NSW WILDERNESS RED INDEX
Published by the Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd (September 1999)
2/332 Pitt Street Sydney 2000 ph 02 9261 2400; fax 02 9261 2144
email keith@colongwilderness.org.au web site colongwilderness.org.au
| NAME: | Levers |
| NOMINATED BY: | The Colong Foundation for Wilderness, 17 July 1992. |
| LOCATION: | Along the New South Wales-Queensland border, 60 km north-west of Lismore. |
| SIZE: | 15,422 ha nominated 15,353 ha (1998 revised total of nominated area under assessment) |
| TENURE: | Nominated Identified Border Ranges
National Park 15,326 ha under assessment |
Wilderness Declared:
None
Wilderness Not Declared:
Border Ranges National Park;
| Size: | 15,422 ha |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | 99.9% |
Freehold land;
| Size: | 26 ha |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | <1% |
Leasehold land;
| Size: | 1 ha |
| Percentage of entire nomination: | <1% |
DESCRIPTION:
The Border Ranges between New South Wales and Queensland were formed by volcanic activity 20 million years ago, centred around Mount Warning and Mount Barney. The Levers Wilderness Area is located on one of the Border Ranges, the McPherson Range, which lies to the west of the Tweed Range. It is part of the Mount Warning Caldera that is made up of eroded lava flows of rhyolite and basalt covering the original mesozoic sediments to a depth of up to 2,000m.
Levers Wilderness incorporates the headwaters of a number of streams, including Findon, Long, October, Sawpit, Terrace and Cedar Getters Creeks, which are tributaries of the Richmond River. Waterfalls occur on these streams where the rhyolite cliffs have withstood erosion.
The area contains an extensive range of forest types. Rainforest is the dominant vegetation cover of Levers Wilderness and various subtypes occur. These are: lowland subtropical rainforest dominated by Booyongs (Heriteria spp) and also containing Yellow Carabeen (Sloanea woollsii); cool subtropical rainforest, containing species with Antarctic affinities; warm temperate rainforest comprising such species as Crabapple (Schizomeria ovata), Corkwood (Ackama paniculata) and small pockets of Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum); dry rainforest of Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), Yellow Tulip (Drypetes australasica), and Whalebone (Streblus brunonianus); and cool temperate rainforest dominated by Antarctic Beech (Nothofagus moorei) and Pinkwood (Eucryphia moorei).
The plateau contains the finest stand of Hoop Pine in NSW, with individual trees measuring over 5 metres in girth. Giant Red Cedars also occur in the brushwood rainforest.
Sclerophyll forest develops on drier sites, particularly where soil fertility is low and fires are not uncommon. Both wet and dry sclerophyll forest are found in the area. These forests include the southernmost occurrence of the Moreton Bay Ash (Eucalyptus tessellaris).
Sixty one plant species which occur in the area are considered rare or threatened.
The area has a high species diversity of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and is expected to have a high diversity of fish and invertebrates. There are two main reasons for the high species diversity of the area: a large number of distinct habitat types occur within a relatively small area; and the area lies in the zoogeographically interesting transition between the Torresian (northern or tropical) and Bassian (southern or temperate) faunal regions.
The Border Ranges, including Levers Wilderness, contain 40 species of mammals, 170 species of birds, 33 reptile species and 29 amphibian species. One faunal survey indicates that the Border Ranges area has the highest concentration of marsupial species, and one of the highest concentrations of bird, reptile and amphibian species in Australia. Species diversity of bats is surpassed by only one other region of comparable size in Australia.
Forty-five species of fauna listed under either Schedules 1 or 2 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1996 are recorded from the area. These include the Double-eyed Fig Parrot considered to be in imminent danger of extinction. Other threatened species include the Eastern Bristlebird, Marbled Frogmouth, Southern Angle-headed Dragon, Steven's Banded Snake, Long-nosed Potoroo and Eastern Chestnut-mouse.
LAND USE HISTORY:
| Aboriginal | The wilderness area is contained within land traditionally used by the Gaibel Aboriginal People. |
| Logging | Logging of Red Cedar began in 1790 in the Hawkesbury Basin and soon spread throughout rainforest stands in NSW. Logging of Hoop Pine, White Beech (Gmelina leichhardtii), Rose Mahogany (Dysoxylum fraseranum), Native Teak (Flindersia australis) and Coachwood followed later, with sawmills being established in most rainforest stands early this century. |
| 1917 | After the establishment of the Forestry Commission (FCNSW, now named State Forests) in 1916 extensive areas of previously unallocated Crown Land were dedicated as State Forest. In the Border Ranges, large areas were dedicated along the border and abutting Lamington National Park. These became Wiangarie, Roseberry and Mt Lindesay State Forests. Selective logging below 1,000m continued for the next 50 years, with higher areas remaining inaccessible. |
| Prior to World War II most logging was confined to Hoop Pine, which grew north of the Macleay River. By 1937 total production of all rainforest timber reached 140,000 cubic metres a year. Such high levels were brought about by mechanisation, which enabled previously inaccessible areas to be logged. | |
| Logging of Hoop Pine declined during and after
the war, while logging of other species increased, in particular Coachwood which was used
for the construction of Mosquito bombers. In 1953 the transition from "area allocations" to sawmill quotas led to substantial overcutting of the state's rainforests, as sawmills were no longer reliant on what was contained within their allocations. These quotas remained the basis of allocation until rainforest logging was abandoned. |
|
| 1964-1971 | Forestry Commission constructs Lynch's Creek Road and logs approximately 20% of Wiangarie and Roseberry State Forests to fulfil its commitments to local sawmilling companies: Standard (Murwillumbah); and Munro-Lever (Grevillia). |
| 1972 | Wiangarie Forest Way (now known as the Tweed Range Scenic Drive) completed, with a second access road constructed up Bar Mountain from the south. Conservationists discover Antarctic Beech trees over 2,000 years old, felled to make way for the road. Logging of the area continued at a rate of 17,000 cubic metres per annum. |
| 1974 | Sawmilling company, Carricks, given an undertaking by Country Party Minister George Freudenstein that there would be "no diminution of the resource" available from the Border Ranges. |
| 1975 | Forestry Commission announces intention to construct a logging road onto Lever's Plateau, a proposal steadfastly opposed by local sawmiller Mr John Lever. |
| 1976 | Country Party Committee recommends continued logging of the area's rainforests. Inter-departmental Committee (IDC) appointed by victorious Wran Labor Government after the election. Prevarication continues. Premier Wran signs letter to Colong Foundation agreeing to an investigation into the issue by the State Pollution Control Committee (SPCC). |
| 1979 | FCNSW concedes logging moratorium until 1984,
but presses for access instead to Toonumbar State Forest (recommended as a Flora Reserve
by the District Forester). Due to the August Terania Creek blockade, in the Goonimbar and Whian Whian State Forests of the Nightcap Range, rainforest logging receives national media coverage. Forced into action, Premier Wran appoints retired Judge Simon Isaacs to conduct an inquiry. |
| 1980 | Relative impasse. FCNSW refuses to revoke State Forest areas. |
Identification of alternative timbers for veneer manufacture, such as Flooded Gum, was rejected by the Plywood Association until all Coachwood was exhausted - virtually sanctioning the logging of Washpool's Willowie Scrub.
Botanist, Professor David Bellamy, in a visit to Australia, strongly supports anti-logging stance.
June: Colong Committee lobbies Premier to establish a Rainforest Fund to compensate sawmillers. This was introduced as a Bill and passed in August but the compensation failed to materialise.
October: Isaacs determines that logging should proceed at Terania Creek.
Due to the intervention of Premier Wran, logging did not recommence at Terania. The judgement of Mr Justice Cripps of the Land and Environment Court confirmed the logging moratorium on October 22, pending the production of an Environmental Impact Statement by the Forestry Commission.
| 1982 | January: Australian Conservation Foundation
(ACF) and National Trust (NT) release poll that indicates 69% of the population is opposed
to any rainforest logging, 87% if compensation packages were provided to those affected in
the timber industry. FCNSW decides to obtain quota from Urbenville State Forest, a recommendation previously made to the SPCC by Dr Neville Schaefer in 1978, but rejected by FCNSW as impractical. |
HISTORY OF CONSERVATION MEASURES:
| 1948 | Queenslander, Arthur Groom, advocates
protection of rainforest on NSW side of the Border from Springbrook to Wilson's Peak.
Groom extracts promise from Commissioner for Forests, E. F. Swain, that all areas above
3,000 ft would be protected in National Park. Groom's help is sought by John Lever of Munro and Lever timber mill to reserve Lever's Plateau, containing the last large stand of Hoop Pine in NSW. As the company's Outside Manager, John Lever had supervised the building of a tramway up Long Creek to harvest the Hoop Pine there, but he steadfastly refused to log the patriarchs on the thousand hectare plateau because, as he said, it was as though he was in a cathedral. |
| 1952 | The submission by the National Parks Association (NPA) of Queensland to the NSW Liberal Premier for a Border Ranges National Park rejected. |
| 1969 | Second attempt to obtain park by Kyogle Community Development Association and Kyogle Chamber of Commerce falls on deaf ears as FCNSW begins allocation of forest to local sawmillers. |
| 1973 | Border Ranges Preservation Society formed. Colong Committee undertakes support of the campaign. |
| 1975 | Colong Committee undertakes an identification
