Nangar

Nangar National Park is a remote box-ironbark and woodland park in the central tablelands of New South Wales, located on the slopes west of Orange near Eugowra. Covering approximately 7,900 hectares, the park protects significant areas of box-ironbark forest, white box woodland, and dry sclerophyll forest on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The park contributes to the conservation of woodland communities that have been substantially cleared for agriculture across the Central West and provides critical habitat for threatened woodland birds including the regent honeyeater and swift parrot.

Nangar National Park supports diverse woodland wildlife at the interface of the tablelands and the western slopes. The critically endangered regent honeyeater has been recorded breeding in the box woodland. The swift parrot winters in the woodland from April to September. Gang-gang cockatoos and glossy black-cockatoos inhabit the forest. Eastern grey kangaroos and common wombats are common. Diverse woodland bird species including diamond firetail, varied sittella, and brown treecreeper are present. The park is an important site for threatened woodland birds in the Central West.

Box-ironbark forest dominated by yellow box, grey box, and ironbark covers the slopes. White box grassy woodland occupies fertile areas and provides critical habitat for the regent honeyeater. Scribbly gum woodland on sandier soils supports a diverse heathland understorey. The woodland communities are representative of the box-ironbark zone of the western slopes and tablelands, one of the most heavily cleared ecosystems in south-eastern Australia.

Nangar National Park occupies the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, underlain by Silurian and Devonian sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the Lachlan Fold Belt. The terrain slopes gradually from the tablelands to the plains, with shallow soils on the ridges and deeper soils on the valley floors. The geological diversity contributes to the range of woodland communities.

The park has a warm temperate to hot semi-arid climate. Annual rainfall is approximately 500 to 700 millimetres. Summers are hot, typically 28 to 35°C. Winters are cool with frosts. The seasonal and year-to-year variability is significant.

The Wiradjuri people are the traditional custodians of the central tablelands and western slopes. The woodland country was important for hunting and gathering. European pastoral settlement from the 1840s resulted in extensive clearing of the woodland.

Nangar National Park was established primarily for the conservation of box-ironbark woodland communities and the wildlife that depends on them. The park contributes to the regional conservation network for threatened woodland birds.

The park offers walking through box-ironbark woodland and birdwatching for threatened woodland species. The park is important for regent honeyeater conservation and has been the focus of recovery program activities.

Nangar National Park has limited visitor facilities. Access is via roads from Orange and Eugowra. Orange provides visitor services. A national parks pass applies.

Regent honeyeater and swift parrot habitat management is the primary conservation focus. Controlling invasive pasture grasses that degrade the woodland understorey is essential. The park's contribution to the regional conservation network for threatened woodland birds is significant.