Imbak Canyon

Articles Tagged with: Imbak Canyon

12 December, 2011

The Arkitrek II

By Elise Mandat

Imbak Canyon, one of the last virgin lowland rainforests of Sabah, Malaysia, isn’t for the faint of heart.

DAY ONE
7:15 AM August 13, 2011 –
Ian rolls up in with Ishmael in a beefy air-conditioned jungle truck and Daniele and I throw our backpacks in the back.

For the first six hours the roads are paved and for the last two through the palm plantations, as bumpy as the surface of the moon. I am sick the entire time anyway and everyone is patient with my vicious heaves. Poor Ishmael is fasting all day long because it’s the middle of Ramadan, but he never lets on he might be getting nauseous himself even as I move up to the queen seat next to him.

3:00 PM August 13, 2011 –
We cruise through the Imbak river!! Thankfully the water level is low enough. About midway through, my visions of being swept down the river become more real…and then we start climbing the opposite bank.

3:30 PM August 13, 2011 –
Despite lots of logging going on to clear land for the palm oil plantations, The landscape is still beautiful.

4:30 PM August 13, 2011 –
Arrival at Tampoi Basecamp. We have bucket showers, hot rice and fish, sturdy Raleigh-constructed shelters, and mosquito-netted beds waiting for us.

DAY TWO
Noon August 14, 2011 –
A warm-up day–we leave to take a practice hike to the Raleigh-built Gunung Kuli science research camp nearby to see its layout and construction. A few minutes out and an 80-foot tree has gracefully lain down across the road.

We wait an hour and play with shy leaves as Ian immediately starts exploring and we all wait for the chainsaws to come. If you don’t do anything else, check out the shy leaf video–what an incredible creature/plant/other?! [Ed: Mimosa pudica is a pan-tropical weed native to South and Central America]

Daniele gets too curious with the ‘stingless’ bees nest and figures out the bees are not stingless at all.

This hike’s an hour long, flat ground, full of leeches, and riddled with crazy life I truly thought only existed in Dr. Seuss. First true trip into the jungle, can you tell?

We study the research camp layout, use of materials and construction.

I sit on top of a log straddled over the river for a long time. On the drive back I ask to ride standing in the back of the truck through the bumpy plantation roads back to base camp. It’s glorious.

DAY THREE
9:00 AM August 15, 2011 –
We sip tea, eat noodles, and stare at the heart-stopping scenery of 50-meter trees shrouded in mist to wake up. I’m glad Ian always has his binoculars on hand–we can see the hornbills flying in the morning eating figs and bees hovering over the blossoming fruit trees.

Three tiny girls live at Tampoi Basecamp and we chase each other around the breakfast tables.

11:30 AM August 15, 2011 –
This…is most definitely not a warm-up day. We pack one dry set and one wet set of clothing for the next three days and strap on our Adidas Kampung. The guides sharpen their parangs.

The drive to BBC [Big Belian Camp] is short, ten people packed in the truck. Three of us with six guides is the first sign this may be an intense and adventurous [code for excitingly risky] trek.

Stunning trailhead and suspension bridge.

1:00 PM August 15, 2011 –
I’m not sure how all the guys are hiking with packs–I imagine I would be falling off the skinny path down the muddy hill. Thankfully a wealth of trees and spongy forest floor wait below to break a fall. Daniele is carrying a pack we’re sharing–I am mentally preparing to carry it on the way back.

2:30 PM August 15, 2011 –
Barely a word has been spoken. The rhythm is nice and we’re breathing hard but deeply. We get to the first river crossing where another crew on their way out meets us. “Perempuan!” They’re surprised to see a woman.

We squat on the rocks–Ian busts out some lunch and Daniele and I eat a precious few Mentos. Leeches find our warm bodies immediately and I end up fending off and tossing away the same leech multiple times. They are so much faster than you think.

First river crossing. The water is not cold. It’s harder to keep balance on the shallow bank, and by the middle of the river the water helps carry me. Up to mid-thigh now. Almost to the other bank…I trip into the water. Glad I didn’t have the pack. I have two more crossings to practice water-walking.

3:30 PM August 15, 2011 –
The variety and beauty of fungi is unreal. Someone could study only that for their entire life. It’s one of my favorite parts of the jungle.

