PROMINENT North West farmers Ron Greentree and Ken Harris are set to face court to defend charges of illegal clearing of native vegetation.
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A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) said proceedings were under way in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
The hearing has been scheduled to be heard in August..
It is understood the charges have been laid against Mr Greentree, Mr Harris and two companies owned by the duo.
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The charges are related to alleged clearing of native vegetation at a property owned by the two men near Wee Waa, over a period from 2016 to 2019.
It has been reported the clearances in total were over 1000ha but DPIE did not confirm this, saying it was inappropriate to comment on matters before the court.
The matter will present legal complexities as there are charges laid under both the old NSW Native Vegetation Act and the new Local Land Services Act that replaced it.
This is not the first time Mr Greentree has been in strife regarding illegal clearing.
In the 1990s, a company he headed up was punished for illegal clearing in the Moree region while in 2004 he was fined under federal laws for clearing internationally recognised wetlands, also in northern NSW.
Mr Greentree, who at one stage was described as Australia's biggest private wheat producer, was contacted for comment but did not return calls.
The region around Wee Waa contains areas of open woodland and contains several endangered bird species.