Environmentalists are pushing for the Macquarie Marshes to be relisted for environmental protections as public comments to the federal government close tomorrow.

The government gave the Marshes 'Threatened Ecological Community' status in the 2013, which was reversed in December that year after the new Liberal-Nationals government took office from Labor.

Nature Conservation Council water campaigner Mel Gray said the body will make a submission. "We need more layers of protection for this really special and important landscape," she said.

"What we've seen in recent times is mining exploration licenses issued for key parts at the heart of the Macquarie Marshes right near Ramsar wetlands and the nature reserve, in the actual wetland itself.

"The Macquaire Marshes are a patchwork of interconnected wetlands and floodplains that form one of the largest remaining semi-permanent wetlands in southern Australia, and they're a crucially important site for waterbird breeding."

READ: Rare endangered bird tagged in Macquarie Marshes

A Ramsar-listed site is a wetland listed as internationally important under the 1975 Ramsar Convention established by UNESCO.

Each year the federal government invites public nominations for areas that merit 'threatened' listing under national environmental law.

The "Wetlands and inner floodplains of the Macquarie Marshes" were nominated in 2023 for 'endangered' and 'critically endangered' status.

The marshes provide habitat to wetland bird species. PHOTO: Leanne Hall 

That nomination is taking public comment as part of what is called the draft Conservation Advice.

The Threatened Species Scientific Committee is due to hand their advice to the Minister for Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, by 29 November 2024.

River ecologist Professor Richard Kingsford, who has worked in the Macquarie Marshes for 25 years, said the listing would cover more of the Marshes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

"That doesn't mean that developments don't go ahead, but there's a much higher bar to go over, and it also means scrutiny by the federal government on any developments that might cause problems," said Prof. Kingsford, also Director of the Center for Ecosystem Science at the University of New South Wales.

"It has all of the challenges of any inland areas in terms of things like pigs and cats and foxes.

"What we're trying to do here - and the government's trying to do here - is really get as much protection for the system as possible."

Concerns were raised for the Marshes after the NSW Resources Regulator granted approval in April for Canadian mining company Australian Consolidated Gold Holdings to explore for copper and gold in the wetland reserve.

The approval was overturned on 25 July and the company was given until 23 August to submit more information for its application. The miner and its opponents are still waiting for the regulator's final call.