and photographic study for a National Park Proposal including the whole of Wiangarie,
Roseberry and Mt Lindesay State Forests. The campaign was subsequently supported by NPA
and ACF. The tiny Levers Plateau Flora Reserve No. 79987 of 55 ha gazetted 12/6/75. |
| 1977 | Shortly before John Lever's death, he is assured by the then Premier, the Hon. Neville Wran, that Lever's Plateau would never be logged. |
| 1978 | Border Ranges listed on the Register of the National Estate. Inter-Departmental Committee recommends a thin "snake park" hugging NSW/QLD border having bought out Standard's concession ($750,000 tax free) and Carrick's "rights" on Lever's Plateau ($1.5 million pine planting project for alternate softwood resource). After acrimonious split in Committee, SPCC recommends protection of Lever's Plateau. |
| 1979 | Border Ranges National Park gazetted. |
| 1982 | May: In a meeting with Cabinet members,
conservationists produce seven "non-negotiable" areas: Border Ranges; Murray
Scrub; Washpool; Black Scrub; Forbes River, Nightcap; and Barrington Tops. Government prevarication continues as Premier lacks numbers in Cabinet. October 26: Cabinet finally agrees to halt logging of most of NSW's rainforests. Border Ranges National Park extended to include the whole of Wiangarie, Roseberry and part of Mt Lindesay State Forests. This area of 30,129 ha was practically the same area as the Colong Committee proposal of 1975. |
| 1986 | The Sub-tropical and Temperate Rainforest Parks of Eastern Australia, including Lever's Wilderness, are given World Heritage listing. |
| 1989 | July: National Parks and Wildlife Service release Caldera Parks and Reserves Plan of Management, covering Border Ranges National Park, Nightcap National Park, Numinbah Nature Reserve, and Limpinwood Nature Reserve. The Plan of Management identifies Findon Remote Natural Area within Levers Wilderness. |
| 1992 | July: Colong Foundation for Wilderness nominate 15,422 ha of the Border Ranges National Park, previously Roseberry State Forest, as Levers Wilderness. |
| 1997 | June: The formal wilderness identification of Levers is subsumed into the wilderness assessments of the entire north-east forestry Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA). |
| 1998 | November: The Government announces its determination on new reservations in the north-east region of NSW. No wilderness announcements are made and reserve and moratorium decisions do not specifically address wilderness areas identified through the CRA process. It has been over six years since the nomination was made for Levers Wilderness, without formal identification by the Director General of NPWS. |
| 1999 | 19 March: The Carr Government presents its wilderness policy to environment groups. The Government commits to complete the Levers assessment by the second half of 1999 and determine area for declaration by the end of 2000. |
THREATS:
As the wilderness is contained within National Park, most threats to the area's integrity come from inappropriate management.
| State Services Access | A number of government organisations occupy or use lands reserved as National Park. These works, facilities and operations affect the wilderness integrity of the nomination. The fences maintained by the Moreton-Darling Downs Rabbit Board (Qld) and Department of Agriculture (Board of Tick Control) along the NSW-Qld border are partly contained within the wilderness area. These fences necessitate burning off and slashing to keep them clear and allow access by management vehicles. |
Recommendations: In accordance with the Plan of Management, tracks not marked on the Plan should be ripped and allowed to revegetate. Burning, clearing and associated vehicular access are incompatible with wilderness management, as well as encouraging the colonisation of the area by weeds. Removal of stock from the park will result in the decline of tick populations. Fences are an anachronism and are not effective in reducing rabbit numbers. Regeneration of rainforest along the border would provide the most effective impediment to exotic fauna. No extension of vehicular access should be permitted in the wilderness area.
| Grazing | Grazing leases within the National Park are of concern because of the direct physical damage stock cause, and use of fire by leaseholders to promote grass cover. Wandering cattle, as well as cattle and goats from adjoining properties, could also lead to feral populations establishing themselves within the wilderness area. |
Recommendations: Current phasing out of leases within the park were due to finish by 31 December 1993. These should be closely monitored by the NPWS as grazing continues. Stock straying into the wilderness area should be treated as feral animals and dealt with by the Service accordingly.
| Weeds | Parts of the rainforest understorey in the area are infested with Lantana (Lantana camara). There are massive infestations of riparian weeds along the lower parts of Long Creek. Lantana, which is able to arrest forest regeneration for decades, is generally confined to area below 700m altitude. |
Recommendations: The NPWS should undertake bush regeneration in those areas affected by weeds.
CONTACT ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd
Shop 2, Gloucester Walk
2/332 Pitt Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Contact: Keith Muir (Director) Ph: 02 9261 2400
Fax: 02 9261 2144
keith@colongwilderness.org.auByron Flora and Fauna Conservation Society
1 Tyagarah St
MULLUMBIMBY NSW 2482
Contact: A R MaslenNational Parks Association
Far North Coast Branch
P O Box 503
ALSTONVILLE NSW 2477
Contact: Hazel Bridgett Ph 02 6629 5010
Fax: 02 6629 5492
RELEVANT ARTICLES:
There is an extensive bibliography of articles found in the Colong Bulletin contained in Appendix 2 of How the Rainforest was Saved (op cit).
Colong Bulletin, 134, September 1992, Lever's Wilderness Nominated, p 5.
Colong Bulletin 142, January 1994 p.3, Wilderness Last - if Ever
Colong Bulletin 156, May 1996 p8, "Wilderness Protection - Navigating the way forward".
Colong Bulletin 157, July 1996 p3, "Wilderness Protection Scheme".