MEDIA RELEASE
April 17th, 2025
The Forest Alliance of NSW calls on the Minns’ Government to act on findings of a newly released NSW Government report and promptly declare the full 176,000 hectare Great Koala National Park.
The report shows the proposed park is key habitat for two additional threatened species, the endangered Greater Glider and vulnerable Yellow-bellied Glider.
Greater Gliders on Australia’s east coast have suffered a 50 - 80 per cent decline in the last 20 years, and a third of their habitat was destroyed in the 2019-2020 bushfires. The report highlights the proposed Great Koala National Park as a critical refuge for the species, with an estimated 36,000 Greater Gliders remaining.
The gliders were recorded during extensive nighttime drone surveys for Koalas in the proposed park areas and surrounding National Parks. This report highlights that a fully protected Great Koala National Park will help ensure the benefits of a large healthy forest estate are realised for our precious endangered species.
The report confirms this and states:
“southern greater glider and yellow-bellied glider populations need large areas of inter-connected, and preferably high-quality, habitat to persist in the wild into the future.”
Gary Dunnet of the National Parks Association of NSW
“Once common in many of our native forests, Greater Gliders are on a trajectory towards disappearance. Securing refuges where populations are still relatively healthy, such the ones identified in this report, will be vital for securing a future for species dependent on healthy native forests.”
Jacqui Mumford, CEO of Nature Conservation Council NSW
“These gliders do not tolerate logging and this report should motivate the Minns’ Government to immediately end logging in the proposed Great Koala National Park. In fact, logging should cease in all State Forest areas identified as containing Greater Gliders.
The Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty, has failed to ensure Gliders are adequately protected and Forestry Corporation must repeatedly be dragged through the courts before they take even the minimum action to protect the species.”
Justin Field, spokesperson for the Forest Alliance of NSW
“The current logging rules are failing to protect threatened glider species. Surveys conducted by the Forest Alliance show Forestry Corporation finds only around 1 per cent of the endangered Greater Glider den trees in their pre-logging surveys. Putting critical glider habitat into national parks is critical for their survival. The Minns’ Government can make a significant difference for these species by implementing the Great Koala National Park in full now.
The report also tells a worrying story for the Yellow Bellied Glider, with not enough found to even estimate a population number. Further work needs to be done to understand the status of this species. The effects of logging are all posing a danger to both these glider species. Loss and fragmentation of habitat and loss of hollow-bearing trees are all threats produced, or worsened, by native forest logging.
The report also states that recent large bushfires have had a devastating effect on both gliders and koalas, making these remaining higher density habitat areas even more vital for their ongoing survival.”
Spokespeople available for comment on request.
Media contact: Anna Greer
E: [email protected] M: 0493 733 529 PH: (02) 7208 9482
The report is available from: Glider observations in the Mid North Coast assessment area | Environment and Heritage
Extracts from the report
Southern greater glider populations in New South Wales face increasing and cumulative threats from habitat loss, disturbance and modification; loss of hollow-bearing trees; intense or too-frequent fires that degrade southern greater glider habitat by changing the composition, structure and nutrient profile of forests; and climate change (Cth DCCEEW 2022). In 2022 the species was listed by the NSW Government as endangered as it was found to have undergone a large reduction in population size, area of occupancy and extent of habitat (NSW TSSC 2022).
The assessment area estimate of southern greater glider density aligns with data from other government reports, which suggest that southern greater glider densities can be as low as 0.1 individuals per hectare in more fragmented or disturbed landscapes...
Yellow-bellied Glider
Yellow-bellied gliders are a vulnerable species in New South Wales and they are also affected by the threats listed above for the southern greater glider.
…
In contrast, lower densities, like the assessment area estimate, have been reported in disturbed or fragmented habitats such as areas affected by logging or fire. In such environments, densities of 0.01 to 0.03 individuals per hectare have been observed, particularly in forests where hollow-bearing trees are scarce and canopy connectivity is disrupted (Goldingay 2012). Further survey effort is recommended to better understand the factors contributing to the very low yellow-bellied glider densities observed in the assessment area.