6— L'exploitation forestière alpine : Heyfield, étude de cas / Alpine forestry : Heyfield, a case study (texte disponible en français et en anglais)

Abstract : After the devastating bu- shfire of 1939 which destroyed much of Victoria's hardwood forests, the timber industry was restructured and moved into alpine areas where pristine stands of alpine Ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) were harvested. The small town of Heyfield was nominated as a conversion centre and eight saw millers established mills there in the 1950s. Because of post-war shortages, the demand of timber was overwhelming. The easily accessible timber was rapidly harvested, which led to further construction and extension of reading into the Alps. To protect their interests, the Heyfield sawmillers formed a syndicate and accepted voluntary reductions in logging allocations. Since its peak in the mid 1950s, logging in alpine areas north of Heyfield has steadily declined, with no further timber harvesting planned before the turn of the century.Résumé : Petite ville du versant sous le vent des Alpes victoriennes, Heyfield a bénéficié, à partir des années 1950, de la restructuration des industries forestières, après les gigantesques incendies de l'année 1939 et les années de guerre. Mais la ressource s'est avérée fragile — risques d'incendies dévastateurs — et son exploitation contestée : malgré la mise au point de méthodes efficaces de régénération et de protection, les superficies exploitables ont été réduites au bénéfice des Parcs Nationaux, et l'avenir de l'industrie forestière d'Heyfield est incertain.Fletcher M. 6— L'exploitation forestière alpine : Heyfield, étude de cas / Alpine forestry : Heyfield, a case study (texte disponible en français et en anglais). In: Revue de géographie alpine, tome 80, n°2-3, 1992. pp. 181-199