The Gardens of Stone reserve proposal - Stage Two
The 40,000 hectare Gardens of Stone, near Lithgow, extends over the sandstone landscapes of the Newnes Plateau and the broken stone country west of the Plateau. The proposal also includes the Blue Mountains Western Escarpment lands from Blackheath into Lithgow.
The proposal is an absolutely spectacular place and the last unprotected part of Myles Dunphy’s 1934 Greater Blue Mountains Park vision.
Gardens of Stone - Image Gallery
Short Walks Guide to Newnes Plateau
Visitor Opportunities
(If you would like to read more, download attached .pdf 53KB)
Statement of key values
(If you would like to read more, download attached .pdf 51KB)
Management Issues
Swamp Death Monitoring
East Wolgan Swamp is so important it was nationally listed as an Endangered Ecological Community and also state listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act in 2005,
but undermining has ruined it.
Key recommendations
Report on the Coal mining Impacts on the Gardens of Stone
The Hon. Bob Carr launched a report on the Impact of Coal Mining on the Gardens of Stone on 27 April, 2010. The Gardens of Stone is New South Wales very own Bungle Bungle Range, just 2½ hours from Sydney on the western edge of the Blue Mountains. This place of superlative scenery and tremendous botanical diversity is called the Gardens of Stone.
The report details the devastating impacts of coal mining at the Gardens of Stone, including the collapse of several hundred of cliffs and the poisoning of nationally endangered swamps with mine effluent. The report also outlines what can be done to stop the damage and save this ecologically significant area. (If you would like to read a transcript of the speech by the Hon. Bob Carr at the launch of The Impact of Coal Mining on the Gardens of Stone report, download attached .pdf 90KB )
Related issue - Blue Mountains' coal mining - Management problems
The key management problems associated with coal mining in the Blue Mountains are:
- Pumping Newnes Plateau dry and swamp damage
- Cliff and pagoda damage
- Unenforceable development consent conditions
Action you can take to protect the area
Pick the letter(s) you want to send. Copy and paste these to your word processor. Add your address, print them out, sign them and send them off. Send a copy of replies to the Colong Foundation, 2/332 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000.
