Last month, 13 "tiny" smoky mice were released back into the wild at Nungatta forest in the South East Forest National Park, near Eden on the NSW Far South Coast.

"To the untrained eye, these tiny mice might look quite common, but there are fewer than 100 smoky mice left in the South East Forest, which is one of only two known populations in NSW," Minister for Environment James Griffin said.

Mr Griffin said the reintroduction of the smoky mice was a culmination of "years of painstaking conservation work", in which they hoped to "turn back the tide on extinctions and secure the species' survival into the future".

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The conservation of the smoky mouse species has been led by the NSW government's Saving our Species program, one of the biggest conservation commitments ever undertaken in NSW.

The program's objective has been focused on securing a future for various threatened species in NSW, the smoky mouse being one of them.

Before the smoky mouse was re-introduced to its habitat, Nungatta forest was earmarked by the NSW government to be part of its latest re-wilding efforts, for which they established seven new feral-free areas across the state.

Mr Griffin said Nungatta was the newest of the seven feral-free areas and covered 2000 hectares.

"Through Nungatta and our six other feral predator-free areas in NSW national parks, we're re-wilding our state and helping our threatened species thrive into the future," Mr Griffin said.

"Once all seven sites are completed, 65,000 hectares of national parks will be feral-free and provide a significant conservation benefit for more than 50 species."

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Saving our Species program expert Dr Linda Broome said the trial reintroduction had been a major step in their six-year long project.

"Now we have reached this milestone, so we are hopeful that the smoky mouse continues to survive in the wild and possibly even increase their population numbers in their coastal forest habitats," she said.

Dr Broome said the smoky mouse species would play a vital role in keeping forests healthy by aerating soil, increasing water penetration, and spreading truffle spores.

The 13 smoky mice released in July had been bred for conservation by Priam Australia's National Threatened Species Institute near Canberra.

While it meant the mice hadn't previously been exposed to their real habitat, they were raised in a specialised facility that replicated their preferred habitat of the South East Forest National Park.

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"With such low population numbers in the wild, our long-term goal when setting up the breeding facility was to eventually return this species to its wild, natural habitat," Dr Broome said.

Remote cameras and micro-chip readers have been set up in and around the initial release pens within the national park and will provide data on how the released mice are faring.

The NSW government's Saving our Species program was backed by a $175million commitment over 10 years.

In addition to this the smoky mouse release was supported by $210,000 from the Australian government's Bushfire Recovery for Wildlife and their Habitats program.

To find our more about the smoky mouse species and further details around the Saving our Species initiatives visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspecies.