The Jindalee National Park is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

that is located north of

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

, in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the park runs adjacent to the Burley Griffin Way.

History

Jindalee National Park was initially declared a forest reserve in 1877 and in August 1918 it was reclassified as a state forest. In January 2011, the park was reserved under the ''National Park Estate (South-Western Cypress Reservations) Act (2010)'' to protect remaining areas of

cypress pine Cypress-pine is the common name used for three closely related genera of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae: *'' Callitris'' (Australia) *'' Actinostrobus'' (Australia) *''Widdringtonia ''Widdringtonia'' is a genus of coniferous tree ...

woodlands, which have been extensively cleared across New South Wales.

Features

The park is divided into two portions by a strip of private farmland along Berthong Rd. It is characterised by undulating country, dissected by numerous minor drainage lines. The state forest had a long history of recreational activity, particularly motorbike use and in later years some mountain bike use. Following reservation, all of the existing roads within the park remained open to public vehicle access, however all vehicles are required to be registered and their use confined to the existing formed trails only.

Flora

The park consists of several vegetation communities.

Mugga Ironbark ''Eucalyptus sideroxylon'', commonly known as mugga ironbark, or red ironbark is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has dark, deeply furrowed ironbark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of s ...

-mixed box woodland makes up 74 percent of the park, 20 percent is Mugga Ironbark- Western Grey Box-Cypress Pine woodland, and 5.8 percent of the park is cleared land. 0.2 percent of the park is White Box- Yellow Box-

Blakely’s Red Gum ''Eucalyptus blakelyi'', known as Blakely's red gum, is a tree endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark on its trunk and branches, dull bluish green, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of seven, white flowers and cup ...

Grassy Woodland, an ecological community classified as ''Critically Endangered'' in NSW. The pine donkey orchid, listed as ''Vulnerable'' in NSW under the '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016'', occurs within Jindalee National Park. Invasive plants found in the park include St. John's wort, Paterson's curse,

viper's bugloss ''Echium vulgare'', known as viper's bugloss and blueweed,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 203. is a species of flowering plant in the borag ...

, blackberry,

apple of Sodom ''Calotropis procera'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to North Africa, Pakistan,tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia, and Indochina. The green fruits contain a toxic milky sap that is extremely bi ...

, thistles and capeweed.

Fauna

Threatened birds recorded in the park include Swift parrot, Regent honeyeater,

Little lorikeet The little lorikeet (''Parvipsitta pusilla'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Australia. It is a small parrot, predominantly green in plumage with a red face. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical ...

Brown treecreeper The brown treecreeper (''Climacteris picumnus'') is the largest Australasian treecreeper. The bird, endemic to eastern Australia, has a broad distribution, occupying areas from Cape York, Queensland, throughout New South Wales and Victoria to Po ...

Speckled warbler The speckled warbler (''Pyrrholaemus sagittatus'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. Taxonomy The speckled warbler was first described by English physic ...

Black-chinned honeyeater The black-chinned honeyeater (''Melithreptus gularis'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical d ...

Varied sittella The varied sittella (''Daphoenositta chrysoptera'') is a small, around 10–11 cm long, songbird native to Australia. It is also known as the Australian nuthatch, orange-winged sittella and the barkpecker. Taxonomy The varied sittella was fi ...

, Flame robin,

Diamond firetail The diamond firetail (''Stagonopleura guttata'') is a species of estrildid finch that is endemic to Australia. It has a patchy distribution and generally occupies drier forests and grassy woodlands west of the Great Dividing Range from South Ea ...

Grey-crowned babbler The grey-crowned babbler (''Pomatostomus temporalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lo ...

Hooded robin The hooded robin (''Melanodryas cucullata'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic; the male bears a distinctive black-and-white plumage, while the female i ...

, Little eagle,

Turquoise parrot The turquoise parrot (''Neophema pulchella'') is a species of parrot in the genus ''Neophema'' native to Eastern Australia, from southeastern Queensland, through New South Wales and into North-Eastern Victoria. It was described by George Shaw i ...

and Painted honeyeater. Other birds found in the reserve include

white-throated treecreeper The white-throated treecreeper (''Cormobates leucophaea'') is an Australian treecreeper found in the forests of eastern Australia. It is unrelated to the northern hemisphere treecreepers. It is a small passerine bird with predominantly brown and ...

and yellow-rumped thornbill. Threatened mammals recorded in the park include Squirrel glider and Eastern pygmy possum. Several introduced pest species occur, including the

European fox European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

, feral cat and various deer species.

Issues

Illegal firewood collection and illegal off-road motorcycle and four-wheel drive vehicle use occur within Jindalee National Park.

References