Old Man Banksias (Banksia serrata) (Alan Page)
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COVID-19. NSW Government Guidelines are being observed.
☆ Don't Raise Warragamba Dam
☆ Penrith Lakes Helipad
☆ Helping our Gang-gang Cockatoos
☆ Gardens of Stone SCA announced
☆ Katoomba Airfield Lease Refused
☆ The Australian Bushfire and Climate Plan
☆ Climate Action Now
☆ Clarence Colliery discharge of into GBMWHA
☆ Cracking damage to Mugii Murum-ban SCA
☆ Coal exploration licences adjoining GBMWHA
See more on our Campaigns, Submissions and Events webpages.
NPWS' Draft Cycling Policy together with a Draft Cycling Strategy are on public display for comment closing on 31 January. This is a state wide policy. It is disappointing that the display period has not extended beyond the holiday period.
You can read the Policy and make a comment on the Draft Policy here.
The NSW National Parks Association has some information plus a Guide on their website.
courtesy of NPWS
only 2% supported the proposal
Dam March June 2019 (Alan Page)
If the dam wall is raised, 4,700 hectares of World Heritage listed National Parks and 1,800 hectares of declared Wilderness Areas will be forever scarred from sedimentation, erosion and invasion of exotic plants.
Raising Warragamba Dam will inundate 65 kilometres of Blue Mountain's wild rivers.
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released on 29 September 2021.
Submissions closed on Sunday 19 December.
Here's more information about the NSW Government's proposal to raise the dam wall
Submissions closed on Friday 3 December
Sydney Helicopters (courtesy of NSW DPIE)The Helipad is to be built alongside a new film production precinct, golf course and tourist accommodation as part of the development of Penrith Lakes and would allow Sydney Helicopters to offer joy flights as well as film and photography services.
Very little is known about the broader impact of the development as the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is focused on the immediate surrounds of the development, rather than the areas being flown over.
Here's the Society's submission.
What we know:
- Helicopter joy flights
- 25 flights per day
- Flights from first light until 10pm
- Unpublished flights paths
- Part of tourism development
This is separate to the Katoomba Airfield campaign and will potentially have a devastating impact on the peace and tranquility of the Mountains.
Main concern:
- Helicopters flying over the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area Grose, Jamison and Kedumba Valleys at risk, as well as Kanangra-Boyd and Wollemi.
- No Community Consultation with residents of the Blue Mountains
- National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW (NPWS) has not been consulted
- Biodiversity impact has not been assessed for flying zones
- Migratory bird impact has not been assessed for flying zones
Helping our Gang-gang Cockatoos
Gang-gang Cockatoo (male) (Alan Page)We know that Gang Gangs have been heavily impacted here in the Mountains from the 2019-20 fires.
Birdlife Australia's report in 2020 found that 85% of the area of occupation for Gang-gang Cockatoos in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area was burnt.
Birdlife Australia's looking to identify people who own gardens or rural properties and who would be interested in participating in their Citizen Science project.
They are also interested in finding any schools who might be interested.
You can learn more about it here and register your interest.
Lost City (Henry Gold))The decision transfers into the national park estate the 31,500 hectare Newnes, Ben Bullen and Wolgan state forests, an area of spectacular pagoda landscapes, cliffs, waterfalls, woodlands and flowering swamps.
The Society acknowledges this as Aboriginal land, Wiradjuri country. and pays respects to the traditional custodians of this land.
This has been a long journey going back to Myles Dunphy’s vision for the Greater Blue Mountains. The name, “Gardens of Stone”, was first used by renowned environmentalist, Haydn Washington.
The Society has been involved in the campaign for over twenty years. The Gardens of Stone Alliance, made up of founding members Colong Foundation for Wilderness, Lithgow Environment Group and Blue Mountains Conservation Society, has been the organising force of the campaign since 2006.
Here's the NSW Government's media release.
Gardens of Stone Rally in 2017 (Henry Gold)
We would like to recognise some key Society members: Brian Marshall, Ian Brown, Karen McLaughlin, Peter Green, Janine Kitson, Yuri Bolotin, Joel Robinson, Thomas Ebersoll, Tara Cameron and Madi Maclean.
And our Gardens of Stone Alliance partners: Keith Muir of Colong Foundation; Julie Favell, Chris Jonkers and Richard Stiles from Lithgow Environment Group.
We acknowledge the long-term support of National Parks Association and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, now an Alliance member.
We would like to thank the parliamentarians who drove this proposal:
- Environment Minister, Matt Kean, for getting it over the line;
- Trish Doyle, our local member, for her long term support and for ensuring the Labor Party added protection of the Gardens of Stone into its platform at the last state election;
- Cate Faehrmann, Greens MLC
- Catherine Cusack, Liberal MLC.
Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area
Madi Maclean, Julie Favell, Chris Jonkers and Keith Muir
(photo courtesy of Dean Sewell/The Guardian)
In 2012 the Planning Assessment Commission for the Coalpac open cut mine recognised that: “the highest and best use of the area is for conservation purposes”. Nearly ten years later we’ve got there!
The next step is the establishment of the new SCA which brings with it professional park management of the area and consultation on the proposals.
The Society looks forward to the establishment of what will be an exciting new conservation area for the Greater Blue Mountains centred on Lithgow.
The Society will continue its work protecting and defending our natural environment with your support.
The company’s temporary licence to access the site will also be revoked and it will be required to vacate the site within 28 days.
The site will remain open to emergency services.
Here's the NSW Government's announcement.
Here's our Katoomba Airfield Lease webpages.
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and the NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry have concluded. Here are their reports (all documents are around 18MB each) -
- The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements Report and Appendices
- NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry Report
And here's the Society's submission to the NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry.
Our Bushfires webpage (updated in May 2021) contains a detailed analysis of the 2019-20 bushfires and their impact on the Greater Blue Mountains - including maps, an assessment of areas burnt and the loss of wildlife. Information on recovery and What You Can Do is there, plus some articles on firefighting.
The 2020 National Bushfire and Climate Summit brought together hundreds of participants from across the country and the world to share their experiences, and to formulate recommendations to address the worsening risk of devastating bushfires fuelled by climate change.
The Australian Bushfire and Climate Plan is the culmination of that effort.
The Australian Bushfire and Climate Plan provides a broad plan and practical ideas for governments, fire and land management agencies and communities to help us mitigate and adapt to worsening fire conditions.
The plan’s 165 recommendations include many measures that can be implemented right now, to ensure communities are better protected.
The experts agree: We must tackle climate change and worsening extreme weather by urgently phasing out fossil fuels.
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society participated in this summit and endorses this plan.
An ad for the plan appeared in The Australian on 1st August.
- changes you can make -
(click the image to download the flyer)
Government and business action is crucial in addressing climate change, but our personal actions also make a difference.
The Society has prepared a Climate Action Now Flyer that details the changes you can make to -
- reduce energy use
- switch to ethical electricity
- go solar
- consider the impact of how you eat and shop
- consume less and reduce waste
- consider your travel options.
We also encourage you to Raise Your Voice On Climate Change by -
- joining a bush regeneration or Landcare group
- joining the Blue Mountains Conservation Society
- moving money out of fossil fuels
- helping stop more fossil fuel projects
- engaging politically
- communicating and advocate.
We acknowledge Katrina Shields, Zero Emissions Byron, who inspired production of this flyer.
– the Darug and Gundungurra people –
and pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.