighing up the pros and cons of renewed calls to put the valley out of bounds for logging is that the region also contains an estimated $700 million of timber resource if its forests are properly managed into the future.

‎"People have suggested it's an easy decision one way or the other, but it's never been easy because of the value of the timber and the range of its uses," said Forestry Tasmania chief executive Evan Rolley.

‎"The Styx ranks with the forests of the Huon, the Northeast and the South Arthur as being the most valuable timberlands in Tasmania."
‎To put the term value into context, one tree 70m tall contains almost 100 tonnes of usable timber which, when converted, will make:
‎• Enough thinly sliced decorative veneers to panel the walls of a four-storey hotel.
‎• Enough sawn timber for the framing and roof trusses of an average family home.
‎• Enough solid wood to make a set of household furniture.
‎• Enough pulpwood to photocopy the complete works of Shakespeare 3000 times.
‎But Australian Greens leader Bob ~rown doesn't have any
‎T'S not often that the opposing sides of the forest debate are in agreement, but on one aspect of the Styx Valley they are.
‎They both agree that the Styx contains some very tall trees.
‎To be more precise, it contains some of the tallest hardwood trees on earth - giant swamp gums or eucalyptus regnans which can grow to almost 100m tall, thanks to the high rainfall and deep dolorite soil.

‎The best of the _ spe~ies carry
‎ments in 1997, about 1000 additional hectares of the Styx was
‎added to the SouthWest World Heritage Area.
‎Of the state forest remaining, parts are old-growth forest
‎difliculty with the problem.
‎He says it is a high-conservation-value forest which should be turned into a national park.

‎"It's worth far more to the tourism industry than it is to logging both in terms of jobs and in dollar terms," Senator Brown said.

‎"The important thing this week is to show Mark Latham the grandeur of the Styx and to explain to him about the Tarkine and the Blue Tier.

‎"I will be telling him about the diversity of Tasmania's iconic forests with a visit to one of them."

‎The Styx has been logged since the 1940s when the area was granted as a concession to Australian Newsprint Mills (now Norske Skog) at Boyer.
‎It was ANM which established the Big Tree Reserve in 1957.
‎The trees grow tall and straight because of the consistently high rainfall and the deep dolorite soils.
‎The current policy of Forestry Tasmania is to place any tree above 85m in a reserve.
‎Since last year's bungled regeneration bum in the Florentine Valley which claimed the life of another monster, El Grande, the reserves include parts of the surrounding forest to give the giants added protection.
‎Under the Regional Forests Agreement signed by the state and Commonwealth govern-
‎(forest which is ecologically mature and in which the evi‎dence of disturbance is now minimal) and parts are regrowth plantations established by ANM from the 1940s onwards.

‎It is classed as a multiple-use forest ‎which, in addition to being harvested for timber, is used by beekeepers and for tourism and recreational purposes.
‎Forestry Tasmania itself PIom()tes ‎visits to the Big Tree Reserve by tourists in its brochure Giants of the Styx Forest, and therein lies something of a conundrum.
‎Tourists would not
‎Latham has agreed to a tour by Forestry Tasmania which Mr Rolley said would include a visit to recently harvested areas, areas of regrowth and areas of state forest which had been reserved for their biodiversity or
‎cultural values.
‎Under the terms of the Regional Forests Agreement, any federal government which "locked up" the Styx would be obligated to pay massive compensation to the industry.' __

‎, It's worth far more to the tourism industry than it is to logging both in terms of jobs and in dollar terms ,
‎get to see the big trees if forestry operations hadn't built the road in the first place. Now they are encouraged to go, but it's still the log trucks that have the ‎right of way.

‎As well as being shown the Styx by Senator Brown, Mr ‎Whether Mr Latham is prepared to take on this responsibility in return for wooing Green preferences at the next federal election should be clearer after .