A northern NSW mayor, whose formerly lush shire is now desiccated and encircled by bushfires, is pleading with the state government to halt logging of native forests until the bushfire crisis is over and the extent of the damage to koala populations and their habitat is understood.

Dominic King is the mayor of Bellingen, which lies on the Bellinger River between Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Heads and is home to forests known to support significant koala habitat that are subject to ongoing logging operations.

In the aftermath of bushfires destroying the state's most important koala habitat near Port Macquarie, killing hundreds of the vulnerable animals, Cr King said remaining habitat areas must be protected from the dual threat of fires and logging.

He has written to NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean, and last week released a public statement calling for the logging of native forests to be halted until enough rain falls to put out the fires and the full impact of the damage can be assessed.