NEFA commissioned surveys for threatened species in Newry State Forest, before it was closed and logging began. The report by Bower Bush Works ‘Nature Conservation Values Compartments 21, 22, 26, 27 & 28 Newry State Forest’ provides the results from their brief survey. Within the logging area Bower Bush Works identified five threatened plant species from 40 locations, a Southern Greater Glider den tree, Koala scratches on numerous trees, and significant patches of high quality habitat for the nationally threatened Glossy Black Cockatoo, Koala and Greater Glider. Some of their records require immediate protection, so we have written to the Forestry Corporation asking they do so.

A complementary survey by Biolink of Koalas in a number of forests (which is not yet finalised), recorded an active Koala site in Newry, commenting “the single independently active site we recorded is most significant when considered in the context of recent records from the same localised area over the last 3 – 4 years. Collectively, these data point to the presence of what is likely to be a small and quite localised resident population of koalas surviving in this area”. This site is within a Koala Hub identified by the Government for protection in 2017 as a Koala Hub. We have been writing the NSW Environment Minister since the 3 April asking for her to protect it - but it is intended to shortly log it.

Measuring a giant tree in Newry