Collecting trees from the wild

[vtbao]

Hi,

I drove pass Dandenong National Park last weekend and found a few nice trees, reasonable side, don't know the species but got great style for bonsai.
My question is can I dig out and bring home? Do I have to ask for council permission?
Where is the permission zone to collect the wild trees? forest? rest area on the freeway? ect

Thanks

[fossil finder]

Best to run it by the parks service or whatever agency maintains the road reserve such an local council. Heavy fines may apply if done without permission. Might be better to take note of the species then buy advanced stock. Roadside plants are often growing in compacted soils making retrieval and successful re-establishment difficult.

[Josh]

Hi,

I drove pass Dandenong National Park last weekend and found a few nice trees, reasonable side, don't know the species but got great style for bonsai.
My question is can I dig out and bring home? Do I have to ask for council permission?
Where is the permission zone to collect the wild trees? forest? rest area on the freeway? ect

Thanks

My understanding is you can't take anything from a national park unless you have a permit/licence and a legitimate reason for taking ie. Scientific research, preservation ect. I think you'll find collecting for your own collection will not persuade the powers to be. Good luck though.

Josh.

Ps. Some may say just go dig them I know of a bonsai collector that used to take trees from the bush. He got caught one day, they confiscated every native tree he couldn't provide a receipt for, got a huge fine and was then inspected on a regular basis. Personally I don't think it's worth it unless it's legal.

[Andrew F]

Dandenong National Park

[Rory]

Dandenong National Park

It is almost as if the poster is a ranger, wandering what people here would say. It is a no brainer really.

[Andrew F]

Dandenong National Park

It is almost as if the poster is a ranger, wandering what people here would say. It is a no brainer really.

Haha. Nice try Parks and wildlife.

[Josh]

Having seen other posts by the OP I think it is a legit question (or very clever ranger with lots of time on their hands ) If the OP is new to bonsai/collecting then its a fair question. If someone has never had the opotunity to collect from the wild before they won't know the rules unless they ask, after all lots of posts on here about trees collected from the "wild". Unless proven otherwise I think we should give the OP the benefit and try to answer the question.

Josh

[Rory]

Dandenong National Park

It is almost as if the poster is a ranger, wandering what people here would say. It is a no brainer really.

Haha. Nice try Parks and wildlife.

Hahaha, I can just see one of the cast from the tv show 'parks and recreation' coming up with this brain storm to catch national park raiders.

[vtbao]

Thanks Josh for your kind explanation.
I think the OP won’t ask because they know how to get things without permission. Beside if they are “bonsai-er” they will understand for bonsai community ( )
I know some bonsai hunters, they’ve got few nice Australian native trees which collected from NSW bush. Maybe NSW has different rules to Vic

[Rory]

Thanks Josh for your kind explanation.
I think the OP won’t ask because they know how to get things without permission. Beside if they are “bonsai-er” they will understand for bonsai community ( )
I know some bonsai hunters, they’ve got few nice Australian native trees which collected from NSW bush. Maybe NSW has different rules to Vic

I didn't get any of that.

The rules are simple.
It doesn't matter where the tree is, you cannot dig up ANYTHING in Australia without approved permission. It is that simple. Private land / public land / council / state / crown / cleared / protected and so on. You cannot take anything out of the ground unless you have the approved permission from the relevant land owner/holder and can prove it. There is no other discussion on this matter. If the land is a national park then you simply can't dig in there. The land is protected and rightly so.

[Luke308]

As others have said permission is needed regardless of where you dig.

All it takes is to ask - whats the worst they can say?

I have personally arranged digs before at Kuipto forest in South Australia and my club has regular digs at Mount Crawford forest. These are ForestrySA sites and are a government department. All it takes is an email, and filling out a form on arrival and away you go. http://www.forestry.sa.gov.au/Recreatio ... ord-Kuitpo
National parks would be a no no I assume, but ask away and see what the response is.

[shibui]

Hi Bao,
All land in Australia is managed 'owned' by someone (or a government body).
You must get permission from the land manager to legally take anything, including trees.
Native plants are protected on public land and cannot be taken without special permission. Introduced plants can sometimes be collected with permission. You need to know what plant you are looking at so you can tell if it is native or if it will survive collecting. Rules in NSW are almost the same. If you know someone with trees from the bush they are probably stolen and he/she could get into big trouble if authorities find out - see what Josh said earlier.

• Parks Vic manages all national parks in Vic. It will be unlikely to get a permit unless you are helping remove weeds or have special reason for collecting plants and they will have very strict conditions.
  
  DEWLP manages forest and other state land. Permits are also hard to get see above.
  
  Vicroads manages freeway and main roads. They rarely issue permits because they are worried that you will get hurt or someone else will get hurt and they will be liable.
  
  Local Government (Shires) manage local roads. Permits can be obtained to collect feral introduced plants (weed control) if you can convince the person in charge that you will not cause damage to other plants, roadside, etc and will work safely. Our club got permission to remove olives from a local road near here.
  
  Individuals manage private land. You can often get permission from land owners if you can convince them you will not let stock out or damage their property.

[MOGGINATOR]

hey shibui

just to add to your point the best way to get trees from the wild is with your local bonsai club when they have club digs i read a lot about them on here and not only does it seem that its better stock it also becomes a fun day out and way better than stealing plants or doing a roadside dig without permission

[vtbao]

Thanks all for advices.
I rather pay for a good stock than pay for the fine.

[Andrew F]

Thanks all for advices.
I rather pay for a good stock than pay for the fine.

There's a moral price to pay as well, losing a collected native sucks big time trust me.