Queensland has the largest area of native forest of any state or territory in Australia, home to a rich and important diversity of plants and animals. These areas need protecting to ensure the survival of our unique species. These forests provide a critical habitat for threatened and endangered species and act as significant carbon stores, making their protection crucial for Queensland and Australia's environmental credibility.

Right now, in South East Qld just one hour west of Brisbane, Deongwar State Forest on Dungibara Country continues to be logged. This forest is a large remnant forest with good connectivity to adjoining nature reserves and nearby national parks. 

In 2021 QCC commissioned a report which highlighted the high conservation values of Deongwar State Forest and recommends it for priority transfer to national park status. This forest is home to: 

• 4700 hectares of intact high concentration remnant native forest.
• 146 protected threatened and endangered species including the long nosed potoroos, powerful owl, black breasted button-quail, white -throated needle tail, glossy-black cockatoo, koala and greater glider.
• Over half is mapped at koala habitat.
• The majority is mapped as greater glider habitat.

Native state forests which are mostly Eucalypt forests, provide critical habitat for hollow dependant species including the threatened yellow-bellied gliders, endangered greater glider and glossy black cockatoos. It can take hundreds of years for hollows in trees become big enough to support large hollow dependant species. Continued logging destroys their homes reduces the number of available hollows impacting all hollow dependant species, from the smallest micro-bat to the largest powerful owl.

As well as this, a large section of the state forest and surround areas recently burnt, forcing wildlife to move into other areas, areas currently being logged or scheduled for logging further threatening their survival. Well managed protected areas provide a critical refuge for wildlife to ensuring they can escape the impacts of bushfires or other disasters.   

Time is running out. Logging in Deongwar must end now and the whole area transferred to a protected area to ensure native wildlife and ecosystems can recover and thrive.