Boundaries of the long-awaited Great Koala National Park on the NSW mid-north coast have finally been announced alongside an immediate temporary ban on timber harvesting in impacted state forest.
The state government announced the ban and proposed boundary on Sunday as well as a new project plan.
The government said the plan included a comprehensive worker and industry support package, $6 million in community and small business supports for the mid-north coast region and an extra $60 million for setting up the park.
Business support was aimed at helping loggers transition from using the area for product supply.
The park is to reserve nearly 180,000 hectares of state forest and connect with existing national parks to create a 476,000 hectare reserve.
The government said the new Great Koala National Park would protect more than 12,000 koalas, 36,000 Greater Gliders and habitat for more than a hundred other threatened species.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the reserve had been a dream for more than a decade.
‘It will ensure koalas survive into the future so our grandchildren will still be able to see them in the wild,’ Ms Sharpe said, referring to the threat of extinction by 2050 of NSW koalas outlined by scientists in recent years.
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