Subject to environmental impact assessment. Requires consent under the National Parks and Wildlife Regulation.
Sluicing will not be permitted.
Fossicking is a recreational activity involving the small-scale search for minerals, gemstones or mineral-bearing material from the surface (or by digging from the surface) with handheld implements.
Fossicking is generally not permitted in parks without consent because it can pose unacceptable risks to natural and cultural heritage (OEH 2018). As fossicking mainly takes place along river and creek banks, disturbance of soils and erosion can lead to impacts on aquatic habitats, vegetation and fauna such as native fish (NSW Industry & Investment 2019).
The NPWS policy allows for limited fossicking opportunities in parks with consent, subject to an appropriate environment and risk assessment level. The assessment needs to consider if the activity poses unacceptable risks to visitor safety or to park values, including threatened native plants and animals, Aboriginal cultural heritage, World Heritage values, wilderness, catchment integrity and water quality.
The parks were formerly part of the Bulga, Brassey, Doyles River, Mount Seaview and Enfield state forests. There was some history of recreational fossicking in the area while it was state forest with this focused on the area that is now The Cells State Conservation Area. There is no evidence that fossicking occurred in the area contained within Cottan-Bimbang National Park or Cottan-Bimbang State Conservation Area. Access into these areas is limited due to the steep terrain that can be dangerous inaccessible in the wet. There are also safety issues associated with disused mine shafts that may pose a risk to visitor safety.
Given the important Aboriginal cultural heritage values, significant catchment values and associated stream ecology in these parks, particularly in the catchments of Fenwicks and Ralfes creeks and Tobins River, recreational fossicking will only be allowed to continue to occur in the Cells State Conservation Area using handheld metal detectors and pans.
Sluicing associated with previous fossicking activity in this area caused environmental impacts and will therefore not be permitted.
Fossickers must follow the low impact requirements of the Mining Regulation 2016 and the NPWS Fossicking policy (OEH 2018). NPWS will monitor any environmental impacts caused by this recreational activity and may not provide consent if adverse impacts are detected.
3.6.9 Fossicking will be permitted in The Cells State Conservation Area, subject to requirements under the NPWS fossicking policy.
Fossicking is only permitted on the surface and not in old mine shafts.
