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National Parks Act
Annual Report 2011

Published by the Victorian GovernmentDepartment of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne
September 2011
© The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011
This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.
Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street,East Melbourne 3002
Printed by Finsbury Green Pty LtdPrinted on recycled paper
ISSN 1839-437XISSN 1839-4388 (online)
For further information, contact the DSE Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963.
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This document is also available in PDF format on the internet at <www.dse.vic.gov.au>
Notes
•	The Ministers responsible for administering the National Parks Act 1975 during the year were the Hon Gavin Jennings MLC, Minister for Environment and Climate Change (1 July 2010 – 2 December 2010) and the Hon Ryan Smith MP, Minister for Environment and Climate Change (2 December 2010 – 30 June 2011).
•	In this report
	–	the legislation referred to is Victorian legislation
	–	the Act means the National Parks Act 1975
	–	DSE means Department of Sustainability and Environment
	–	DPI means Department of Primary Industries.
	–	the Minister means the Minister for Environment and Climate Change
	–	the Secretary means the Secretary to the Department of Sustainability 			and Environment
Cover: Lake Hattah, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (photo: Bob Merlin, Mallee Catchment Management Authority)

Foreword
This annual report on the working of the National Parks Act 1975 for the year ended 30 June 2011 is provided to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Ryan Smith MP, for the purpose of section 35 of the Act.
The Act establishes the statutory basis for the protection, use and management of an outstanding system of national and other parks covering nearly 3.45 million hectares.
The Secretary is responsible under the Act for ensuring that the parks and other areas to which the Act applies are controlled and managed in accordance with the Act. Parks Victoria is responsible for managing the parks and other areas under the Act on behalf of the Secretary.
The parks system was expanded in August 2010 with the creation of new park areas in East Gippsland and additions to several parks elsewhere in the state. The new park areas in East Gippsland contain significant areas of old growth forest, rainforest and other natural values and include a link between Errinundra and Snowy River national parks.
In addition to continuing the fire recovery works following the 2009 bushfires, flood response and flood recovery were critical aspects of park management this year. Successive severe storms between September 2010 and March 2011 resulted in significant damage in many parks. The considerable work required to repair this damage has been greatly assisted by additional government funding.
There have been several independent inquiries in recent years relating to aspects of park management. The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission released its final report on 31 July 2010. Implementing its recommendations will have implications for the management of the parks system, in particular the commitment to substantially increase the area of public land treated with planned burning.

The Auditor-General’s report on the environmental management of marine protected areas, released on 2 March 2011, contains recommendations which will help to improve our performance in that area. We have begun to implement the report’s recommendations, and also those in the May 2010 report on invasive plants and animals.
Partnerships with other organisations and the community continue to contribute to park management. Of particular note, partnerships with Traditional Owners were strengthened with the signing of Traditional Owner land management agreements with the Gunaikurnai People and the Yorta Yorta People. These agreements provide, for the first time in Victoria, for the joint management of several parks under the Act and, as a consequence, greater involvement of those Traditional Owners in park management.
The park management activities undertaken across the state, particularly by Parks Victoria, are reflected in the many projects referred to elsewhere in this report. I thank all those who were involved in delivering the parks program over the past year.

Greg WilsonSecretary to theDepartment of Sustainability and Environment

Contents
Foreword	1
Representative parks system	3
Areas managed under the Act	3
Changes to the parks system	3
Management planning	5
Natural values management	6
Research	6
Monitoring	7
Environmental management	7
Fire and flood management and recovery	11
Fire	11
Floods	12
Traditional Owner partnerships and cultural heritage management	13
Traditional Owner partnerships	13
Aboriginal cultural heritage	13
Non-Aboriginal cultural heritage	13
Community involvement	14
Volunteers	14
Community group grants	14
Visitor and tourism services	15
Information, interpretation and education	15
Enhancing visitor enjoyment and tourism	15
Visits to parks	16
Supporting park management	17
Park management	17
Legislation	17
Authorities granted under the Act	18
Enforcement	19
Interstate cooperation	19
Advisory bodies	20
Appendixes	21
1 – Areas managed under the National Parks Act	22
2 – Pest plant control projects	28
3 – Pest animal control projects	30
4 – Location of parks and other areas	31

