National Parks Association of NSW

Southern Forests Project – fieldwork update

Posted by NPA NSWon February 27, 2025February 25, 2025in Autumn 2025Leave a comment

Kate Carroll, Conservation Projects Officer, NPA NSW

The Southern Forests National Park is one of NPA’s most ambitious proposals, aiming to secure permanent protection for over 350,000 hectares of public native forests in southeastern NSW. Stretching from Jervis Bay to the Victorian border, this proposal would significantly expand the NPWS estate in the region to approximately 930,000 hectares. These forests, home to gliders, owls, potoroos, and other threatened species, have long been impacted by unsustainable logging and now face ecological collapse. Conserving them within the protected area network is critical for species longevity and survival.

Field trip to Cromer

Posted by NPA NSWon February 26, 2025February 25, 2025in Autumn 2025Leave a comment

Tom Fink, Conny Harris, Grahame Douglas and Helen Wilson

Some of us enjoyed an interesting field trip after the last State Council in Sydney in November. The Sydney Branch organised a visit to some land in Cromer on the Northern Beaches with a mysterious connection to NPA. We met at Little Willandra Rd.

The land isn’t obvious or well signposted and is behind a residential area. A fire had been through recently so it wasn’t at its best. There wasn’t a clear track. Nevertheless, walking through was a journey of discovery about the ecology of a secluded gully. It is mostly Sydney Coastal Sandstone Gully Forest with a small pocket of Illawarra Warm Temperate Forest. We were surprised to find Coachwoods here. Even more interesting was the story of its ownership and role in NPA.

NPA Extreme Heat Policy for Outdoor Activities

Posted by NPA NSWon February 26, 2025February 25, 2025in Autumn 2025Leave a comment

Gary Dunnett, CEO, NPA NSW

Don’t walk in extreme heat and be prepared to change plans if conditions change.

NPA activities generally take place in outdoor settings that are exposed to the weather.

Werrikimbe celebrates 50 Years

Posted by NPA NSWon February 26, 2025February 25, 2025in Autumn 2025Leave a comment

Samantha Newton, Roger Lembit and Kate Boyd

Werrikimbe National Park, located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, is known for its rich biodiversity and significance in preserving a variety of ecosystems. Its history is intertwined with both the natural environment and its cultural importance to Indigenous peoples, particularly the Gumbaynggirr and Biripi peoples.

Land and Environment Court issue record penalty for land clearing

Posted by NPA NSWon February 26, 2025February 25, 2025in Autumn 2025Leave a comment

Dr Jonathon Howard, NPA Executive

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is reporting that Auen Grain Pty Ltd and a landowner have been fined more than $2 million plus $278,000 in prosecution costs, by the NSW Land and Environment Court for unlawfully clearing 1,262 hectares of native vegetation. The landowner’s fine of more than $1 million is the largest ever imposed in NSW on an individual, and the highest under NSW legislation.

What happens when Aboriginal land rights conflicts with the rights of nature? 

Posted by NPA NSWon February 26, 2025February 25, 2025in Autumn 2025Leave a comment

Janine Kitson, NPA Member 

Today significant areas of high conservation land in NSW are in Aboriginal land council ownership.  The proposal to rezone 71 hectares of bushland, known as the Patyegarang or Lizard Rock planning proposal at Morgan Road, Belrose, on Sydney’s northern beaches, is one such example. 