15th November 2023
With the Environmental Protection Agency issuing another stop work order for the failure to identify endangered glider dens, the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC) is calling on the Minns government to take decisive action to protect endangered wildlife across NSW.
“Thanks to the dedication of locals from South East Forest Rescue, Brooman State Forest Conservation Group and Friends of the Forest Mogo, the gliders and other wildlife of Flat Rock are protected for now”, Jacqui Mumford, NCC CEO said today.
However, stopping forests that are legally required to be protected from destruction should not be left to the community, who
- Went into forests known to contain some of the largest populations of Southern Greater Gliders during the night and found the glider dens
- Reported this breach to the EPA
- Suspended themselves to 25m high tree top platform 25m connected to machinery to stop logging until the EPA could act on their breach report
Statements attributable to Jacqui Mumford, NCC CEO
“This decision does nothing to address the systematic logging of glider habitat that is occurring right now across NSW.
“Forestry Corporation is required to protect all glider dens, the hollows that the iconic marsupial uses to nest and sleep, and implement a 50 metre exclusion zones around them.
“Analysis by the NCC has discovered that areas with some of the highest numbers of Southern Greater Glider records in the state are currently being logged.
Map: Dark blue are areas with the highest proportion of gliders in NSW, and red is forest that is being logged. Interactive map available here
“We have alerted the EPA to a raft of potential breaches by Forestry Corporation
“We called for an immediate suspension of approved and active operations in areas of high glider records, which include Riamukka, Styx River, Forest Land and Currowan state forests.
“We are also calling on the Minns Government to work with the EPA to develop new guidelines that at a bare minimum mandate that any survey of a nocturnal animal is undertaken at night.
“This is just one species being pushed towards extinction by this joke of a survey. There is a whole host of other threatened species that they would be routinely missing, including koalas in the forest slated to be protected as part of the Great Koala National Park.
“The only way to ensure that the assessment process is genuine is to require independent ecological pre-logging surveys ”
Media note:
Last week NCC released a report from Frontier Economics that found the taxpayer-Forestry Corporation NSW received $246.9 million worth of grants since 2019/20 financial year, while still running at a loss of $28.2 million.
Forestry Corporations’ refusal to adhere to their legal requirement to protect endangered glider dens will again be paid for by the taxpayer.
Statement ends
Media contact: Clancy Barnard
E: [email protected] Ph: 0438 869 332
Note: NCC CEO Jacqui Mumford is available for comment on request