Conservationists say there is evidence of logging near endangered great gliders as they urge the Queensland government to create the once-promised Great Glider Forest Park.
The evidence was provided by volunteers who, in July, using drones, found clearings in St. Mary's State Forest, near Maryborough. The site is just 3km from where the gliders were last seen.
Nicky Moffat of the Queensland Conservation Council has called on the government to take immediate action to stop logging in the vicinity of the gliders.
“These areas have to come out of logging programs. You can't just cut them up and then put them into a conservation park,” he was quoted as saying by the paper. Guardian.
Moffat further stated that the gliders represent a thriving and healthy ecosystem.
“It is the largest gliding possum in the world. It is up to a metre long. It has a huge, flexible tail. It has large, drooping ears. It looks like a cross between a koala and a possum,” he described the species.
The council is calling for protection of the sugar glider's habitat and funding for new national parks. They also hope to see an area designated where the endangered species can recover.
He Guardian It also reports that in less than 20 years, the national population of greater sugar gliders has been reduced to half of what it once was, which will lead to the species being listed under national environmental laws in 2022.
Gliders suffered during the Black Summer wildfires of 2019-2020, putting them dangerously close to possible extinction in the future.
