The rainforests of the New South Wales north coast and tablelands bushfire region covers 7,155,320 hectares and is defined by the boundaries of the Northern Tablelands and the North Coast NRM regions. Over 268,000 hectares, or 73 per cent, of the Gondwana Rainforest of Australia World Heritage Area is within this region.
The Traditional Owners of the region include the Gumbaynggirr, Githabul, Western Bundjalung, Bundjalung and Yaegl people. There are a number of Indigenous Land Use Agreements in this area and many parks and reserves are jointly managed by Traditional Owners and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Indigenous rangers and green teams undertake caring for Country activities on public and private lands in the region including the Githabul Aboriginal Rangers, the Ngulingah Nimbin Rocks Rangers, the Darrunda Wajaarr Rangers and the Mid North Coast Rangers.
Impacts of the 2019–20 bushfires
More than 1,633,000 hectares were burnt in 2019–20 bushfires.
Of the area burnt, 45 per cent was at a high to very high severity. At least 46 per cent of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area within the region was burnt.
This map shows the extent and severity of the 2019–20 bushfires in the Rainforests of NSW north coast and tablelands.
Text version of image
This map shows the extent and severity of the 2019–20 bushfires in the Rainforests of NSW north coast and tablelands.
Environmental values
Important environmental values impacted by the bushfires that were identified by the Expert Panel for management intervention in the region include:
- Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area
- four Threatened Ecological Communities including New England Peppermint (Eucalyptus nova-anglica) Grassy Woodlands and Lowland Rainforest of Subtropical Australia
- 100 animal species including the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, Rufous Scrub-bird, Parma Wallaby, Hastings River Mouse, Albert’s Lyrebird, Ellen Clark’s Crayfish, Granite Leaf-tailed Gecko, Clarence River Cod, and Mount Sebastopol Bristle Snail
- 71 plant species including the Banyabba Shiny-barked Gum, Johnson’s Cycad, New England Gentian and Prostanthera staurophylla, a mint bush.
Photo: Cloudtail the Snow Leopard license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 |
Photo: Doug Beckers, license CC BY-SA 2.0 |
Photo: teejaybee licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 |
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The Parma Wallaby is the smallest of the genus and was thought to be extinct until re-discovered in 1967 near Gosford. With 66 per cent of its range in the region, during the 2019-2020 fires, 52 per cent was burnt, 45 per cent at high or very high severity. |
The endangered Hastings River Mouse is secretive and nocturnal. This mouse has 84 per cent of its range in the region. During the 2019–2020 fires, 50 per cent of this was burnt, 46 per cent at high or very high severity. |
The Granite Leaf-tailed Gecko has 81 per cent of its range within the region, of which 29 per cent was burnt. Given its narrow habitation, it is extremely vulnerable to feral predation and loss of habitat through fire and land clearing. |
Australian Government bushfire recovery funding in the region
More than $18 million has been invested in recovery of native wildlife and their habitat in the NSW north coast and tablelands bushfire region. This investment is in two phases.
Phase 1 – Emergency Response
The Australian Government directly invested $3 million in the rainforests of the New South Wales north coast and tablelands bushfire region, as part of the initial $50 million investment in bushfire recovery for wildlife and habitats. This includes:
- $1.5 million to NRM organisations for recovery actions throughout the region including pest animal control, weed control and habitat restoration:
- $750,000 to North Coast Local Land Services
- $750,000 to Northern Tablelands Local Land Services
- $1 million for four grant projects that will support recovery of a range of plant species, Kate's Leaf-tailed Gecko and the Bungawalbin Reserves.
- $477,000 to the New South Wales Government for work on threatened species occurring within this region: Little Bent-winged Bat, Parma Wallaby, Pygmy Cypress Pine, Stuttering Frog, Eastern Bristlebird, and Lowland Rainforest in the NSW North Coast and Sydney Basin Bioregions, as well as work on forest eucalypt dieback associated with psyllids and Bell Miners and myrtle rust.
Additional funds include:
- $5 million in grants for projects where some activities are being undertaken in, or are relevant to, the region.
- a proportion of the $2 million provided to the New South Wales Government for state-wide pest control work.
Separate to the bushfire recovery funding, $2 million from the Environment Restoration Fund has been provided to North Coast Local Land Services to protect and restore priority Koala habitat in the region.
Phase 2 – Resilience and Recovery
The Australian Government is investing $13 million in the rainforests of the New South Wales north coast and tablelands bushfire region under the $110 million Regional Bushfire Recovery Fund to increase the resilience and recovery of fire-affected species, ecological communities and natural assets. This includes:
- $7.18 million to North Coast Local Land Services and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services for riparian management and erosion control, pest animal control, species and ecological community-specific interventions across private and public lands, weed control, and Traditional Owner-led recovery including feral animal control and cultural burning
- $5.82 million to the New South Wales Government for Traditional Owner-led actions including cultural burning, weed and pest control, fire management for the protection of rainforest and faunal refugia, and actions for species such as installing artificial habitat for micro-bats and ecological burns to support the Eastern Bristlebird.
This investment was guided by recommendations from a co-design workshop which was held with stakeholders for the region on 30 September 2020. The workshop report is available on the Workshops and ministerial roundtables page.
A further $2.2 million is being invested in this region through 17 projects supported under the $10 million Bushfire Recovery for Wildlife and Habitat Community Grants Program.
A detailed list of funded projects is available on the Activities and Outcomes page.
Australian Government funding for NRM projects is delivered through the Commonwealth’s broader Regional Land Partnerships (RLP) program. A full list of NRM functions and projects can be found on the NRM Complementary investments page.