Representative parks system

Areas managed under the Act
As at 30 June 2011, there were 138 areas with a total area of nearly 3.45 million hectares managed under various provisions of the Act. Appendix 1 lists the areas and Appendix 4 shows their location.
The 138 areas comprised:
•	123 areas (3 440 970 ha) listed on schedules to the Act
	– 45 national parks (Schedule Two)
	– 3 wilderness parks (Schedule Two A)
	– 25 state parks (Schedule Two B)
	– 5 coastal parks, 3 historic parks, 1 nature conservation reserve, 8 regional parks and Haining Farm (ScheduleThree)
	– 3 marine and coastal parks, 2 marine parks, 1 marine reserve, 1 national heritage park and 1 nature conservation reserve (Schedule Four)
	– 13 marine national parks (Schedule Seven)
	– 11 marine sanctuaries (Schedule Eight)
•	15 non-scheduled areas (4442 ha) to which particular provisions of the Act apply.
The Act also defines the following areas within particular national parks:
•	19 wilderness zones (Schedule Five) within 7 national parks (see Appendix 1)
•	22 remote and natural areas (Schedule Six) within 12 national parks (see Appendix 1)
•	4 designated water supply catchment areas within the Great Otway, Kinglake and Yarra Ranges national parks. 
Changes to the parks system
Nearly 40 000 hectares were added to the parks system during the year and 73 hectares were excised. In summary, one new park was created and there were additions to 14 parks and excisions from four parks. The new park areas are summarised in Table 1 and the excisions in Table 2.

On 20 August 2010:
•	approximately 36 820 hectares containing significant areas of old growth forest, rainforest and other natural values were added to the parks system in East Gippsland through additions to Croajingolong, Errinundra and Snowy River national parks and the creation of Tara Range Park adjoining Snowy River National Park. These new park areas complement new nature conservation reserve areas created under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978
•	approximately 2320 hectares were added elsewhere in the state to the Alpine, Brisbane Ranges, Grampians, Greater Bendigo, Great Otway and St Arnaud Range national parks and Lerderderg State Park. These additions included a small reserve added to the Great Otway National Park which had previously been managed under section 19B of the Act
•	a small area was excised from Lerderderg State Park.
On 21 August 2010:
•	790 hectares were added to Greater Bendigo, Great Otway, Kinglake and Terrick Terrick national parks, Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park and Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park
•	approximately 72 hectares were excised from Croajingolong and Kinglake national parks and Beechworth Historic Park.
The additions to Brisbane Ranges National Park included areas formerly managed or owned by Barwon Water but which are now surplus to its requirements. Several of the other additions outside East Gippsland arose from companies acquiring land to offset native vegetation clearance elsewhere or as part of a planning subdivision and subsequently donating the land to the state. The addition to Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park was purchased by the Shire of Mt Alexander with the assistance of the Ross Trust. Several other additions were purchased as part of the conservation land purchase program.

Table 1 – New park areas	
Park	Area (ha)	Summary description	
20 August 2011	
Tara Range Park		7 620	New park on the Tara Range and Snowy River adjoining Snowy River National Park, including drier old growth forest, herb-rich forest and rainforest	
Alpine NP		825	Area at Mt Typo, near the Wabonga Plateau	
Brisbane Ranges NP		1 200	Lower Stony Creek Reservoir and its catchment and adjacent allotments containing significant natural and heritage values (1185 ha) and several government roads	
Croajingolong NP	855	Area containing lowland old growth forest east of the West Wingan Road	
Errinundra NP		12 340	Areas containing old growth forest, rainforest and other natural values, including the Goolengook block and a link to Snowy River National Park	
Grampians NP		37	Inlier in the northern Grampians containing heathy woodland and red gum woodland	
Great Otway NP		0.8	Two small allotments transferred by Wannon Water	
Greater Bendigo NP		161	Two areas, the larger (130 ha) containing box-ironbark vegetation with large old red ironbark trees and mallee vegetation	
Snowy River NP		16 005	Areas of old growth forest and other natural values, including part of the Yalmy catchment and links to Errinundra National Park and the expanded Martins Creek Nature Conservation Reserve	
St Arnaud Range NP		91	Area containing box-ironbark vegetation with numerous large old trees providing habitat for threatened fauna	
Lerderderg SP			3.9	Area of forest near Darley Ford including part of the Lerderderg Gorge walking track	
21 August 2011	
Great Otway NP		12.5	Area at Johanna Beach campground (1.4 ha) and Crown land north of Anglesea (11.1 ha)	
Greater Bendigo NP		252	Two areas in the Kamarooka block containing grassy woodland and mallee vegetation	
Kinglake NP		22	Forested area near St Andrews	
Terrick Terrick NP		468	Two areas (Patho and Turrumberry Grassland nature conservation reserves) containing northern plains native grassland	
Gippsland Lakes CP		10	Area on Boole Boole Peninsula near Mosquito Point	
Castlemaine Diggings NHP		25	Area north of Castlemaine (Karrook Bushland Reserve) containing high quality box-ironbark vegetation	

	CP	Coastal Park
	NHP	National Heritage Park
	NP	National Park
	SP	State Park 

Management planning
As at 30 June 2011 there were approved management plans covering all or parts of 42 national parks, 3 wilderness parks, 25 state parks, 17 other parks and reserves, 13 marine national parks and 11 marine sanctuaries.
During the year the approved management for Steiglitz Historic Park was reviewed and extended for a further five years, and the management plan for St Arnaud Range National Park was finalised.
Work continued on the draft management plan for the Greater Alpine National Parks (Alpine, Baw Baw, Errinundra, Mount Buffalo and Snowy River national parks, Avon Wilderness Park and Tara Range Park as well as several areas not under the Act). This was assisted by the Alpine Advisory Committee (which also formed the Greater Alpine National Parks Advisory Committee), the Victorian Alpine Traditional Owner Reference Group and the Environment and Scientific Advisory Group. Staff and community workshops were held to identify threats to natural values and develop 15-year conservation and fire management goals and objectives for the parks. 

