Cr Carracher said city people demanded protection for the environment. Lenient decisions by weak councils against illegal clearing would result in tougher vegetation laws.

Councillors voted against launching court action against Goroke district farmer Bill Bourchier, who cleared several hundred trees without a permit.

Cr Carracher said city decision makers would note the rap over the knuckles given by his council at its latest meeting.

ntsa to Goroke-district farmer Bill Bourchier who cleared several hundred trees without a permit.

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``There's more votes in protecting native vegetation than destroying it,'' Cr Carracher said.

He also said three councillors who voted against court action would encourage tree clearing and slammed them as `the dozer gang' when recording his vote against the decision as `an inappropriate penalty for breaking the law'.

He said the council's lenient stand against the Mortat farmerntsa who illegally cleared several hundred treesnte was sending

the wrong message.

It told landowners they could illegally clear native vegetation with little more than a reprimand and told city people that rural people's attitude to their environment was cavalier.

Landholders did not live in caves, knew regulations and that bulokes were protected within the shire.

The council, in a tense and at times acrimonious debate, decided against taking the issue to the Magistrate's Court, instead demanding that Mr Bourchier plant 30 trees for every one he destroyed. He has a year to plant 6000 buloke, redgum and box trees and in five years must have a survival rate of 80 per cent. There must be at least 1000 bulokes.

The decision failed to take into account that the Natural Resources and Environment Department recommended court prosecution as its preferred option.

Regional manager Ian Voigt had urged the council to send a stern message to the community that illegal clearing would not be tolerated.

Several people in the gallery at the end of the meeting expressed concern at the council's failure to take stronger action.

Mr Bourchier and wife Lynette were in the gallery of about 30 which packed the council chamber at Edenhope. Mrs Bourchier defended her husband's action during a public question time.

The gallery included West Wimmera Landcare Network and Kowree Farm Tree Group members.

Mayor Linda Guthridge declared the meeting closed when several people in the gallery became angry at Mrs Bourchier's comments.

Ironically, before the meeting started, Landcare officer Elisia Dowling of Nhill presented a powerpoint outline of the shire's many vegetation projects achieved after grants of more than $1 million over five years.

The tense debate had started with the council's refusal to grant Mr Bourchier a retrospective permit for 200 trees he removed.

Cr Guthridge supported Cr Carracher's push to take Mr Bourchier to court. Cr Ron Hawkins, Cr Bruce Meyer and Cr Warren Wait declared the action inappropriate, costly and unnecessary.

The council later accepted Cr Wait's push for tree planting. He said West Wimmera residents cared for the environment, Mr Bourchier was attempting to improve his property and a court case would be costly and lengthy.

``In a shire that's losing two people per week, we have to give people the right to improve their farming practice,'' Cr Wait said. ``If it goes to the court, then the decision's out of our hands.''

Cr Bruce Meyer said that if the council prosecuted Mr Bourchier, the minute someone `shifted one tree' a court case would result. He believed 95 per cent of ratepayers would support Mr Bourchier against the council if a court case resulted.