Some 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of the privately owned Gwydir Wetlands were designated on 14 June 1999 as a Ramsar site as a wetland of international importance.

Some 1,021 square kilometres (394 sq mi) of the Gwydir Wetlands have been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because, when they receive adequate water inflows, they support more breeding waterbirds than any other site in the country.
 At times more than half a million nesting waterbirds have been present, including over 1% of the world populations of nankeen night herons, intermediate egrets, and of white and straw-necked ibises.
 The endangered Australasian bittern, Black-necked stork and other threatened species have been recorded.

The Namoi River snapping turtle or Bell's turtle (Elseya belli) is found only in the upper reaches of the Namoi, Gwydir and Macdonald Rivers on the NSW North West Slopes.
Some 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of the privately owned Gwydir Wetlands were designated on 14 June 1999 as a Ramsar site as a wetland of international importance.
Some 1,021 square kilometres (394 sq mi) of the Gwydir Wetlands have been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because, when they receive adequate water inflows, they support more breeding waterbirds than any other site in the country.  At times more than half a million nesting waterbirds have been present, including over 1% of the world populations of nankeen night herons, intermediate egrets, and of white and straw-necked ibises.  The endangered Australasian bittern, Black-necked stork and other threatened species have been recorded.
The Namoi River snapping turtle or Bell's turtle (Elseya belli) is found only in the upper reaches of the Namoi, Gwydir and Macdonald Rivers on the NSW North West Slopes.
Gwydir River