Great Forest National Park
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The Great Forest National Park is a proposed national park in Victoria, Australia. The park would protect the forests of the Central Highlands and the endangered Leadbeater's possum.[1] The park would also protect the habitat of the locally threatened native Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) - the tallest flowering trees on the planet, and a large part of Melbourne's water catchment.[2]
Location
The park would extend between Kinglake National Park (west) and Baw Baw National Park (east), Lake Eildon National Park (north) and Bunyip State Park (south).[3] It would encompass 355,000 ha of land, including the Yarra Ranges National Park and existing state forests such as the Cathedral Range State Park and Toolangi State Forest.[4]
Public debate
An opinion poll conducted in 2014 showed that 89% of Victorians support a national park in the proposed area.[5][6] The proposal is also supported by 30 environmental and scientific groups, including the Royal Society of Victoria, Australian Conservation Foundation and The Wilderness Society.[5] Prominent environmentalists supporting the park include David Attenborough, Jane Goodall,[4] Tim Flannery and Bob Brown.[7]
Opponents of the park include the Victorian Association of Forest Industries,[7] that opposes any extension to the state's national park system.[8]
The proposal was a key topic in the 2014 Victorian state election. While the incumbent Liberal-National Coalition ruled out support for any new national park, the proposal was supported by The Greens.[4] The Labor Party was divided on the issue and did not actively support the plan during the election campaign.[9] In 2015 environment minister Lisa Neville expressed support for the national park.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ Young, Amelia: "Great Forest National Park support could decide Victorian election", ABC, 27 November 2014
- ↑ Lindemayer, David: "Why Victoria needs a Giant Forest National Park ", in The Conversation, 30 September 2013
- ↑ My Forests Inc: "Park Plan", retrieved 27 December 2014
- 1 2 3 Milman, Oliver: "David Attenborough and Jane Goodall join the fight to create a new national park in Victoria", in The Guardian, 11 November 2014
- 1 2 "Sir David Attenborough backs move to protect Leadbeater's habitat", in ECOS Magazine, 17 November 2014
- ↑ Essential Research: "Selected Results - Great Forest National Park", 14 October 2014
- 1 2 Henderson, Jenni: "Support for the proposal of a new Victorian national park grows", ABC, 23 September 2014
- ↑ VAFI:About, retrieved 24 June 2015
- ↑ Gordon, Josh: "State Labor dumps Great Forests park plan ahead of Victorian election", in The Age, 14 November 2014
- ↑ Tomazin, Farrah: "Minister flags new national park within this term to save the possum" in The Age, 3 May 2015
External links
- Great Forest National Park - Park Plan
- The Science Behind the GFNP - presentation by David Lindenmayer
Coordinates: 37°30′S 145°30′E / 37.500°S 145.500°E