4:30 PM August 15, 2011 –
We see a spider as big as my palm and under her is a rocky pinkish egg sack the size of a quail’s egg.

Tiger leeches are latching on from above and underneath–my shoes are filled with them and I decide I’ll wear three pairs of socks tomorrow instead of just two. Some of the guides are wearing shorts and have the blood stains of leech battle. Ian tells us the leeches inject an anaesthetic so we can’t feel their suction, and an anticoagulant to keep our blood flowing.

We rest at a stream straight out of the Jurassic Period–tiny trees are sprouting out of smooth round rocks with a new kind of eerie sunlight glowing above.

The trek to camp was supposed to last a few more hours yet miraculously, someone says we have only half an hour to go.

6:30 PM August 15, 2011 –
The cicada sends out his call–the best sound of the jungle, Ian says. It’s like a melodious air horn, made only from the rubbing together of his wings.

7:30 PM August 15, 2011 –
That someone was wrong. We are still hiking and the mud, trees, sky and people are beginning to blend together in twilight. I tend to sweat like a dude but all the men are still wetter with sweat. The rhythm continues, a little more clumsily, as we prepare to hike in the dark.

8:00 PM August 15, 2011 –
I have not peed all day. Even after drinking bottles of water. My body is hoarding all I give it.

Thank God, a tarp in a clearing. We arrive at camp at dark, ditch our packs on the bashers, and head straight down the slope to the river. Its dark body is haunting, bounded by a narrow tree-lined canyon and the stars above. We are more than dripping already so Daniele, Ian and I walk right in with all our clothes. The current is slow but my heart still beats fast remembering it could sweep me away.

9:00 PM August 15, 2011 –
I have never, ever been so thankful for a plastic cup full of Nescafe. Things are better when you earn them. There’s a language rift between me and the guides but Ian interprets some jokes and food brings anyone together anyway.

Daniele and I wind down listing off useful things to remember to bring next time we come into the jungle: a handkerchief for sweat, iodine tablets, a drafting table of sorts, some candy,…

DAY FOUR
2:00 AM August 16, 2011 –
I keep waking up, wrapping my legs tight like a burrito in the blanket, having a new nightmare about leeches coming after my warm body. Thoughts are always more dramatic when you sleep, so I remind myself I’m being silly.

8:00 AM August 16, 2011 –
The nightmare was real. Some leech got all he wanted.

We wake up and the boys hike out to survey the surrounding jungle. We want to scope out the perfect site for a future Arkitrek Camp.

I feel like a helpless lady on an expedition in the 1700s left at camp to sit in the sun while everyone else does something productive. I ask to help some of the guides build a bench but they would rather do it themselves. So I embrace the rest and read a book in the middle of the jungle. Not such a bad deal.

1:00 PM August 16, 2011 –
The guys come back and we go to search along the river banks. We go in a few adventurous circles, Ian hacking vines out of the way, everyone feeling for the perfect spot to begin building. We end up on the rocky bank, Daniele drinking river water from his shoe (don’t try that at home), Ian camouflaging himself onto the rocks, and me taking photographs.

Find the Ian!

DAY FIVE
8:00 AM August 17, 2011 –
One full day at camp and it’s time to trek out–I want to try carrying the pack today. Daniele asks if I’m sure, and my ego says yes. No one seems tired.

10:00 AM August 17, 2011 –
After crossing back over the Jurassic ravine, eating more sardines, and rolling more leeches between our fingers, it’s time for the last big push. At least that’s how I thought of it then. I cross the small stream and slip all over the rocks. I get frustrated and slip even more. A passage from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance aptly sums up the mounting ego of the rest of my hike out:

“To the untrained eye, ego-climbing and selfless climbing may seem identical. Both kinds of climbers place one foot in front of the other. Both breathe in and out at the same rate. Both stop when tired. Both go forward when rested. But what a difference! The ego-climber is like an instrument that’s out of adjustment. He puts his foot down an instant too soon or too late. He’s likely to miss a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees. He goes on when the sloppiness of his step shows he’s tired. He rests at odd times. He looks up the trail trying to see what’s ahead even when he knows what’s ahead because he just looked a second before. He goes too fast or too slow for the conditions and when he talks his talk is forever about somewhere else, something else.” (Pirsig, p. 212-213).

