Protesters fighting plans to log an old-growth forest on the Sunshine Coast are celebrating a temporary victory after construction of a logging road was halted temporarily.
The protesters, who have set up camp near Roberts Creek, say the area is an important bear habitat that will be destroyed if the trees come down.
Hans Penner has been taking turns blocking access to a service road in the Dakota Creek area of Mount Elphinstone, where the government has plans to auction off 53 hectares of old-growth timber, including ancient balsam, hemlock and yellow cedar.
“This is some of the last old growth forest in the world,” Penner said. “So really, the natural history, the cultural history is actually irreplaceable. It doesn’t exist anywhere else.”