Conservationists say there is evidence of logging near endangered greater gliders as they urge the Queensland government to create the once “promised” Greater Glider Forest park.

The evidence comes in through the volunteers who in July with the assistance of drones found logging in St Mary state forest near Maryborough. The location is just 3km from where the gliders had last been seen.

Nicky Moffat from the Queensland Conservation Council has asked the government to bring in immediate measures to stop the logging in the vicinity of the gliders.

“These areas have to come off the logging schedules. You can’t log them and then put them in a conservation park,” she said as quoted by the Guardian.

Moffat further stated that the gliders represent a thriving and healthy ecosystem.

“It’s the biggest gliding possum in the world. It’s up to a metre long. It’s got this massive floppy tail. It’s got big floppy ears. It looks like a cross between a koala and a possum,” she described the species.

The council is calling for the protection of the glider habitat and funds for new national parks. They are also hoping for a designated area where the endangered species can recover.

The Guardian also reports that in less than 20 years, the national greater glider population has been halved to what it was before, taking the species to the list of national environmental laws in 2022.

The gliders suffered through the black summer bush fires of 2019-2020, putting them dangerously close to possible extinction in the future.