Orange Field Naturalist & Conservation Society Inc.

SEE Report in November Newsletter

Meet at the Orange High School bus bay at 9am to carpool. 4WD vehicles are required. This will be a full day excursion so please bring lunch, water, and any essential medications you may need. You will need to carry your things in a pack as we will be lunching away from the vehicles. Please wear closed walking shoes and suitable clothing.

There is no public access to the reserve so the excursion will be led by NPWS Ranger, Jack Fry who is arranging access via private land. We will be parking near the reserve boundary and walking into the reserve through the bush. It will be a grade 4 walk as there are no internal management trails or formed tracks. The walk will be over rough surfaces and up some steep slopes.

This reserve of 546 ha is 20km west of Orange with a previous life as a timber reserve. In 1972 it was dedicated as a Nature Reserve to protect a visually and ecologically interesting sandstone landscape on the lower western slopes of Mount Canobolas. It provides an important refuge for wildlife in an area extensively cleared and developed for agriculture. The reserve is dissected by three creeks with sandstone cliffs and outcrops. It supports dry sclerophyll forest and woodland communities, providing habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna, including threatened species and communities. These are particularly valued in relation to breeding opportunities in tree hollows.