'They've been pushed and pushed': Mayor not surprised by shooting

Facebook The site of alleged illegal land clearing at Croppa Creek, NSW.

The volatile issue of land clearing has emerged after the shooting death of a government environment officer in northern NSW.

Police found the body of a 51-year-old NSW Environment and Heritage Office worker at a property north of Moree on Tuesday afternoon.

The Tamworth-based worker, named by The Moree Champion as Glendon Turner, was reportedly at the property to serve a notice in relation to the clearing of vegetation.

Ian Turnbull, 79, a long-standing farmer in the area, has been charged with murder and faced Moree local court on Wednesday.

Glendon Turner died after he was allegedly hit in the back with a bullet, after several shots were fired.

Moree Plains Shire mayor Katrina Humphries says environmental issues including land clearing and coal seam gas exploration have been a source of frustration in the rural community.

"Because I know people have been pushed and pushed and pushed. This is their life and this is their livelihood."

Northern NSW ecologist Phil Spark said the farmer had cleared about 100 hectares of land.

"... and a lot of that is koala habitat so that has been a real conflict between conservation and this farmer having the right to clear his land," he told ABC Radio.

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'They've been pushed and pushed': Mayor not surprised by shooting