Hundreds rallied in Wallsend to save the Link Road Forest from housing development on Sunday, but the fight is far from over.

The event marked the official launch of a campaign to call on the state government to convert the 574-hectare ecologically significant site into a national park.

Link Road Forest Campaign group convenor Ian McKenzie said the land was too valuable to lose.

“It is the home of koalas, squirrel gliders, powerful owls, masked owls, several species of microbats and various other rare and threatened species,” he explained.

“We cannot allow the loss of critically-endangered species such as scrub turpentine, or the koala, which is now listed as endangered, to occur on our watch.”

The land is currently owned by property developers Eden Estates and earmarked to host mor

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