Parts of Attunga State Forest to close for a two-week clean-up operation of old archery targets

The Forestry Corporation of NSW will partially close the forest from next week for the clean-up, which will take place from Monday July 19 to July 25.

District Manager Conan Rossler said the waste 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," he 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.

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"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."

Mr Rossler urged people planning to visit the state forest to check the Forestry Corporation's website, which has maps that identify the closed areas.

He said residents can "look forward to reopening a cleaner, safer forest in a few weeks."

The cleanup comes a few months after the corporation conducted a crackdown on illegal firewood theft, fire starting, rubbish dumping, and unlicensed driving and motorbike riding in local public woods.

CCTV cameras have been set up in several local forests to catch miscreants.

Mr Rossler told ACM last year the crackdown had successfully reduced the incidence of anti-social behaviour, after the public agency issued a number of fines to people doing the wrong thing.

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