These guide letters are a resource to assist you in making representations to the NSW Government on current wilderness issues. Copy the information listed under any heading and start a letter writing campaign for the improved protection of NSW wilderness areas. 

It only takes a few minutes to write a letter that can make a difference to the outcome on these issues. Also let us know what you are doing and any replies you may receive. 

Keith Muir

Colong Foundation

Help establish a Wilderness Unit

Expedite the protection of the Yengo wilderness area

Support the Dunphy Wilderness Fund

Protect the threatened wilderness in southern NSW

Save the south east forests from mismanagement

Support the removal of feral horses from national parks

Return to the Take Action page

Write to:

Letter 1 - establish a Wilderness Unit in DECC

Ensure that wilderness is properly managed in NSW; help establish a Wilderness Unit within the Department of Environment and Climate Change.

Points for your letter:

 Wilderness covers one third of the national park estate and requires professional management to ensure the ecological integrity of these rare areas. A Wilderness Unit would be an effective advocate on wilderness and nature-based park management within Government.

A Wilderness Unit is essential for the provision of expert advice to government and the public on wilderness education, assessment, protection, management and use. Wilderness education, an objective of the Wilderness Act, 1987, is necessary for the long term protection of these areas, but has received little funding.

Through wilderness we can learn and experience living in harmony with our environment. A Wilderness Unit would also provide expert advice on proposed wilderness activities.

Could you please explain the long term strategy of your Government to advance the understanding of wilderness values in the community and what measures are being taken to ensure these areas are protected for all time?

Could you also please outline the Government’s programme to develop educational resources on wilderness for primary and secondary schools?

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Letter 2 - expedite the Declaration of Yengo Wilderness

Points for your letter:

A decision regarding the protection of the Yengo Wilderness is many years overdue.

Further delay is unnecessary, as I understand that the Department of Environment and Climate Change recommendation reports for this area are complete. Could you please advise (me/your group) of any problems that the prevent full protection of this following wilderness area?

The Yengo Wilderness is an outstanding 134,000 hectare area in the north-eastern quarter of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

Protection of Mt Yengo will not only conserve wilderness, it will help protect the Aboriginal cultural heritage of the area. Access to Mt Yengo should be restricted to one road leading from the camping facilities on the former Big Yango property to the base of the mountain only.

The wilderness should be declared intact, as one complete area, and not be fragmented by 4WD roads. All crown road reserves should be reserved in Yengo National Park and concurrently declared as part of the wilderness.

Vehicle access should be restricted to two wheel drive roads that are approved by a park management plan. These roads should be outside the identified wilderness area and located toward the edges of the reserve. Such a visitor use management arrangement would provide many opportunities around the edges of the park, while protecting the natural condition of the core park area.

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Letter 3 - reinstate Government support for the Dunphy Wilderness Fund

Points for your letter:

The Dunphy Wilderness Fund has significantly improved the protection of wilderness areas in NSW. The Fund has acquired 60 properties for $11 million, protecting about 76,934 hectares including key areas of the Mummel Gulf, Guy Fawkes, Washpool and Carracabundi wilderness areas.

What measures are being taken to provide continued funding for this Fund? In particular, could you please advise (me/your group) of the intended level of annual government funding for the purchase threatened wilderness, as well as the resources provided for a marketing strategy to encourage public bequests and donations to the Fund?

Will you also take the steps necessary to ensure that the large parcels of wilderness bushland, within Crown leasehold are purchased as a priority by the Department of Environment and Climate Change?

The Fund has enabled the voluntary acquisition of private lands so that future exclusive hideaways and ‘wilderness resorts’ do not compromise these large intact natural areas. Continuing the Fund can also protect threatened wilderness that lies adjacent to protected wilderness areas, including identified leasehold land within state forests.

Myles and Milo Dunphy fought to conserve Australia’s most beautiful places, and with Government support the Dunphy Fund can continue to build our protected wilderness estate.

By supporting wilderness protection your Government can protect ecosystems and cultural values from disturbance and interference.

Will the NSW Government provide a new allocation of funding of $15 million over 5 years for the Dunphy Wilderness Fund to build on the work of the last ten years? These funds would be sufficient to acquire the 200,000 ha of wilderness-quality private land.

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Letter 4 - Revisit the southern wilderness decision

Points for your letter:

The assessment of southern wilderness areas was badly flawed and should be revisited. 

Wilderness areas of the first rank, including the Deua Valley and Deua River headwaters west of Moruya, the western flank of the Shoalhaven Gorge, Mongarlowe River headwaters west of Batemans Bay, Brindabella Wilderness west of Canberra, Tabletop Wilderness and the Main Range extension to the Jagungal Wilderness in Kosciuszko National Park should be fully protected under the Wilderness Act.

Please advise what steps you will take to consider the wilderness boundary proposals of the NSW environment groups that were supported by over 70 per cent of submissions to the wilderness exhibition in 2001?

Could you also advise what steps you will take to prevent the access management proposals being developed by the Department of Environment and Climate Change causing the fragmentation of the Deua and Buckenbowra wilderness areas? Do you agree that a mere 26 submissions calling for an access management report should have no major influence on the management of these wilderness areas as over 18000 submissions supported protection of these wilderness areas?

National parks should have a large core area of unmodified land that is managed as wilderness for all time. To develop core areas with vehicle and horse riding access fragments these areas and leads to environmental decline in direct proportion to the development of access and recreational facilities provided. The loss of native species from Royal National Park due to development and roading should not be repeated for the Far South Coast Escarpment Parks, which is one of the best parks in the State.

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Letter 5 - wilderness restoration and nature based management for the South East Forests National Park

Points for your letter:

Wilderness management of core park areas reduces the edge effects that fray ecosystems and damage ecological integrity. Wilderness management also reduces visitor management costs by providing facilities in accessible areas located close to park boundaries.

(I/your group) strongly support the efforts of the Department of Environment  and Climate Change is restoring the Coolangubra Wilderness in the South East Forest National Park. The decision not to turn this park into a playground for 4WD vehicles is welcomed. Most of the 450 kilometres of public roads in this park need to be closed and rehabilitated to restore the natural conditions to the park.

Thousands of volunteers worked for over a decade through peaceful protests to protect the South East Forests. A vehicle-focussed development vision would have weakened the protection of the South East Forests and would threaten the long term plant and animal diversity by retaining environmentally damaging edge effects along the maze of roads from past logging schemes.

I support the continued closure of Wog Way through the heart of the Coolangubra Wilderness and all tributary roads should be removed to restore the integrity to this wonderful area. Please advise what steps you will take to progressively remove and rehabilitate these former logging roads?

What steps will you take, as a matter of urgency, to close the Postmans Track to motor vehicle and horse riders to protect the near- pristine Tantawangalo Creek catchment, and declare it a wilderness area?

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  Letter 6 - Support feral horse removal from parks

Points for your letter:

(I/your group) support on-going efforts for the complete removal of feral horses from National Parks within five years. The method of horse removal should be humane and not cause an impact on the natural environment.

The annual monitoring of feral horse removal programs should seek to identify the most effective removal methods, determine the environmental damage caused by feral horses to flora, fauna, water quality and soils, as well as the environmental damage caused by the control program.

 Roping feral horses should not be undertaken because it is an ineffective means of controlling feral horse populations and very stressful to the captured horses.

 (I/your group) consider that the benefits of feral horse removal far outweigh the environmental costs of leaving the feral horses in the park.

Will you please advise (me/your group) of the resources allocated to feral horse removal programs in National Parks?