CITIZEN scientists and government departments appear to be continually at odds when assessing environmental issues, particularly when it pertains to forests and koalas.

A recent survey completed by the Bellingen Environment Centre (BEC) in Gladstone State Forest (SF) again highlights the disparity in assessments.

Gladstone SF is located southwest of Bellingen, with sections slated for logging within the next six to eighteen months according to the Forestry Corporation planning portal.

The survey group contained representatives from the BEC, North Coast Environment Council, Kalang River and Headwater Alliance, North East Forest Alliance, Koala Chaplaincy Project, South East Forest Rescue and Bellingen Activist Network.

BEC said koala claw scratches were found on nearly every grey gum seen during the survey, indicating that the forest, nestled in the middle of the proposed Great Koala National Park (GKNP), is a “koala hotspot and hub”.

The group also highlighted 2018 surveys which reportedly found numerous koala scats in a more eastern section of Gladstone SF, as well as recent National Parks and Wildlife Service drone surveys which recorded numerous koalas in Scotsmans State forest to the north west.

Conservationists argue these combined findings give a reliable indication of a healthy koala population in forests along the middle stretches of the Kalang River.

A population of yellow-bellied gliders has also been documented in the forest.

Ashley Love, one of the early supporters of the GKNP proposal and life member of the Bellingen Environment Centre, said, “Local conservationists have been aware of these populations for many years, and they form one of the core populations for the proposed Great Koala National Park and should be protected immediately.”

Susie Russell, from the North Coast Environment Council, said it is “so wrong” that the NSW Government was allowing logging to continue after they “promised protection for koalas in this region”.

“We know that forests provide safer homes, generate more water, hold the soils together and store carbon while sucking down more carbon out of the atmosphere.”

A Forestry Corporation NSW spokesperson said it carefully plans sustainable timber harvesting in line with the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (CIFOA).

“In this operation, over 60 percent of the harvestable area will be set aside for permanent protection.

“Suitable primary and secondary koala browse tree species have been identified during searches and more trees will be retained than required under the CIFOA.”

BEC said the local community has vowed to protect the area by holding vigils, blockades and community meetings.

By Andrew VIVIAN