There is increasing concern over the survival of Southern Greater Gliders (Petauroides Volans) in our publicly-owned native forests – our State Forests. These nocturnal animals, the largest gliding possum in eastern Australia, were federally listed as endangered in July 2022.
During the day gliders den in hollows provided by large old eucalypts which are mostly over 200 years old. They emerge just after dark, spending the night feeding on eucalypt leaves, buds, flowers and mistletoe. Each glider moves between three to twenty den trees in its home range of one to three hectares. Having a high site fidelity, a glider will often die if its home is destroyed. This means that logging in prime glider habitat impacts very severely on the species and threatens its long-term survival.
Since 2018 the NSW Forestry Corporation (ForestCorp) has been legally required to protect 50 metres around the dens of gliders. In order to do this, they were required to identify glider dens. The North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) has pointed out that for five years ForestCorp undertook their searches during the day and unsurprisingly did not identify any glider dens – and the government regulator, the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) ignored this failure to adhere properly to the regulations.
The tightening of the regulations requiring nocturnal surveys has not solved the problem because these surveys can be conducted late at night long after the gliders have left their dens. The result – dens are not identified and therefore not protected.
Responding to government failures, community groups are increasing their activities in the forests where gliders are under threat.
Community surveys in four forests (Tallagand and Tuggolo in the state’s south, Bulga and Styx River in the north) found a total of 825 gliders while Forest Corp’s surveys found 229.
Forestry Alliance NSW spokesperson Justin Field said a large proportion of these 825 gliders would be killed as a result of ForestCorp’s “hopelessly inadequate procedures”.
He added, “The state government is knowingly complicit in this destruction whilst it refuses to halt logging in these areas.”
Leonie Blain