The Lower Hunter Biodiversity Corridor - a connected tract of 22,000 hectares of thriving environmental reserves that stretch from the Watagan Ranges to Stockton Bight - is under threat.

Despite decades of development pressure, Newcastle residents have managed to preserve and protect a Green Corridor of native bushland and wildlife habitat on the western edge of the city.

But continuing urban sprawl and proposed housing estate developments threaten to sever this critical linkage, displacing threatened species and destroying some of the last remaining forest of the lower Hunter.

More than ever, intact bushland is vital to native animals who are under great pressure already from habitat destruction, climate change and bushfires.

The Green Corridor is a legacy that we can be proud to leave for future generations. But once broken, the Corridor is gone forever.

Newcastle Council needs strong planning controls to protect our vulnerable wildlife, maintain our green corridor, and to keep our local wildlife safe and healthy.