The NSW Forestry Corporation says it's disappointed in itself after it destroyed 17 protected trees in a state forest.
The trees were illegally removed after loggers strayed into a protected part of the Coopernook State Forest on the mid north coast two years ago.
The state-owned corporation has since agreed to pay for a range of compensatory projects to try to make up for the damage.
"We are disappointed that we did not comply (with environmental regulations) on this occasion and we are sorry," hardwood forests general manager Daniel Tuan said in a statement on Friday.
Under an enforceable undertaking with the Environment Protection Authority, the corporation will spend $500,000 on four projects.
They include developing a prototype in-cab boundary warning system to keep loggers out of protected areas.
"These trees were in a protected riparian exclusion zone, close to streams, so removing them had the potential to destabilise the soil and cause potential harm to the aquatic system as well as reduce available habitat for fauna," the EPA said.
The Forestry Corporation has recently been hit with a series of stop-work orders in two other state forests.
The EPA imposed the orders over concerns the corporation failed to competently identify and protect den trees for vulnerable species in the Tallaganda and Flat Rock state forests.
The Forestry Corporation recently revealed it conducted pre-harvest surveys for glider den trees in Tallaganda during the day, when nocturnal greater gliders would have been asleep.
EPA officers found and photographed a dead greater glider about 50 metres from where trees were being felled at Tallaganda in late August. It's cause of death has not been revealed.
The EPA is now working to strengthen protocols to ensure the forestry industry conducts searches in a competent manner.
