The great rescue of the Wollemi pine

This is an amazing story -- and sadly, perhaps a metaphor and a preview of the battle to save the Earth's global natural heritage.

Firefighters saved the last remaining grove of a rare Australian tree

"While most of the Wollemi National Park has been burnt by the huge Gospers Mountain fire north-west of Sydney, specialist remote-area fire crews managed to ensure the so-called "dinosaur trees" survived.

"Wollemi National Park is the only place in the world where these trees are found in the wild and, with less than 200 left, we knew we needed to do everything we could to save them,” Mr Kean said.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service, backed by the Rural Fire Service, kept their efforts largely a secret to avoid revealing the location of the Wollemi pines."

Wollemi pines