The Tallwoods Village area, now rapidly becoming a substantial urban precinct, was once clothed in magnificent forest with tall Iron barks, Tallow-wood, Flooded Gum, Mahogany and the rare Rudders Box not to mention an abundance of other species including some gully rainforest species. The area was home to a wide variety of wildlife with an effective corridor to the west from the littoral rainforests on the coast at Redhead and Blackhead.br/Farming practices from the 1930's on, mainly for timber and beef cattle, had resulted in substantial clearing of some of the area. In the early 1990s the idea that this land could be sold off as small rural areages surrounding an 18 hole designer golf course emerged and was approved. br/After the failure of the rural acreage proposal to sell in the mid 1990s and the forced sale of the development a new staged development application was approved for substantially higher density land use with urban sized blocks. The 18 hole golf course was retained in the new development.br/While this development has been relatively successful it has not been without its difficulties with slower than expected land sales again forcing the sale of parts of the development. Nevertheless the ambitious project has managed to soldier on and today has become a tidy community with modern homes set amidst substantial wooded sections surrounding a very impressive and well renowned golf course.br/The loss of forest corridors at Tallwoods following the golf course development, along with extensive clearing of other nearby rural acreage developments has contributed to the almost guaranteed local extinction of some species, such as the Koala. Animal migration routes to the west from the littoral rainforest reserves adjoining the coastal villages of Blackhead, Redhead and Diamond Beach have been seriously compromised by roads and clearing of small acreages. The necessity to cross several major roads with relatively high traffic density and pass through private lands with unrestrained dogs means most migrating animal don't stand a chance.br/ br/This tree on the top of One Tree Hill at Tallwoods stands all alone but resolute, watching over the gradual 'death by a thousand cuts' of our precious and irreplaceable coastal forests.br/On current trends the natural beauty of the area will be substantially gone within a generation.br/Regretably this scenario is repeated all around the Australian coastline, but particularly on the NSW and South East Queensland coasts.