Here I was, in the Malaysian jungle, treating the trek like a project to complete, self-conscious of my slowness, unhappy to be exhausted from the inundations of a most holy place. At least the awe of the place didn’t elude me–even if I was angry, I was angry in awe. That’s how powerful the jungle spirit is.

12:00 PM August 17, 2011 –
The guides are strong and patient. They keep offering water even when Daniele and I forget to drink. I decide I need some time alone in this sanctuary and I quit trying to keep up. I am naturally slower than all these guys and going fast is not the way to hike. I lose the people ahead and work off some steam up the steepest hill as my skin literally steams too. The journey is stripped down to Step. Breath. Breath. Step. Breath. Breath. The trees are thinning out, more scraggly now. The air is thick and heavy. Physical bleariness. Life at its simplest and most awesome.

2:30 PM August 17, 2011 –
We stop at the super old, knobby, monstrous Belian tree. This tree is now so dense you cannot even put a nail through its wood. We take amused pictures of Ian as he examines and climbs it.

With 30 minutes to go I give up the pack to Daniele. A gesture of surrender to a forest that seriously conquered me. “The forest silence improves anyone.” (Pirsig, p. 241)

7:00 PM, August 17, 2011 –
Give me a bucket shower!! Again, earned and therefore magical. And necessary.

9:00 PM, August 17, 2011 –
We eat pink rosewater cakes for Ramadan. Ian, Daniele and I sit around playing word games and swap photos.

Last night for a while of the forest hum as I fall asleep under my mosquito net.

DAY SIX
8:00 AM, August 18, 2011 –
Ishmael is back to take us to KK. Soon we figure out the Imbak river is flooded…and have to take an 8-hour detour. We stop for dinner, and later again for a coke and coffees. I feel really safe with Ishmael behind the wheel–he’s been driving this leg for a lot of years. It takes us twice as long to return. After 15 hours, a little swerving and running a few red lights, I’m in civilization. Disappointing:/

Few Malaysians even have ever stepped in Imbak Canyon. Every day that passes I feel luckier to have been here.

Ian: Peace. Out

Enjoyed this? You can read Andy Lo’s account of the inaugural 2005 Arkitrek in Maliau Basin here

Related posts

%RELATEDPOSTS%

4 November, 2007

Sustainable Forest Management

My story of the Wild Cuckoo Chase is a case study into how seemingly elusive is the concept of sustainable forest management. At the Sabah Society talk in May 2007 entitled ‘Forestry in Sabah’ the State Director of Forestry admitted to an ‘environmental disaster’ in Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve.

Now 6 months on, the logging in this area is drawing to a close and the Forestry Department and NGO’s are poised to begin an ambitious reforestation program. This is a tough call for the NGO’s to make because although rehabilitation is desperately needed, to do so excuses the logging company from their obligation to avoid doing the damage in the first place.

It sends the message that it’s OK to log unsustainably because someone else will pay to clear up the mess. The logging licensee (in this case Yayasan Sabah) is left to go on making unsustainable profits by extracting timber from other forest reserves.

In the area surrounding Imbak Canyon Conservation Area, Yayasan Sabah is about to start logging the Sungai Pinangah Forest Reserve, otherwise known as Forest Management Units (FMU) 15 and 16. Together these FMU’s total 190,000ha and include large tracts of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF).

The extent of this gearing-up to logging is clearly illustrated by the rate at which the State Government has been approving Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for timber extraction. These approvals have risen from 16,000ha of forest in 2005 to 29,000ha in 2006 and 67,000ha so far in 2007. Source: Sabah State Government

The fact that logging contractors must get EIA approval may sound encouraging but in fact this is largely a formality, serving only to delay rather than mitigate environmental damage. If logging is to go ahead, then the only widely accepted standard for environmental damage limitation is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

Full FSC certification is a rigorous process and may take several years to complete but it would ensure that wildlife corridors, HCVF, steep areas and riparian reserves area all identified and protected. It is encouraging therefore that Yayasan Sabah are apparently intending to gain FSC certification for FMU’s 15 and 16. Souce: Tropical Forest Trust

The big question then is; why have EIA’s already been granted to log over 112,400ha of this forest when the FSC certification process has not got beyond the ‘pre-assessment’ phase?

