Crown Lands in the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) commissioned the Soil Conservation Service to carry out the work, which cost $52,000.

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Contractors installed 315 sandstone blocks placed in three separate sections at Atherton Drive Reserve.

The sandstone blocks will discourage driving on sensitive areas of the foreshore to ensure it remains a safe area for families and to protect native vegetation.

The critically endangered Beach stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris) nests on nearby Urunga Island, however their breeding site can be disrupted by visitors travelling to the island during mating season.

“Urunga Island is a place where people enjoy picnicking, but during the breeding season the Beach stone-curlews can be badly disturbed by people and dogs causing the parents to abandon their eggs,” Urunga Shorebird Working Group member Brad Nesbitt told News Of The Area.

New signage has also been installed at two public boat ramps at the reserve, alerting visitors to the presence of the nesting birds.

The new signs will urge the public to refrain from visiting Urunga Island during the shorebirds’ breeding season, which runs from August until January.

The signage was developed through the Urunga Shorebird Working Group with representation from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Birdlife Australia, Yurruungga Aboriginal Corporation, Crown Lands, Bellingen Shire Council and community representatives.

Signs were funded through the Bellingen Council Environmental Levy and a contribution from the NPWS Saving our Species program.

“This project was a community initiative to bring together locals and government to find ways to protect these rare, threatened birds in Urunga,” Mr Nesbitt said.

“It has been a fruitful collaboration between Indigenous groups, community and government to come up with ideas to assist these birds to breed and survive in Urunga.

“This sign is just one of a number of initiatives to be taken over the coming breeding season.”

Beach stone-curlews pair for life, laying just one egg.

“There are only fifteen breeding pairs in all of NSW so giving them free uninterrupted use of the island during the breeding season seems only fair, and hopefully these signs will encourage people to watch the birds from afar as they enjoy the facilities at Atherton Drive Reserve,” Mr Nesbitt said.

These latest improvements follows Crown Lands’ removal of five derelict and unused boathouses from Atherton Drive Reserve in July, which allowed more than 1,088 square metres of green open space to be returned to community use.

By Andrea FERRARI