Experts warn that growing demand for local seeds could encourage illegal harvesting.

Lynn Webb frowns at the fallen stone tree.

The photographer is standing in a remote corner of the Great Western Woodlands, 700 kilometers east of Perth.

The tree that he thinks is Eucalyptus saving or a gimlet, had clearly been cut with an ax or chainsaw.

He suspects that scammers were after the seeds.

Demand for local seeds has skyrocketed as companies become increasingly interested in restoration, driving up seed prices.

According to online seed trader Nindetana, gimlet seeds are now selling for $1,000 per kilogram.

Salmon gum seeds, also found in the region, fetched $8,000 per kilogram.

A WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) license or landowner permission on private land is required to collect wild seeds for supply to traders and nurseries.

But this should not lead to cut branches littering the ground.

“Instead of just collecting the seeds from the tips and cutting off the tips, they cut the tree at the base and cut the seed branches from the top,” Mr Webb says.

“They didn’t have to do that.

“There are a lot of tools that extend out, so you can cut branches from the top instead of having to lower the whole tree trunk.”

He suggests that this is the work of licensed seed collectors who are running their business incorrectly, or unlicensed seed collectors.

Either way, he’s concerned that questionable practices go unchecked in the Great Western Woodlands, the largest ecosystem of its kind on the planet.

“I never really noticed it as such until we opened this place,” he says.

Shire of Dundas CEO Peter Fitchat said the issue had been reported to the DBCA.

The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 states that fines for removing flora from Crown land without permission are $50,000, or more than $200,000 for protected flora.

Huge demand for trees, seeds

Mr Fitchat suggests growing demand for trees and seeds is fueling interest in illegal seed collection.

“Native trees are in demand,” he says.

“We have $50,000 in the county budget for tree planting.

“(But) we can’t get trees – decent sized trees ready to be planted.”

Renowned Western Australian botanist Kingsley Dixon says demand for seeds is “growing at an astronomical rate” due to the boom in carbon sequestration and mine rehabilitation projects.

“(They want) to plant native trees at almost any cost,” Professor Dixon said.

He says one of the main problems is that most projects rely on seeds collected from the wild.

According to him, the government should strive to eradicate this practice by encouraging seed production.

“It’s time for Australia to join the rest of the world and stop this archaic process of wild harvesting,” he says.

“We stopped picking wildflowers 30 years ago.”

Work is underway to develop seed production areas in parts of the Goldfields, Pilbara and Kimberley to reduce pressure on wild stocks.

Professor Dixon also says that ineffective sowing methods mean that much of the seed that goes into the ground is wasted.

But he also believes the government must crack down on those who break the rules, by increasing penalties for illegal acts and providing more rigorous training through the licensing system.

Some people believe that destroying one or two trees will cause little damage to the environment.

Professor Dixon cautions against this kind of thinking.

“We’ve made this mistake all over the world,” he says.

“I grew up in Banksia Woodlands (in the Perth area). We thought they were inexhaustible. It is now a critically endangered ecological community.

“I had farms in the Wheat Belt, and we thought the Wheat Woods with all their wonderful orchids lasted forever. Now they all represent an ecological community that is in danger of extinction.

“What is common always becomes rare.”

“Reputation risk”

But Washington State Revegetation Industry Association chairwoman Linda Metz believes savvy operators will be caught by savvy customers.

She says most people growing native plants are concerned about making sure their wild-collected seed supply is sustainable and don’t want to deal with unlicensed operators.

“Illegally collecting seeds is quite difficult to make a lot of profit,” Ms. Metz said.

“There is a real reputational risk for a seed dealer. Of course, it is not in their best interest to take seeds from unlicensed operators.

“(So customers will ask), ‘Where did the seed come from?’ When was it collected? Who collected it? So it can actually be tracked.”

She says unlicensed operators are also more likely to harvest low-quality seed.

“It’s actually quite difficult to just slip in low-quality seeds and think you’ll get that price,” Ms. Metz says.

She believes any illegal seed collection in the Great Western Woodlands is opportunistic and won’t necessarily pay off.

But Professor Dixon says it is impossible to determine whether the harvester breached the terms of the license by, for example, cutting down branches with a chainsaw to gain access to seeds.

He also believes that penalties for violating the rules should be tougher.

“The demand for restoration and restoration of nature across vast landscapes is growing.

“We now need the right regulatory and investment processes from government to meet the demand for local, biodiverse seeds.

Difficult to control

Washington State Wildflower Society President Brett Loney has long been concerned about the illegal collection of native flora.

He says the risk lies not only in what is intentionally taken, but also in what is unintentionally destroyed.

“They may be cutting down rare or endangered species,” he says.

“Because they exist among eucalyptus as well as among other plant species.”

He also notes growing demand from the carbon sequestration industry, with mining companies keeping most nurseries running at “full capacity”.

He suggests making license application forms more user-friendly, which could reduce the incidence of illegal collection of flora.

“It’s quite a cumbersome process,” he says.

But he believes the practice is extremely difficult to control due to the vastness of Western Australia’s outback.

“There are not a lot of leaders in these areas,” he said.

Mr Webb says patrolling the Great Western Woodlands, an area larger than many European countries, will be virtually impossible.

But he wants visitors to show more concern.

“It’s just a lack of respect,” he says.

“There is enough destruction going on in the bush. They don’t have to do that.”