AUSTRALIA — More than 100 scientists have written to the Andrews government backing highly regarded Australian ecologist Professor David Lindenmayer after the head of Victoria’s logging agency refused to accept his published opinions or “consider him an authority”. …Ms Dawson had refused to accept Professor Lindenmayer’s published opinions on the impact of logging on bushfire risk in native forests. …There has been fierce debate between conservationists and forestry scientists about the effect of logging on native forests following the summer bushfires. …Professor Lindenmayer has previously called for an immediate end to native forest logging, saying his research shows logging makes native forests more prone to fire. This is partly because a young, regrown forest is more dense and burns at high temperatures, he says. But other scientists argue there is no discernible impact of timber harvesting on fire severity.