Conservationists fear land for project in Gilbert River catchment cleared before permit issued

Conservationists are demanding the Queensland Government investigate concerns about illegal clearing in the state's north.

The Wilderness Society says it is worried bulldozing of a 30,000-hectare area in the Gilbert River catchment began before a permit was issued.

Queensland campaigner Karen Touchie says the State Government is failing to properly regulate clearing of native vegetation.

"This is at its heart a very special catchment in northern Australia that's under extreme threat from both this land clearing that we're talking about today but also another project," she said.

"Together those two projects look to clear around about 200,000 hectares of land.

"What's worrying is basically it seems to demonstrate that the Queensland Government is entirely unable to do even basic due diligence either in terms of what land is suitable for agriculture in that catchment or indeed what landholders may be doing on their land in terms of clearing."

The clearing was approved under new vegetation management regulations in Queensland designed to make way for high-value agriculture projects.

Ms Touchie says there is evidence suggesting clearing might have begun before a permit was granted.

"We did a flyover of the catchment earlier this year and just visually we're slightly concerned at the maturity of the crop given that the approval for clearing had just been given," she said.

"We then went back and sourced some public satellite imagery. On the basis of that imagery it seems to us that there's a high probability that clearing may have occurred prior to the Queensland Government approving the clearing."

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Conservationists fear land for project in Gilbert River catchment cleared before permit issued