Approximately 85 obsolete archery bales and escaped plastic waste will be removed from Attunga State Forest near Tamworth during a planned two week operation to restore an area of the forest previously managed as an archery range.

Attunga State Forest will be partially closed while the operations will take place from Monday 19 July to Friday 30 July. The forest will be open for public use on the weekend of 24 and 25 July.

Forestry Corporation’s District Manager Conan Rossler said the archery bales had been brought onsite by a club that previously held a permit for use of the forest.

“Disappointingly, remediation was not completed when the archery club ceased operations, and we have been left with around 85 bales. Some of these bales which are filled with plastic are scattered throughout a 120-hectare area of forest,” Mr Rossler said.

“Unfortunately some of these bales have also been damaged and have released plastic into the environment which is bad for the environment as well as unsightly.

“These are substantial objects, with some weighing more than 100 kilograms, so we have engaged contractors to remove the bales and plastic from the forest.

“For the safety of visitors, we will need to temporarily close the southern part of Attunga State Forest from Monday to Friday for a maximum of two weeks while we complete this work. We will however keep the majority of the forest open and will endeavour to open the southern part on the weekends if it is safe to do so.

“If you are planning to visit Attunga State Forest, please check the Forestry Corporation website for information and maps that show the closed areas and follow instructions on any signage or from staff or contractors working in the forest.

“We thank locals and visitors for their patience during this clean up operation and look forward to reopening a cleaner, safer forest in a few weeks.”

For more information see the Closures and Notices page.

Media contact: 0294074265