Illegal loggers have cut down dozens of heritage trees at a northern Victorian wildlife reserve in night-time raids described as "sickening" by a resident who has heard chainsaws in the middle of the night.

Key points: Parks Victoria says it's working with police to identify the perpetrators

Parks Victoria says it's working with police to identify the perpetrators The area's chief ranger Andrew McDougall says there's often a connection between organised crime and firewood removal

The area's chief ranger Andrew McDougall says there's often a connection between organised crime and firewood removal He says illegal logging is hard to police and is becoming more widespread in Victoria

Parks Victoria said living and dead trees including red gums had been illegally felled at the Loch Gary Wildlife Reserve north of Shepparton over the past month.

Resident Kirsty Ramadan, whose property backs onto the reserve, said it was one of the worst cases of illegal logging she had ever seen, having lived in the area all her life.

She said the sound of chainsaws had been keeping her up at night and that the perpetrators would have entered the reserve "between 10pm and dawn".

"[Many of] the trees that are being taken out are hollow bearing, [which] are hard to come by.

"They're taking out a lot of old dead trees. The stuff they're taking out is irreplaceable.

"It makes me feel sick to the stomach, it hurts actually. This is a place I consider my home and I've lived amongst it and protected it for my entire life and I know there are other locals that feel exactly the same way.

"It's just heartbreaking to see people come in and just have no regard for the place."

Parks Victoria monitoring the situation

Parks Victoria said it was aware of illegal felling taking place in the Loch Gary Wildlife Reserve, and that it was doing everything in its power to bring the culprits to justice.

"We mark anything that's been cut, as a way of keeping records to show us whether it's a recently fallen or taken tree," said the area's chief ranger, Andrew McDougall.

Parks Victoria says it has been tagging felled trees in the reserve to help monitor the situation. ( Supplied: Kirsty Ramadan )

He said Parks Victoria had been working with police in Shepparton to identify the perpetrators.

"Often there's a connection between organised crime and firewood removal," he said.

"There is a lot of reward for those who undertake the activity, but removing firewood certainly damages the environment. It also reduces habitat for our native species and its really affects [visitor numbers].

"Dealing with [these kinds of people] can be very dangerous. We need to have staff that are skilled and resourced, working with VicPol to deal with these people, especially at night-time when the risks are far greater."

Illegal logging 'hard to police', says Parks Victoria

Ms Ramadan said Parks Victoria had recently installed two surveillance cameras in the Loch Gary Wildlife Reserve, but that these had, almost immediately, been destroyed.

"I was told [by Parks Victoria] that two cameras were set up, one on one of the sites where they assumed they'd be coming back to get firewood out of, and another one was at one of the entry points into the forest.

"Both those cameras were either vandalised or destroyed basically immediately so I don't think any footage was gained," she said.

While Mr McDougall could not confirm if this was the case, he said illegal logging was incredibly difficult to police and was lamentably becoming more widespread across the state.

Locals say dozens of habitat trees have been illegally felled in the past month. ( Supplied: Kirsty Ramadan )

"Red gum firewood in particular is actually well sought-after because it burns really hot and burns long so often the red gum parks can be targeted," he said.

Mr McDougall urged people to be mindful of where they bought their firewood from, as winter approached.

"If it's sitting on the side of the road for sale on a trailer with a bit of a ratty old sign [that says] 'firewood for sale', just think, has this come off adjoining property or has this come off crown land?" he said.

Locals call for an increase in the penalties

The penalties for illegal felling in a national park or wildlife reserve are up to about $8,000.

If found guilty, perpetrators can have their chainsaws, vehicles and any wood they have stolen forfeited.

"When a case goes before the magistrate, the magistrate will make a determination based on all the evidence, how much wood has been taken, how much impact [has there been] to the environment, how much impact to the community and what community expectations may be," Mr McDougall said.

"Then the magistrate will make a ruling on the severity of the penalty."

Parks Victoria says illegal logging is becoming increasingly common across the state. ( ABC Goulburn Murray: Mahalia Dobson )

But Ms Ramadan said the penalties needed to be higher.

"There is no monetary value put on this wood … there's no value put on the environmental loss of what they're taking out," she said.

"I think we have to step up and make the penalties a lot harsher.

"There'd be hundreds of thousands of dollars that they're making off our bushland here.

"I think they're not only getting wood for right now … but they're also planning to use wood out of here for [the] following seasons, seeing as they're taking down live trees as well as the dead ones."

In cases like these where there is a large number of felled trees, Parks Victoria suspects it is for commercial purposes.

Parks Victoria has urged anyone with information to contact authorities.