The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is investigating the destruction of rare native trees in a nature reserve south of Bellingen.
Rangers found 13 Newry golden wattle trees rammed and uprooted along a 1.2 km span of fire trails within the reserve. Marks on the trees indicate they were destroyed by a vehicle with a bull bar.
Newry golden wattle (Acacia chrysotricha) is a nationally listed endangered plant species found only within a small area of remote eucalypt forest in the Kalang River Valley. The species is found nowhere else on the planet.
Jaaningga Nature Reserve, a local Gumbaynngirr word meaning 'green wattle, was declared in 1999 specifically to protect the habitat of this native tree.
NPWS staff and bush regeneration contractors discovered the destroyed trees while scoping areas where weed control work would assist the ongoing protection and growth of this endangered species.
