INCLUDED: The Watagans are a haven for bushwalkers and 4WD day trippers.
FEARS are held by local tourism officials that the Watagan Mountains could become "a shooting gallery" which would deter bushwalkers and passive park users.
The concerns follow new laws which could open up to 751 parks to recreational hunters.
The state government has passed legislation to open the parks to hunting.
There are concerns that the move could scare off picnickers, campers, four wheel drive vehicle owners, and mountain bikers from the Watagan Mountains, which are included in the new hunting provisions.
Already the neighbouring Olney, Pokolbin, Awaba and Heaton state forests are open to hunters.
Greens MLC David Shoebridge said passive park users don't want to be confronted by hunters with guns leading packs of pig dogs.
"Feral animal control should be done professionally and humanely, not by a bunch of amateurs who have a vested interest in maintaining feral animal numbers to fuel their blood sports," Mr Shoebridge said.
Shadow environment minister Luke Foley said the pristine parks were being sacrificed "for the sake of Premier O'Farrell's backroom political deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party."
Lake Macquarie MP and mayor Greg Piper said when the government first allowed hunting in state parks he had "very grave concerns about the whole philosophy of so-called conservation shooting."
He said that although ostensibly this form of shooting was to control feral pests the public perception would be that it may be unsafe to enter the parks.
Regional tourism could be affected, he said.
Lake Macquarie Tourism Board member Rosmairi Okeno had previously said that the Watagan Forest was an important drawcard for local tourism.
A government spokesperson said, however, participation by shooters in the National Park and Wildlife Service pest management program would be allowed only when a clear, supervised, integrated program outlining how and where it will operate was developed in coming months.
"Safety will be paramount in any area where volunteers are included in the current program," he said.