The Narrabri coal seam gas project proposed for the Pilliga was declared a controlled action under federal environment laws in May, and required an environmental impact statement to be prepared.

The guidelines as to how the environmental impact assessment will be conducted have now also been released for public comment, with submissions due by July 29.

“We are very pleased that the federal government has chosen to release the environmental impact guidelines for the proposed gas field in the Pilliga for public exhibition,” Wilderness Society campaigns manager Warrick Jordan said.

“It is something that does not happen often, and we believe the deep-seated and widespread community opposition to the proposed Pilliga gas field has triggered this response.”

Mr Jordan, who scaled a 25m coal seam gas rig early this month in protest against the Pilliga project, said the decision was timely, given a 30th anniversary reprint of A Million Wild Acres was launched in Baradine last week.

The book, written by Eric Rolls, celebrates the history of the iconic Pilliga forest.

“The fact is that the Pilliga is a place of legend, a wild forest immortalised by Eric Rolls and entrenched in the Australian psyche, and it should never be transformed into a gas field,” Mr Jordan said.

“We are encouraging people throughout the North West and further afield in NSW to now take the time to put in a submission before July 29, and ensure that the very best and most thorough science is applied in the assessment process.”

The assessment guidelines will determine what surveys are required for plants and animals, and what studies will be conducted on the Great Artesian Basin and other aquifers.

“They will specify what information is presented to the federal environment minister for him to make a decision on the project,” Northern Inland Council for the Environment spokeswoman Carmel Flint said.

“We will be calling on [Environment] Minister [Tony] Burke to reject the Narrabri coal seam gas project, and ensure that the Pilliga forest is protected into the future just as it was so richly depicted by Eric Rolls 30 years ago – as a million wild acres.”