Cleared timber supplied by Pacific Highway upgrade contractors and Forestry Corporation of NSW is helping to improve one of the Clarence River’s most important wetland habitats. National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) area manager, John Fisher, said that 65 timber stumps were supplied by OHL-York JV and Civil, Mining & Construction to improve habitat in the Everlasting Swamp National Park, near Lawrence. “Hardwood timber root-balls sourced from highway vegetation clearing were reused in the Woody and Reedy creeks as fish, bird and creek bank habitat,” Mr Fisher said. “NPWS staff discussed how to bring more fish life back to the swamp with local fishing groups and a working group of experts to come up with this plan. “Re-snagging creek lines with timber and restoring creek bank habitat will improve local fishing, with a similar projects recently occurring in the Macleay River. “The highway timber is a real win for local Clarence fishing, as Everlasting Swamp National Park is an important fish and prawn nursery. “By putting this timber back in the water, along with upcoming tree planting, we have started to bring aquatic life back and help local Clarence fishing. “Forestry Corporation of NSW also supplied 40 timber poles sourced from the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade between Halfway Creek and Glenugie.” The newest National Park in NSW is undergoing a major restoration to improve the wetland ecosystem health. Woody and Reedy creeks in Everlasting Swamp are connected to Sportsmans Creek, a major tributary of the Clarence River. The work will help restore important north coast bioregion coastal floodplain ecological endangered communities, including the coastal floodplain freshwater wetland and swamp sclerophyll forest. The project was funded as part of a $100,000 Environmental Trust Restoration and Rehabilitation grant and a $25,000 NPWS Find-It-Fix-It grant. Everlasting Swamp National Park can be accessed by visitors via canoe along Sportsmans Creek on Weir Road, just south-west of Lawrence.