It will be interesting to find out whether Yayasan Sabah are serious about FSC certification and if not, what alternative method of environmental protection is being used. It would be inexcusable to see a repeat of the Ulu Segama Malua disaster in Sungai Pinangah Forest Reserve.

%RELATEDPOSTS%

12 October, 2007

Imbak Bird-Watching

Photo: John and Jemi Holmes

The idea of a bird-watching trip to Imbak began in 2004 when Peter Stevens and I were working there with Raleigh International. Significantly this was also the occasion when I realised I was on the slippery slope to becoming a bird-watcher.

I remember we were barely 50 paces out of the Raleigh camp when Pete paused between the buttresses of an enormous Mengaris Tree.

‘Did you hear that?’ It was an instruction more than a question. I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about but waited patiently clutching my tiny binoculars. Presently I heard a delicate whistle and couldn’t believe that any self-respecting bird would be fooled by Pete’s clumsy imitation. I was very impressed therefore when Pete pointed at a tiny black shape bobbing towards us on the forest floor. With difficulty I located the bird in my binoculars and was astonished that it was not black at all but rich in lustrous purple and red with the most improbable electric blue stripe on its head. It was marvellous that something so beautiful should emerge from the dank forest floor. I was hooked immediately.

As we were working with Raleigh at that time, we had the welfare of 15 young volunteers to consider and they were not much inclined to the patience and silence necessary for bird-watching. Nonetheless, during the three weeks of our stay Pete observed over 100 species of birds and made only the second record of the avifauna of Imbak Canyon. The first was made during the inaugural scientific expedition of 2000. We vowed to return to do a more thorough job.

Imbak Canyon was and still is categorised as Class II production forest, meaning that the Sabah State Government regards it as a logging resource. Luckily this 30,000ha of lowland rainforest is part of the Yayasan Sabah Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA). With commendable courage and foresight, Yayasan Sabah has voluntarily designated Imbak a Conservation Area.

The significance of Imbak is that it is the only large contiguous area of Class II forest in Sabah that remains undisturbed. This is largely due to its isolated location in the heart of the State, where it is protected on three sides by precipitous ridges up to 1500m high. The lost valley of Imbak is an area of outstanding beauty and biodiversity. Through some mystery of nature the lowland forest retains a higher density of enormous trees than nearby Danum Valley and Maliau Basin. To walk in the cool under-storey beneath the canopies of these giants is a humbling and uplifting experience. However unlike Danum and Maliau, Imbak is not safe from logging until it has been formally gazetted by the Government as a Class I Conservation Area.

For our trip in 2007 there was Pete and Myself plus John and Jemi Holmes from Hong Kong. We also managed to rope in for one day only our secret weapon; Robert Chong from Kinabatangan Jungle Camp. The purpose of this trip (apart from our own enjoyment) was to gather more evidence of the biological wealth of Imbak and hence help the case for its protection. Our noble objectives were soon to receive a bitter reality check. Just before we left for Imbak I learned from some NGO friends that although Imbak Canyon is safe for the time being, the surrounding area is due to be logged imminently. Unfortunately this logging will start at exactly the best spot for bird-watching – the Tampoi Basecamp.

The heart of Imbak Canyon remains inaccessible except by foot so Yayasan Sabah have set up the Tampoi Basecamp and research station in logged over forest on the periphery of the Conservation Area. It is in this mixed habitat that we did most of our bird-watching both in 2004 and in 2007, taking advantage of old logging roads to provide vantage points on the forest canopy.

During our 2007 trip the reality of the proposed logging became clear when we saw contractors marking out the 30m riparian reserve along the Imbak River right up to the Basecamp and beyond. I found it depressing to be surveying an area where our data may just become a record of what used to exist. In this context I’m not sure whether it is better to find more species or less. Of course it’s better to find more but every memorable observation leaves a bittersweet taste. We recorded over 140 species in the mixed habitat around Tampoi, over 50 of which are classified on the IUCN Redlist of endangered species as ‘Near Threatened’ and a further 3 are classified ‘Vulnerable’ to extinction[1]. A couple of the highlights here were fabulous close up views of Chestnut Necklaced Partridge and the shy Bornean Wren Babbler, the latter more often recorded by it’s haunting pitta like whistle.

