The overall ecological health of seven national parks and reserves in northern NSW, including parts of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, has been measured on a large scale for the first time.
The 243,000 ha Great Divide Northern Forests site, assessed by the Ecological Health Performance Scorecards program, includes Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and State Conservation Area, Carrai National Park and State Conservation Area, Werrikimbe National Park, Willi Willi National Park and Willi Willi Caves Nature Reserve.
Sixty-seven monitoring sites were extensively surveyed producing over 420,000 images, 467,000 audio recordings and extensive data on plants, soil, water and fire. Results help inform park management and conservation programs.
The Great Divide Northern Forests Scorecard reveals:
- The site has retained 98 per cent of its original mammal assemblage from before European settlement.
- The vulnerable yellow-bellied glider was detected in eight new locations for the first time.
- Several threatened mammal species have strongholds in GNF, notably the endangered Hastings River mouse, vulnerable spotted-tailed quoll and Parma wallaby.
- The overall population of the endangered brush-tailed rock-wallaby appears to have been increasing over the past 10 years.
- Populations of the threatened long-nosed potoroo and rufous scrub-bird are recovering following the 2019-20 bushfires.
- The population of the endangered gorge rice-flower within the GNF is stable.
- The population of the critically endangered plant, Leionema westonii, is stable.
The Scorecard also reveals some challenges:
- Nine feral animal species occur in the reserves. Feral cats were detected at 69 per cent of monitoring sites. Fox presence was low, detected at 15 per cent of monitoring sites.
- The site has moderate water quality which is likely to be influenced by land use activities outside the reserves.
- A total of 39 weed species were recorded at 40 per cent of monitoring sites.
- Almost 80 per cent burned during the 2019-20 bushfires.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is tackling these challenges including targeted weed control and aerial baiting for introduced predators.
The Great Divide Northern Forests Scorecard will also include results from targeted monitoring of the stuttering and sphagnum frogs, southern greater glider and Willi Willi zieria.
The Scorecards program is NPWS' largest ecological health monitoring program. The program systematically measures the ecological health of eight national park sites over time to inform evidence-based park management.
