Greater Gliders, a nocturnal species and the world’s largest gliding marsupial, weigh up to 1.3 kg and are capable of gliding up to 100m through a forest. Once abundant in eucalypt forests throughout Queensland, NSW and Victoria, the species was federally listed as endangered in July 2022.
Professor David Lindenmayer, a world-leading expert in forest ecology and biodiversity conservation, said recently, “Forty years ago when my colleagues and I did spotlighting surveys, the southern greater glider was the most common animal we’d see. Now, this amazing species is endangered. In many areas it is hard to find; in others it has been lost altogether.”
Glider populations declined by 80% in the last twenty years as a result of habitat destruction – including forest destruction, bushfires and climate change. Gliders are amongst the range of species relying on tree hollows which can take over 100 years to develop. So old growth forest provides the required habitat of large tree hollows where they shelter and breed.
Recently the role of NSW Forest Corporation (Forest Corp) logging in destroying endangered species habitat for Greater Gliders and Koalas has been highlighted with community members reporting numerous breaches of regulations which are supposed to offer some protection for these species. Breaches in Styx River SF and Sheas Nob SF are amongst the latest reported.
Although the NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has imposed fines on Forest Corp for breaches, environmentalists are concerned that the prosecutions and fines are not enough to bring Forest Corp into line and that effective action is needed from the Environment Minister and Premier to stop the habitat destruction.
One of the community groups campaigning to stop forest destruction is the Blicks River Guardians which last Friday at Billys Creek celebrated 150 days of saving the Greater Gliders in Clouds Creek SF. The Guardians have identified over 40 gliders to date in bushfire impacted older forests along Billys Creek and the Blicks River in areas scheduled for industrial logging by Forest Corp.
Campaigners like the Guardians are urging people to call for effective Government action to stop the destruction.
- Leonie Blain
Published in the "Voices for the Earth" column in The Clarence Valley Independent , August 7, 2024.
