Establish the Southern Highlands - Wollondilly National Park
🌿 Support the Community-Led Petition for a South Great Koala National Park 🐨
Imagine a protected landscape stretching from Wilton in the north, connecting the Cataract Dam and Nepean River, south along the Illawarra Escarpment, Bargo River Gorge, and Bargo State Conservation Area, through to Macquarie Pass National Park, Mount Lindsay, Mount Gibraltar, Mount Alexandra, and the lands at Kangaloon.
Koalas do not recognise the boundaries we draw on maps. They move across landscapes in search of food, shelter and mates. If a koala can travel through these connected habitats, shouldn't we work together to protect them as one?
A South Great Koala National Park would bring together Crown land, existing national parks, council bushland, public reserves and conservation lands into a coordinated, landscape-scale conservation vision. It would help protect vulnerable koalas from habitat fragmentation, urban expansion, roads and vehicle strikes, while strengthening wildlife corridors across the Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions.
This landscape is also deeply significant to the Aboriginal communities of the Dharawal, Dharug and Gundungurra peoples. The Bargo River Gorge, Mermaids Pool, and the broader river catchment are rich in Aboriginal cultural heritage, stories and connections to Country, including the story of Migadan, the spirit of the river, whose presence extends throughout the landscape.
The Southern Highlands Wildlife Sanctuary often reminds us that "Now is the moment that matters." The time to act is now.
If we can have a Great Koala National Park in northern New South Wales, we should have the same ambition for the south. Every koala in New South Wales matters.
Please support this community-led petition and help protect this remarkable landscape for future generations.
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