Deongwar, A High Value Conservation Area.
Queensland has the largest area of native forest of any state or territory in Australia, home to a rich and important diversity of plants and animals. These areas need protection to ensure the survival of our unique species. These forests provide a critical habitat for threatened and endangered species and act as significant carbon stores, making their protection crucial for Queensland and Australia's environmental credibility.
Located approximately half way between Esk and Crows Nest on the Esk Hampton Roadforest, Deongwar is a large remnant forest with good connectivity to adjoining nature reserves and nearby national parks, as well as being a traditional mens initiation meeting place for the Dungibara, Jinibara, Kabi Kabi and Uuggera Ugarapul peoples.
A 2021 report commissioned by the Queensland Conservation Council highlighted the high conservation values of Deongwar State Forest and recommends it for priority transfer to national park. It is a large intact forest with good connectivity to adjoining nature reserves and nearbv national parks. The significance being that it provides ecological resilience within the broader landscape offering refuge to wildlife when conditions in other areas may be less desirable, for example during and after bushfire. (See Map 3.)
This forest is home to:
- 4871 hectares of intact high concentration remnant native forest.
- 146 protected threatened and endangered species including the long nosed potoroos, powerful owl, black breasted button-quail, white -throated needle tail, glossy-black cockatoo, koala and greater glider.
- Over half, 2660 hectares, is mapped as koala habitat which represents 55% for it’s total area as may be seen in Map 2. (Anon, 2021)
- The majority is mapped as greater glider habitat.
DDEC is working with the Save Deongwar Campaign along with other member groups to call for the protection of Deongwar State Forest.
We are asking the state government to immediately transition this forest to a conservation estate. This will align with the Queensland State Government's 2019 commitment to transition 20,000 hectares of State Forest prior to 31 December 2024.
We are also calling on the Queensland Government to increase the money per hectare provided to management of our forests whether they are reserves or national parks. Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales invest between $23/ha and $58/ha. At $16 per hectare, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service funding is well behind other states. Raising this level of investment is critically important not only for visitor experience but for enabling rangers to maintain the natural values parks were established to protect.
The State Government has been logging Deongwar State forest and the forest has been the site of intense bushfires so now is the time to protect this forest and let it recover!
In partnership with Max Fulham and Alison McDonald we have developed this policy brief which tells the Deongwar story and why it needs protecting.
Click here to read more about where will the hardwood timber come from if we stopped logging.
For more information about the campaign visit: https://iconicforest.wixsite.com/savedeongwarforest
To get involved in the campaign get in touch with the DDEC Coordinator via 0455 619 454 or on [email protected]
You can also join the Save Deongwar Facebook Group
This high-value conservation forest contains:
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4871 hectares of intact native forest including extensive scenic rocky creek systems and associated rainforest
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habitat for at least 146 protected native animals including the long-nosed potoroo, powerful owl, black-breasted button-quail, white-throated needletail, glossy-black cockatoo, koala and greater glider
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2661 hectares of koala habitat which represents 55% for its total area
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311 hectares of endangered blackbutt woodland
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4700 hectares of greater glider habitat which represents 100% of its total area
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at least 94 native plant species
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a critical wildlife corridor connecting adjacent National Parks and other State Forests
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ecological resilience within the broader landscape offering refuge to wildlife when conditions in other areas may be less desirable, for example during and after bushfire
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culturally significant areas for the First Nations people
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an important central node of high elevation climate change refugia within the South East Queensland Biodiversity corridor
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a young forest that will sequester carbon at a linear rate for hundreds of years
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