An urgent application for State Heritage protection for the Corn Trail was lodged on December 14th, 2018 by Greens NSW MP David Shoebridge to protect it from logging in two immediately adjacent old growth forest coups stating that the trail is an important Aboriginal and colonial heritage item and a key tourism drawcard for the area and it set to be damaged by the logging of old growth forest in Buckenbowra State Forest.
Greens MP David Shoebridge will continue to gather further photographic evidence of historic and environmental importance of the trail saying “the Corn Trail is of extraordinary importance to the region and to the history of our country as a whole, it is completely indefensible to allow logging to damage it.
Photos of the Corn Trail courtesy of Greens MP David Shoebridge
“Thousands of years ago the Aboriginal Yuin Nation created the track and used it as a seasonal route connecting the coast and tablelands The track was later appropriated and used by early settlers to facilitate trade.
“The Corn Trail should be a celebrated destination on the South Coast and it deserves State Heritage protection.
“The trail travels from high mountain ridges to deep rainforest-filled valleys, crosses the Mongarlowe and Buckenbowra Rivers and warm temperate rainforest and eucalypt forests. It has an important visual connection with other significant Aboriginal sites including Mount Budawang and the sandstone peaks of Pigeon House and Castle Mountain further north.
“Native forestry is a dying industry that devastates native flora and fauna and costs NSW taxpayers millions of dollars in annual losses.
“Given its historical significance it is extraordinary that logging has been allowed by Forestry Corporation and the NSW Government that will inevitably seriously damage the Corn Trail. We cannot let this continue.
“We are calling on the NSW Government to step in and immediately halt logging while the application for State Heritage listing is being considered,” Mr Shoebridge said
