National Parks and Wildlife Service granted a major funding boost

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been granted a major boost in funding by the NSW government to create jobs and continue the long-standing environmental services of the organisation.

Approximately $39.5 million in funding has been provided state-wide as part of a major stimulus package rolled out for the service across two years.

The latest development is the recruitment of more than 160 temporary roles across NSW, which is additional to the 125 staff that were recruited by the service last year.

For the Barwon Area office, which falls under the Northern Inland branch of NPWS, this has supported the recruitment of two field
officer – general operations roles, a senior field officer and a field supervisor.

Narrabri-based senior field supervisor Anton Groeneveld and ranger Kelsy Burns told The Courier the type of services the NPWS provides and what the new recruits will partake in.

“We coordinate a diversity of programs to improve visitor access to parks funded by the state government which includes access road upgrades, fire trail maintenance, walking track renewal, and general park maintenance,” Mr Groeneveld said.

“The funding has allowed us to recruit more people to assist in improving access to our parks.

“We’re still engaging in recruitment, and those new roles on offer have come out of the stimulus package and we’ll look to have the new staff on board in a couple of weeks.”

Since the devastation of the most recent bushfires to impact the region in late 2019 to early 2020 there has been ongoing fire recovery work.

“Following the 2019 bushfire season, fire recovery has been at the forefront, which has involved working with our neighbours to clear burnt fencelines and install new fencing, and making affected visitor precincts and walking tracks safe for visitors to enjoy once again,” Ms Burns said.

“Another significant project for Mount Kaputar National Park is the renewal of our directional signage, where we are transitioning from the traditional green park signs to designs which will improve visibility and the visitor experience when people come to see the park

“It’s really diverse work with NPWS which keeps our jobs interesting.”

On top of the recent stimulus package, the service has focused on renewal of walking tracks such as the Kaputar Summit walk and Bundabulla Circuit, campground upgrades for Bark Hut, upgrade of the facilities at the Sawn Rocks precinct, and new directional signage for Mount Kaputar National Park to improve access for visitors.

Visitation was also at record levels when COVID lockdown measures were first lifted and remains elevated relative to past years.

The Narrabri NPWS office hopes the new staff can make a valuable contribution to conserving the natural environment and bring an element of passion to their roles.

“It’s not just an opportunity to gain employment, a lot of applicants are passionate to get a job with national parks,” Mr Groeneveld said.

“It is a unique job, working in a natural environment and a passion for conservation is what we’re looking for in our new recruits.

“We do the work we do because it makes breathtaking landscapes accessible for visitors from all over the country, while safeguarding the natural environment for future generations.”

The NPWS pest control program has also been significantly enhanced since the fires to limit the negative impacts of introduced species on native wildlife.

“We have aerial shoots scheduled across a number of our reserves during March and ongoing pest programs including goat mustering, fox baiting and pig baiting,” Ms Burns said.

“Our pest control programs are designed to reduce the pressure on native fauna, and reduce the number of feral animals within our parks to limit impact on surrounding agricultural land.

“We have so much beautiful scenery in the region and we’re proud to be part of the conservation of our environment.”

The successful applicant for the senior field officer role would need to be a very practical person with experience in supervising a team. A medium rigid truck licence is required and plant-operating skills would be highly beneficial.

The field officer – general operations recruits need to be good workers who can handle working outside and are happy to have a go at anything.