Whitehaven Coal tree top protest continues

A new group of Greenpeace activists have taken to the trees in the Leard State Forest in north west NSW to stop Whitehaven Coal clearing land during winter and endangering hibernating wildlife.

Five Greenpeace activists were arrested on Sunday after a three-day protest in the treetops of the forest.

However, another five protesters have built a giant web rope in another part of the forest overnight in order to hinder the company's plan to bulldoze the trees as part of its Maules Creek Mine expansion.

"We hope to stay as long as long as possible," said Greenpeace senior climate campaigner Nick Clyde from the giant web rope.

"We've got food and water and settling in for the long haul."

Whitehaven is spending $767 million developing Maules Creek mine in Leard State Forest and is progressively demolishing around 1660 hectares of native woodland to extract coal by early 2015.

The company had expressed a preference to avoid winter and early spring land clearances to avoid the "key breeding/hibernation seasons for threatened bat and bird species".

But the government recently approved a revision to the firm's biodiversity management plan (BMP).

A Whitehaven spokesman has said the company, previously owned by mining baron Nathan Tinkler, has outlined measures to move wildlife before clearing the land.

Mr Clyde said a neighbouring mine at Boggabri was not permitted to clear land during winter due to the danger to hibernating wildlife but Whitehaven Coal has been allowed to break the rules.

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Whitehaven Coal tree top protest continues