Chestnut Necklaced Partridge
Photo: John and Jemi Holmes

In addition to surveying logged over forest we also spent 16 man days at two sites in virgin rainforest. Bukit Beruang is a sub-montane ecosystem at over 1000m on the northern rim of the canyon. It is more memorable for its fabulous views over mist filled valleys than for abundant birdlife. In the early morning Gunung Kinabalu floats intangibly on the horizon over 50km distant.

The highlight of any trip to Imbak however, is to get into The Canyon itself. This is most easily achieved by a 1 hour trek to the BBC Camp at the confluence of the Imbak and Kangkawat Rivers. BBC camp is named after either the Big Belian tree nearby or the British Broadcasting Corporation who stayed there for one month in 2006 while filming their wonderful documentary ‘Expedition Borneo’.

It was fitting that on a solo walk not far from the Big Belian Tree I was rewarded by a close up encounter with a male Blue Headed Pitta second only in my memory to that Black Headed Pitta with Pete back in 2004. Other highlights (in addition to those awe inspiring trees) were a prolonged display by a group of Bornean Bristleheads, an elusive covey of Crested Wood Partridge plus an extraordinary density of Trogons. Giant Pitta has also been recorded in this undisturbed forest although we only heard it’s call.

Thanks to the efforts of only a handful of observers the total Imbak bird checklist now stands at a whisker over 200 species. The credibility of this list owes much to Dennis Yong et al[2] who during a brief visit in early 2007 corroborated many earlier sightings and added 60 new records. We were able to further corroborate many of Dennis’ observations and add 10 more species records of our own.

Striped Wren Babbler
Photo: John and Jemi Holmes

This data however is far from complete and more surveying is likely to reveal greater biodiversity, especially in the primary forest at the heart of The Canyon. Despite these possible gains there is also a risk that as a consequence of logging operations in secondary forest, the overall avifauna biodiversity of Imbak may decrease. Regardless of other factors the existence of a high number of rare, endangered and endemic species on the border of Imbak is proof of the high conservation value of that secondary forest.

With this in mind it is imperative that re-logging, especially around conservation areas such as Imbak, should proceed only according to strict management guidelines or better still not at all. Unfortunately the precedent established in other areas of the YS concession illustrates widespread disregard of legally binding procedures to minimise environmental impact of logging.

One glimmer of hope is that conservation value of forests is rising in response to dawning understanding of the importance of ecosystem services. While many of these services can not yet be capitalised, there are two economic incentives available immediately. These are nature tourism and carbon credits through avoided deforestation.

While we may be too late to prevent environmental degradation around Tampoi Basecamp, there may yet be time to persuade policy makers to switch to non extractive uses of the rainforest in other areas. Environmentalists, nature lovers and the public can all play their part in pushing this agenda.

Sunrise from Bukit Beruang

[1] VU classified species: Large Green Pigeon, Short-toed Coucal, Blue-headed Pitta, Bornean Wren Babbler
[2] Dennis Yong, Glenda Noramly and Benedict Butit – 30th March to 4th April 2007

%RELATEDPOSTS%

1 October, 2007

Wild Cuckoo Chase Pt.III

Read Part I and II first

Department Admits Logging Disaster’. That was the headline in the Sabah Daily Express the morning after the Sabah Society talk. It seems that the question and answer session at the end of the talk was dominated by discussion of an environmental crisis which had been unfolding for some time in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve. It is uncharacteristically frank for a politician to admit to a ‘disaster’ and to give him credit the gist of the message appeared to be; ‘it’s a fair cop Guv, please go easy on us and we’ll promise not to do it again’.

The Ulu Segama Forest Reserve is managed by Yayasan Sabah for commercial timber harvesting. It almost completely encircles the Danum Valley Conservation Area and includes much of the catchment of the Segama River. Unsustainable logging practices have been prevalent in this reserve since the 1960’s but had intensified as the deadline to phase out all logging by the end of 2007 approached. The hardest hit area is known as North Ulu Segama and comprises 12,000ha of virtually clear-cut forest. Environmental refugees, famously orang-utans, have been unable to escape their decimated habitat due to being hemmed in by Oil Palm plantations to the north and the Segama River to the south.

