A new study has shown areas of state forest in Northern New South Wales, currently zoned as hardwood eucalypt plantation and slated for logging in 2025–2026, are in fact vital koala habitat. Tuckers Nob State Forest, southwest of Coffs Harbor, was analyzed in the collaborative research project between Griffith University, CQUniversity, conservation organizations and citizen scientists. Published in the journal Wild, the study combined drone technology, historical mapping, and ground surveys to track koala populations in the forest. The team’s findings challenged current assumptions that timber plantations lacked conservation value. “Instead, we’ve shown many plantation areas still contained original, high-quality eucalypt forest that supported our endangered koala populations,” said co-author Dr. Timothy Cadman, from Griffith University. …These findings suggested excluding areas such as the Tuckers Nob study site from the proposed Great Koala National Park footprint for the sake of logging was both “short-sighted and inconsistent with current conservation strategies.”