Public exhibition of the draft amendment provided members of the community with the opportunity to have a say in the management directions for the park.
The park is in the North Coast region of New South Wales. This draft amendment proposed to establish a feral predator-free area and reintroduce locally extinct mammals into the reserve.
What is a plan of management?
Parks and reserves established under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 need to have a plan of management. The plan includes information on important park values and provides directions for future management. Once the plan is adopted, no management operations can be undertaken in the park unless they are consistent with the plan.
Plans of management may be amended to support changes to park management or proposed works.
Why is an amendment being prepared?
Feral predators have significantly impacted Australian native animals, particularly those medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals that are highly susceptible to predation by cats and foxes.
As part of responding to this threat, the NSW Government proposes to create a feral predator-free area for native plants and animals within Ngambaa Nature Reserve. This will be done by constructing feral predator-proof fencing within the reserve, eradicating feral predators from within the fenced area, and reintroducing appropriate native animals. Predator-free areas have already been created in several parks in western NSW as part of our Saving our Species Program.
Community and stakeholder feedback, environmental and heritage assessments, and operational constraints at Ngambaa Nature Reserve will play an important role in determining the feral predator-free area's final details.
When will the amendment be finalised?
At the close of the public exhibition period, we consider all submissions on the draft amendment and prepare a submissions report. We provide the North Coast Regional Advisory Committee and the National Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council with the amendment, all the submissions and the submissions report. They consider the documents, make comments on the amendment or suggest changes, and provide advice to the Minister for Energy and Environment.
The Minister considers the amendment, submissions and advice, makes any necessary changes and decides whether to adopt the amendment under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Once an amendment is adopted, it is published on the Department's website, and key stakeholders, including those who made a submission on the draft amendment, will be notified.
