Towarri National Park and Cedar Brush Nature Reserve in the Upper Hunter valley north-west of Scone protect the furthest inland structurally-diverse rainforests in NSW. They are located about 160 kilometres from the sea.

The NPA Reserves Committee and several other keen NPA members have kept a constant vigil for extensions to reserves within the rainforest remnants on the southern fall of the Liverpool Range since the creation of the Wingen Maid and Wallabadah Nature Reserves in the 1970s.

"NPA should press for the preservation of all the rainforest remnants on the southern side of the Liverpool Range," Tamworth NPA Branch representative Ron Webster told the NP Journal.

Dr Howard Fisher compiled a successful PhD thesis (1985) with the proposal to extend and further protect the rainforest and Crown Land remnants on and near the Liverpool Range into a continuous chain or corridor from Mt Mureulla to Cedar Brush NR, with a possible link to Coolah Tops and then to the Warrumbungles.(1)

His thoughts were supported in a later study by the NPWS and students from New England University, in1989, when sightings were made of three species of native birds listed as rare and endangered. These animals were the Glossy Black Cockatoo, the Rufous Fantail and the Powerful Owl. (2)

Numerous species of rainforest plants and animals, such as the red-legged pademelon, were also identified, sightings which substantially expanded inland their known range. The remnants also contain magnificent unlogged stands of Australian Red Cedar (Toons ciliata), a native tree heavily exploited during last century.

Wildlife commonly found in Towarri NP (and believed to inhabit the nearby Vacant Crown Lands) also includes the Eastern Grey Kangaroo, several wallaby species, wombats, possums and gliders. There are also several snakes, lizards and skink varieties. There are over 90 native bird species recorded in Towarri NP and several of these are considered as vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995).

Fortunately there are plans afoot for additions to the ‘ideal corridor’ since the last gazettal of 2000 ha in 1999 for Towarri NP – Towarri now covers approximately 4,787 hectares and links with Ben Halls Gap, Coolah Tops and Barrington to form a more contiguous reserve structure along the Range.

The Upper Hunter Area Manager for NPWS, David Brown, has some good news for future assessments by NPWS including an area known as Captains Creek. New Draft Plans of Management for this section should be exhibited within the next three months. A Scone local also described the $100,000 recreational facilities at Middlebrook in Towarri NP as "well-utilised".

Acquisition of private lands and vacant Crown Lands that are often steep and of little or no grazing value is essential to link the ‘chain’ — achieving maximum ecological benefit and a continuous vegetation habitat through which wildlife can freely move.

The NPWS currently has applications with the National Heritage Trust for purchase of properties totally 3,000 hectares adjacent to the Towarri and Coolah Tops National Parks.

Wildlife would not be the only winners if the continuous corridor is realised. As David Brown suggested, imagine the attraction of an ecotourism route along conserved corridors of the Liverpool Range — ecologically-sensitive walks on a daily basis with farmstays or B&Bs all the way from Coolah Tops to Barrington!

1. Fisher, H.J., 'The Structure and floristic composition of the rainforests of the Liverpool Range...rainforests', Australian Journal of Ecology, Vol 10, 315-325

2. Veale Sharon, Remembering Country, NPWS, 2001