NORTHERN WILDERNESS ASSESSMENT REPORT—2001 NSW NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Northern Directorate July 2001 Northern Wilderness Assessment Report — 2001 Published by: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service 43 Bridge St (PO Box 1967) Hurstville NSW 2220 Web site: www.npws.nsw.gov.au For enquiries about this report, please contact: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Northern Directorate PO Box 914 Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 © NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service July 2001 ISBN 0731363876 Recommended citation: NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (2001) Northern Wilderness Assessment Report—2001. NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (Northern Directorate), Coffs Harbour, NSW. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publications Coordinator, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Cover photo Stony Creek, Carrai Wilderness, looking west to Kunderang and Macleay Gorges Wilderness areas (by Peter Richards) ____________ii Northern Wilderness Assessment Report — 2001 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Northern Wilderness Assessment The Wilderness Assessments in north-east NSW have been undertaken as part of the government’s forestry reforms and in response to proposals from interest groups. In all, some twenty-four areas covering 475,876 hectares have been assessed. This Northern Wilderness Assessment Report describes the assessment, identification and options for declaration of wilderness in north-east NSW. The assessments have been undertaken in three phases. The first phase of these assessments commenced as part of the 1996 Interim Forest Assessments (IFA) process, to determine wilderness values in accordance with the NSW Wilderness Act 1987 and agreed national criteria (JANIS 1996). The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) conducted the assessments under the Wilderness Act. Environment Australia conducted the assessment in accordance with the JANIS criteria, by delineating areas of high quality wilderness using the National Wilderness Inventory (NWI). In the second phase, the NPWS Wilderness Assessments for the Upper and Lower North- east Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRAs) were completed in September 1998 when areas of Provisionally Identified Wilderness (PIW) and State Capable Wilderness were determined. These areas were not formally identified as wilderness at that stage, but were provided as contextual layers during CRA negotiations. The NSW government made decisions on the forests of the Upper and Lower North-east NSW Forest Agreement areas in November 1998, following the CRA process. The third phase of wilderness assessment in north-east NSW involved the assessment of all areas publicly proposed for assessment as wilderness since 1995; areas of CRA Provisionally Identified Wilderness; areas of State Capable Wilderness; wilderness proposals received since the completion of the CRA process; and several areas with potential wilderness quality (determined by a NPWS landscape assessment) that had not been assessed formally before now. The current wilderness assessments outlined in this report have been conducted following the enactment of the Forestry and National Parks Estate Act 1998 and the implementation of Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOAs) for northern NSW, under that Act. Areas in which forestry operations may be carried out, as authorised by an IFOA, cannot be proposed as, or identified as, or declared to be, wilderness. As a result, 41,000 ____________iii Northern Wilderness Assessment Report — 2001 hectares of State Forest Estate were excised from the wilderness Assessment Study Areas (ASAs). This resulted in a further 56,000 hectares of land being excluded from assessment, because they were fragmented or isolated, after excision of the lands covered by an IFOA. Prior to the signing of the IFOAs, approximately 34,000 hectares of land which were within areas proposed as wilderness before 1 January 2000, and which were not required for timber production, were excluded from an IFOA to enable the assessment and, if capable, identification as wilderness. The wilderness areas discussed in this report are the results of separate assessments of wilderness in north-east NSW: · The Levers Wilderness was assessed in 1992–1993 and the assessment report reviewed, revised and finalised in late 1997. The Levers Wilderness was identified on 24 December 1997. · The Stage 1 (CRA) Wilderness Assessment, conducted in 1998–1999, which dealt with ten CRA Provisionally Identified Wilderness (CRA PIW) areas. These were identified as wilderness on 31 March 2000. · The Stage 2 Wilderness Assessment, conducted in 1999–2000, which dealt with all remaining outstanding wilderness areas (twenty-three new stand-alone wilderness areas or additions to existing wilderness), including all areas publicly proposed for assessment as wilderness since 1995, areas of State Capable Wilderness, and several areas with potential wilderness quality determined by a NPWS landscape assessment. Those areas found capable of identification were identified as wilderness on 29 May 2001. (Some areas assessed during this stage were found not to be capable of identification.) The next step is for the government to declare formal boundaries around some or all of this land to be declared and managed as wilderness under the provisions of the Wilderness Act. This decision will be made following a formal public consultation phase that includes public exhibition of this report, and will take into account public submissions on the proposed wilderness declaration options. Existing wilderness in north-east NSW Several wilderness assessments had already been undertaken in north-east NSW before the start of this project, resulting in the identification and declaration of the Warrazambil, Lost World, Washpool, Bindery-Mann, Guy Fawkes, New England, Macleay Gorges, Werrikimbe, Kunderang, Willi Willi and Barrington Wilderness areas. Additions to some of these areas have been made in subsequent years. The Binghi identified wilderness contains no declared wilderness. Recent wilderness proposals Under the Wilderness Act, any person or group may submit a proposal for an area to be assessed for wilderness values. A large number of wilderness proposals were received at ____________iv Northern Wilderness Assessment Report — 2001 the start of, and during, this Wilderness Assessment project, and these were incorporated into the wilderness assessment study areas. The main proposals covering north-east NSW were: · PIW areas from the IFA which were proposed in October 1996 for assessment as wilderness under the Wilderness Act by a coalition of peak environmental groups. In May 1997, additional areas, including key corridors and connecting areas between some of the IFA areas, were proposed by the same coalition of environmental groups and the National Parks Association. · Provisionally Identified Wilderness and State Capable areas resulting from the CRA were proposed in 1998 by The Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd. · Twenty-four areas in north-east NSW nominated in 1999 covering previously proposed areas that had not yet been assessed and several new areas based on assessment of the CRA databases. The areas were nominated by the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA). Table 3 in Section 2 of this report gives details of the history of wilderness proposals in north-east NSW. Characteristics of the Wilderness Assessment Study Areas The Wilderness Assessment Study Areas (ASAs) of north-east NSW, discussed in this report, covered 475,876 hectares and included National Park, State Forest, freehold and leasehold lands and Crown land. The ASAs sustain many different ecosystems, supporting a high diversity of flora and fauna, including many threatened species such as the Powerful Owl, the Hastings River Mouse and the Regent Honeyeater. Important ecosystems include heath, swamp, rainforest, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, coastal forest complexes and subalpine areas. The majority of the forest ecosystems are in old- growth condition. The declaration of wilderness within these areas will enhance the opportunity for the undisturbed evolution of these ecosystems without significant interference from human activity. How wilderness is assessed At the start of the Stage 1 (CRA PIW) and Stage 2 (State Capable areas, outstanding proposals, and potential wilderness areas) Wilderness Assessments, the NPWS notified approximately 700 landholders whose land was affected by the Wilderness ASAs, in order to notify them of the proposal and assessment and to gather further information regarding disturbance on non-public lands. Key stakeholder groups were also notified. The criteria used in this assessment are based on those specified in section 6(1) of the Wilderness Act. These are naturalness, size, and opportunities for solitude and appropriate self-reliant recreation. ____________v Northern Wilderness Assessment Report — 2001 The assessment stage has three main components: · capability assessment; · suitability assessment; and · delineation of wilderness declaration options. CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT determined which areas met the three criteria for wilderness identification set out in the Wilderness Act, and so can be identified formally as wilderness. It was undertaken without consideration of social, recreational and management