Battlelines over the future of one of NSW's newest national parks are set be redrawn after Nationals MPs dropped their push to downgrade its status, and instead will seek to lock in tree thinning trials as a permanent feature.

John Barilaro, deputy premier and Nationals leader, told the party's annual conference in June he would "be reintroducing a bill" to revoke the national park status of the Murray Valley National Park. It's understood he has since backed down after Liberal counterparts rejected his plan, and offered a compromise instead.

The Murray Valley National Park turns out to be among the fastest growing in popularity in the NSW in terms of visitation numbers. Credit:Nick Moir

The deal involves legislation to make permanent the current so-called "ecological thinning trials" in the national park, a move that will rile environmental groups who want to see the results of the tests. It may also fail to appease local sawmilllers who are lobbying to regain access to the region's river red gum timber.

A spokesman for Mr Barilaro said early results of the thinning trials were "promising", and better management would "only encourage more visitors to the park, generating tourism and timber industry jobs in regional NSW."