About – Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve

The Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve (LRAOR) is a Crown Land Manager organisation, with a combined area of more than 20,282 hectares (see maps below), it is one of the largest, most diverse and complex Crown Reserves in NSW.

The Reserve covers land around the Lightning Ridge township, the Coocoran and Grawin areas. The majority of the Reserve was acquired in a one-off voluntary surrender scheme (VSS) undertaken by the NSW Government in 2016 to resolve access issues between mining and agricultural interests.

The Reserve is managed by a Crown Land Manager board which is made up of seven members including a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary. The board consists of three community representatives and four ex-officio positions.

All board members are appointed for a five-year term by the Minister for Water, Property, and Housing. There are also two full-time employees directed by the board to undertake the daily running of the reserve, advise the board, and implement board decisions.

The purpose of the board is to manage the land contained within the Reserve, it is responsible for assets and infrastructure; financial management; cultural management, weed and pest management; bushfire management; access; maintenance; Illegal rubbish dumping; and erosion control.

The board was ordered by the Minister to formulate a Plan of Management (PoM) for the Reserve. This document is designed as a blueprint and reference document for managing and running the Reserve.

The PoM had community consultation as part of its design and the final document was signed off by the Hon. Stephen Kamper, Minister for Lands and Property, on the 12th of December 2023.