Notwithstanding the environmental tragedy, the public interest of this case is that the Ulu Segama region is subject to a Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA). In other words Yayasan Sabah are contractually bound to manage this forest sustainably. The admission of an ‘Environmental Disaster’ by Sabah Forestry Department suggests that the SFMLA had been broken. Technically Yayasan Sabah can be sued for mismanagement and although this is unlikely to happen, at least the public now have evidence that their forest reserves are not managed as sustainably as it is claimed.

The other ‘successful’ outcome of the Sabah Society talk was that my ‘press release’ style email was mistakenly read out as a question to the Director of Forestry. In this email I had focused on the fact that proposed logging coupes near Imbak did not respect either the Imbak buffer zone or the presence of the Research Station and proposed Studies Centre. The Director’s response was to deny all knowledge of research activities near Imbak Canyon and in doing so suggest that the Conservation Division were not being transparent.

This of course was the incident to which my client referred in our meeting. As awkward as it was I knew that I had to explain myself immediately. My confession was taken curiously and on leaving the meeting I had the feeling that a re-appraisal had occurred, both of me and of the situation. Now that the dust has settled it looks as though the Imbak Studies Centre site and adjacent research plots will be spared the chainsaw, although how this will affect the viability of the proposed Studies Centre remains to be seen.

15 September, 2007

Wild Cuckoo Chase Pt.II

Read Part I first

Imbak Tampoi Basecamp

A white Landcruiser bounces into the Imbak Tampoi Basecamp and three men jump out clutching rolls of paper and clip boards. I sense forestry officials and so try to lurk inconspicuously. ‘Is that a map of Imbak region?’ I enquire innocently, ‘can I have a look?’ I add before he has a chance to respond. Sure enough it is a map of the proposed logging coupe, an area of nearly 23,000ha in the Sungai Pinangah, Gunung Rara and Kuamut Forest Reserves.

Much of this region has already been logged but as this selective harvesting was done 20-30 years ago there is much valuable secondary forest remaining. The proposed coupe borders four Virgin Jungle Reserves and encompasses un-logged areas, the Imbak Canyon buffer zone, plus steep areas which shouldn’t be logged under the sustainable forest management license agreement.

Most of my attention however is focussed on the 5000ha around the Tampoi Basecamp highlighted to be the first to go, sometime before the end of the year 2007. A short way down the track workers are already conscientiously marking out the 30m riparian reserve along the Imbak River.

I communicate my findings to an NGO colleague in Kota Kinabalu and together we begin to disseminate information to hopefully sympathetic acquaintances. Our plan is that we might be able to persuade someone to raise the issue at a forthcoming presentation to the Sabah Society by Sam Mannan, Sabah’s Director of Forestry. We even prime Sam himself about our concerns plus I write a ‘press release’ style email to the Sabah Society to inform them on the situation.

Unfortunately I can not make it to the talk as I am still in Imbak looking at birds. It is depressing to be surveying an area where our data may just record what used to exist. In this context I’m not sure whether it is better to find more species or less. Of course it’s better to find more but the whole thing feels rather hopeless. We record over 150 species, nearly 50 of which are Near Threatened or faced with a High Risk of Extinction as categorised by the IUCN Redlist.

A week later I am sitting in the office of my client; the Conservation Division of Yayasan Sabah. We are discussing my design of a new research laboratory at Danum Valley Field Centre but at the end of the meeting I can’t help enquiring for a progress report on the logging at Imbak Basecamp. Apparently the conservation division have lodged an appeal to save the 5000ha but are not hopeful. Once the logging contracts have been awarded it is very difficult to go back.

I ask whether the public and conservationists can help by campaigning for a reprieve. ‘No! That is absolutely what you should not do’ I am told emphatically, before he continued, ‘because apparently someone wrote an email that was read out at the Sabah Society talk and thanks to Sam’s [Mannan: Director of Forestry] response we are now having to answer to the Tan Sri about some things which have appeared in the papers about our Conservation Division’. My stomach lurched. He did not know who had written the email but I had a horrible feeling that I knew who the author was. I didn’t know what had happened at the talk, but it seemed that I had inadvertently landed my patron in the shit.

Pete on the Kangkawat River border of Imbak Canyon Conservation Area. The left hand side will be logged, the right hand side is conservation area.

12 3