The short term goal of Friends of
Bermagui Forests is to see environmental and cultural corridors
established between Gulaga and Biamanga National Parks by making
Bermagui State Forest Compartments 2069 and 2003 part of Gulaga
National Park. These two areas have been identified as important
koala habitat and having special significance to local Aboriginal
people.
The longer term goal is to
- establish community involvement and engagement in the management and monitoring of these forests through facilitating communication and shared learning between custodians and the community, particularly about local forests and the ecosystems they support
- create opportunities for aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities to work together
- create and preserve koala habitat
- improve our knowledge of the region's flora and fauna and improve the capacity of community-agency partnerships to effectively manage ecosystems
- improve our knowledge of the distribution and abundance of other cultural artefacts in the region
- create opportunities for local groups to take custodianship of fragile sites for ongoing monitoring.
The Bermagui forests are a diverse mixture of coastal and hinterland forests situated to the west of Bermagui in south eastern New South Wales. The area contains wet and dry Sclerophyll and Spotted Gum forest, moist rainforest gullies, large rocky outcrops, wetlands, river flats and dry grass forest, as well as ridge water and headwater habitats. The forest is an important water catchment area for Wallaga Lake and the Bermagui River and home to many native flora and fauna species, including those listed by Federal and State Governments as vulnerable, critically endangered and protected. These include recorded fauna such as the Giant Burrowing Frog, Square-tailed Kite, Gang Gang Cockatoo, Glossy Black Cockatoo, Little Lorikeet, Swift Parrot, Powerful Owl, Masked Owl, Sooty Owl, Varied Sittella, Dusky Woodswallow, Brush Tailed Phascogale, Koala, Yellow Bellied Glider and Long-nosed Potoroo. Protected flora includes the Red Beard Orchid, Dotted Sun Orchid, Sarcochilus spp. (Fairy Orchid), Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa, Narrow Leaved Geebung, Grass Trees Xanthorrhoea concava and Xanthorrhoea resinosa, and the Burrawang.
Logging
has occurred in the forests since the 1830's.