PROTECTING THE PANAMA

Central to our community in The Lone Star Valley is the towering PANAMA forest, which overlooks the event site. This place is home to an abundance of wildlife and plant species and provides significant cultural and social value to the area. 

Until recently, these forests, along with 39,000 hectares of native forest in Tasmania, had been flagged for logging by Sustainable Timber Tasmania. 

The backstory

The Tasmanian Government and Sustainable Timber Tasmania collaborated on plans to transfer 39,000 hectares of current reserved native forest into a classification that would allow for logging at short notice. This followed the Liberal Government’s 2024 State election promise to ‘unlock the woodbanks’ for logging. The areas that are at risk of being logged include Ben Lomond, Mount Barrow, Mount Arthur, Pyengana, Mt Victoria, and the Panama Forest—home to the Panama Festival.

In response, local communities that value these natural spaces stepped up their advocacy for their protection. This included many letters sent and representations made by the PANAMA community to their elected representatives. 

Where are we now?

After an inconclusive election result in July 2025, the Liberal government announced it would not be proceeding with the plan to log. Minister Felix Ellis stated, “We have made this decision in line with community expectations and further consultation."

We commend this decision and are deeply appreciative of those in our community who took time to advocate for these forests. 

We note that while the plan to log in these areas has been abandoned for now, their classification remains as FPPF (Future Potential Porduction Forest).