Program governance and engagement


Annual reports

Community engagement

Citizen science

NSW Forest Monitoring Steering Committee

We have established, and independently chair a cross-agency NSW Forest Monitoring Steering Committee to oversee the design, implementation, review and continuous improvement of the program.

We have appointed the following independent experts to the Steering Committee:

  • Associate Professor Tina Louise Bell, Associate Professor in Fire Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
  • Professor Patrick Baker, Charles Bullard Fellow, Harvard Forest, former Australian Research Council Future Fellow and School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne
  • Professor Philip Gibbons, Professor and Associate Director of Higher-degree Research, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
  • Dr Peter Hairsine, Centre for Water and Landscape Dynamics at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University.

Community forums

The program has committed to host community forums. This is an opportunity for people to learn more about the program, ask questions and provide feedback.

2024 Forums

Webinar – Forest monitoring using LiDAR (15 November 2024)

This webinar presented research analysing changes in forest structure in NSW state forests using LiDAR data. This work provides insights into the dynamics of forest structure, composition, and regeneration following harvesting events in NSW State Forests. By integrating LiDAR with other spatial data and employing various analytical methods, this research offers a multifaceted understanding of forest ecosystems.

Professor Scott Brown and his team from the University of Newcastle presented the findings from this research and the interactive web maps developed. Professor Scott Brown was joined by Professor Patrick Baker and Dr Sam Hislop for a Q&A panel following the presentation.

2023 Forums

Webinar 1 – Forest waterways (23 November 2023)

This webinar presented two research projects that investigated post-fire debris flows in southeast NSW forests and methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the forest road networks to maintain water quality.

Dr Petter Nyman (Alluvium) presented research and was joined by Dr Peter Hairsine (Australian National University) for a Q&A panel following the presentation.

Webinar 2 – Fauna monitoring in NSW state forests (4 December 2023)

This webinar presented the design and early roll out of an ambitious fauna monitoring program across NSW state forests. This works builds on baselines established for fauna occupancy that has been recognised as the largest and most significant project of this type in the history of NSW forest management.

Dr Brad Law, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Chris Slade, Senior Ecologist at FCNSW presented the work-to-date, and were joined by Professor Phil Gibbons (Australian National University) for a Q&A panel following the presentation.

Webinar 3 – Forest carbon of NSW forests (13 December 2023)

This webinar presented analysis on quantifying the carbon balance of NSW. Improved data was used to update previous analysis presented in 2022.

Geoff Roberts, from the Mullion Group presented the findings and was joined by Professor Patrick Baker (University of Melbourne) for a Q&A panel following the presentation.