Australia Creates Vast New Park to Save 20% of Koalas

After 13 years of fighting, activists just won one of Australia's biggest conservation battles.

The Australian government announced creation of the Great Koala National Park in September 2025, protecting almost 5,000 square kilometers of forest along the country's east coast. The park will link existing reserves with state forests, creating connected wildlife corridors for the first time in decades.

Mark Graham, an ecologist who spent years pushing for this change, walked through Coffs Harbour Botanic Garden in New South Wales pointing out hundred-year-old eucalyptus trees. Wild koalas live here, and soon forest corridors will connect them to the vast new national park.

The park will protect about 20% of New South Wales' wild koala population. Jacqui Mumford, who leads the Nature Conservation Council, called it "one of the most significant conservation victories in NSW in decades."

Koalas desperately need the help. Once abundant across Australia, at least 8 million koalas were killed for the fur trade between 1888 and 1927. In just one month in 1927, hunters killed 600,000 koalas in Queensland during what became known as "Black August."

Today, between 200,000 and 300,000 koalas remain in Australia according to koala expert Steve Phillips, who has worked with the species for over 40 years. The Australian government declared them endangered in 2022.

Forest loss has been devastating for these eucalyptus-eating marsupials. Urban expansion, logging, and new roads carved their habitat into disconnected fragments, leaving koalas isolated in small pockets of forest.

The Ripple Effect

A recent drone survey of the proposed park area counted between 10,311 and 14,541 koalas living there now. Environmental groups believe that number could triple once the forests are fully protected from logging, which is now under a temporary moratorium.

The park will also protect 66 other threatened native species that depend on these forests. By connecting World Heritage Sites and rebuilding wildlife corridors, the park creates a blueprint for landscape-scale conservation.

The state government committed to establishing the park in 2023 and says it will finalize designation in 2026. Protecting connected habitat gives koalas room to disperse into new areas and build stronger populations for the future.