Conserving habitat for Gnangara’s black cockatoos

Pine harvesting in the Gnangara State Forest will come to an end to preserve critical black cockatoo habitat. 

This plantation in the Wanneroo area has been a source of timber for the construction industry in WA since harvesting of it began in 1996.  

However, in recent years it has become an important roosting and foraging habitat for Carnaby’s black cockatoos, with further harvesting likely to have a significant impact on the population of this endangered species. 

The cockatoos increasingly rely on the pines as a food source after urbanisation and fires have destroyed much of their natural habitat, such as banksia woodlands. 

The State Government has decided, as part of the Forest Management Plan 2024-2033, to cease logging in the area. This means 1800 hectares of pine in Perth’s north-eastern suburbs will be preserved for cockatoo habitat and recreational purposes. 

The decision comes ahead of the State Government publishing its latest Forest Management Plan, which will be finalised before the end of the year. That plan will implement the State Government’s historic 2021 decision to end large-scale commercial logging in native forests.Â