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Issues
in Western NSW
Clearfelling
in Leard State Forest
- conservation facts
- community outrage
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LEARD
STATE FOREST
CONSERVATION FACTS
This information
is derived from NSW Government data collected during the Western
Regional Assessment for the Brigalow Belt South bioregion.
Leard
Forest is one of the most diverse woodlands left in a bioregion
that has been recognised as a national
biodiversity hotspot.
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Leard
State Forest is the second largest remnant
in the heavily cleared Liverpool Plains area of NSW.
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Leard State
Forest covers 7,512 hectares of native vegetation. This amounts
to more than 5% of all woody vegetation left on the heavily cleared
Liverpool Plains, and Leard is the second largest remnant remaining
in that entire province.
The Liverpool
Plains are one of the most poorly reserved and heavily cleared provinces
in NSW. Only 1.7% of the province is included in reserves and woody
vegetation has been drastically reduced to now cover only 15% of
the entire province.
Leard State
Forest contains significant areas of the nationally
endangered Grassy Whitebox Woodland and the State-listed
endangered ecological community White Box - Yellow Box - Blakely's
Red Gum Woodland, recorded occurrences of the nationally endangered
Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket community and potential occurrences
of the State-listed Ooline endangered ecological community.
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The Governments
own native vegetation mapping shows that a total of 1,780
hectares of Leard State Forest is dominated by White Box,
and an additional 1,823 hectares contains significant elements
of White Box.
Therefore,
Leard State Forest is one of the most important woodlands
in the bioregion for the conservation of White Box communities.
Leard
State Forest and surrounds is an exceptionally diverse and
significant area for conservation with a total of 396 native
plant and animal species known to occur there, including 239
plant species and 157 fauna species.
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Trees have
been clear felled. |
A total of 10
vulnerable fauna species have been recorded in Leard
State Forest and surrounds, including six declining woodland bird
species. Vulnerable species that have been recorded are the Diamond
Firetail, Masked Owl, Brown Treecreeper, Speckled Warbler, Grey-crowned
Babbler, Greater Long-eared Bat, Yellow-bellied Sheathtail-Bat,
Turquoise Parrot, Koala and Black-chinned Honeyeater.
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Vegetation
communities in Leard are very poorly reserved and
are still required to meet the NSW Governments own commitments
to a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative reserve system.
Seven of the ten major vegetation communities in Leard have
not met targets for the protection of 15% of their original
distribution.
According
to the Department of Primary Industries own data, 88% of high
potential coal tracts occur on private land in the bioregion,
most of which has already being cleared for agriculture. This
mine will clear large areas of the best remaining vegetation
in the region, when coal can be easily obtained from already
cleared land.
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Surveying
the destruction |
COMMUNITY
OUTRAGE OVER OPEN-CUT CLEARFELL
Community and
environment groups have expressed outrage over the destruction of
the exceptionally diverse and irreplaceable Leard State forest,
north of Gunnedah, for an open-cut coal mine.
"We have
been shocked to discover that an extensive area of woodland vegetation
in Leard State Forest has recently been wiped from the face of the
earth. We estimate that approximately 2.5km by 4km has already been
cleared, and that much more may now be scheduled for destruction.
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"The
cause of the clearing is an open-cut coal mine, that was approved
at least 15 years ago and that is operating under a very old
approval."
"This
is a travesty in every sense of the word, and it should never
have been allowed. No Government in its right mind should
allow our last remnants of mature bushland to be cleared for
open-cut coal mines, when there are large coal reserves available
on land that is already cleared.
Leard
State Forest is 7,512 hectares in size. It represents 5% of
all remaining woody vegetation on the heavily cleared Liverpool
Plains, and is the second largest patch of remnant vegetation
left in this highly modified region.
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Not a tree
is left standing. |
Stacks
of logs where once a forest grew.
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Are
the values of this forest known?
Yes.
Detailed information on the values of the forest was
collected during the NSW Governments Western Regional Assessment
process. This Government data shows that Leard State Forest
and surrounds provides habitat for almost 400 native plant
and animal species, 10 threatened species, up to 4 endangered
ecological communities and seven poorly reserved vegetation
communities.
Therefore,
the NSW Governments own data shows that Leard is undoubtedly
one of the most diverse and significant forests remaining
in a region that is recognised as a national biodiversity
hotspot.
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What
about the Government's stated commitment to end landclearing?
The environmental
disaster that is happening at Leard was bought to our attention
by several farmers, who were appalled that the new rules that
they have to abide by for the protection of native vegetation
do not apply to the mining industry.
The destruction
of Leard State Forest indicates that the NSW Government has
no genuine interest in protecting the severely threatened
ecosystems of western NSW, and it makes a mockery of the Government's
stated commitment to end broadscale landclearing in NSW.
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Not only
the trees but their hollows that provided habitat for native
species are all gone as well. |
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