Author Eric Rolls wrote a book about the Pilliga called "A Million Wild Acres." He argued that the forest used to be an open woodland forest and that European influence has let the cypress pines take over. However, many scientific authors now disagree, using historical records from as early as the 1870s which say that the types of plants in the forest have not changed as much as Rolls suggests. However most of his history of the region is an important document for understanding the area.