Parks Victoria and the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation commenced development of a management plan for parks and reserves in Victoria’s far south-west, including Cobboboonee, Lower Glenelg and Mount Eccles national parks. Existing management plans were reviewed; a statement of significance was prepared by the Gunditjmara Elders; natural, cultural and other values and the threats to these values were identified; ecological knowledge was reviewed and evaluated; and an Aboriginal ecological literature review was completed.
There was further work on the master plan to guide the future of visitor facilities in Kinglake National Park over the next 15 years and the master plan for Point Nepean National Park (including the Quarantine Station), which will be released in 2011–12.
Work commenced on a revision of the management strategy for Victoria’s system of marine national parks and marine sanctuaries.

Research
Research authorisations
Research, study and investigation in areas on the schedules to the Act are authorised under section 20 or 21A of the Act, sometimes in conjunction with a permit under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, Reference Areas Act 1978 or Wildlife Act 1975.
A total of 229 permits were issued during the year. These enabled research to be carried out in 107 parks (a permit may cover more than one park, project or field of study) or in all parks if required (10 permits). Those parks for which 10 or more permits were issued (in addition to the ‘all parks’ permits) were: Alpine (27), Croajingolong (12), Grampians (26), Great Otway (29), Hattah-Kulkyne (15), Kinglake (11), Lake Eildon (10), Little Desert (11), Mornington Peninsula (14), Murray-Sunset (12), Port Campbell (12), Wilsons Promontory (19), Wyperfeld (10) and Yarra Ranges (18) national parks and Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park (10).
Examples of the research covered by the authorisations include:
•	an investigation into rainfall event characteristics and vegetation regeneration on post fire hillslopes in the Alpine National Park
•	research into the structure of the earth’s crust and lithosphere beneath Bass Strait using seismic recorders installed in Wilsons Promontory National Park
•	the introduction and monitoring of new populations of Green-striped Greenhood in Bunyip State Park
•	testing for the Abalone Viral Ganglioneuritis in marine protected areas.
Research programs
DSE commenced a new three-year research program with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science to provide an evidence base for policy and decision making in the management of Victoria’s forested landscapes, including parks. The program will investigate the impacts of fire (natural and managed), climate variability/change and forest management regimes on water quantity and quality, biodiversity values, carbons assets, other social and economic values, and the vulnerability and resilience of Victoria’s public forests, including those in parks.

As part of implementing the new government’s election commitments, the Secretary authorised a research program in the Alpine National Park to assess the effectiveness of fuel and bushfire risk management in Victoria’s high country using strategic cattle grazing. In January 2011 about 400 adult equivalent cattle were introduced into six areas of the park totalling 26 200 hectares, with all cattle removed by 8 April 2011.
Parks Victoria’s Research Partners Program seeks to improve environmental management through collaborative research partnerships with universities and other research institutions. Twenty-five new projects relating to areas managed under the Act were established. These included research examining:
•	the factors affecting the regeneration of Slender Cypress-pine in Hattah-Kulkyne, Murray-Sunset and Wyperfeld national parks
•	decontamination procedures to reduce the spread of Phytophthora cinnamomi in Brisbane Ranges National Park
•	the behaviour and population ecology of kangaroos in Wilsons Promontory National Park
•	the impact of Sambar Deer on mossbeds and fauna in Yarra Ranges National Park
•	the impact of fire on Leadbeater’s Possum in Yarra Ranges National Park
•	links between estuaries and their catchments as well as water quality issues affecting natural values in estuaries and marine protected areas
•	new statistical methods for analysing marine monitoring data.
The Research Partners Program also supported 27 ongoing research projects involving areas under the Act. These included research examining:
•	the effectiveness of fox control in areas across the state
•	the effect of fire on flora and fauna in the Grampians, Hattah-Kulkyne and Murray-Sunset national parks
•	the effects of climate change on flora and fauna in the Alpine National Park
•	options for improving management of illegal activities in marine national parks and sanctuaries.

Adaptive management research
Adaptive management uses management programs experimentally to improve management. Adaptive experimental research projects during the year included:
•	ongoing research in the Alpine National Park into the effectiveness of different techniques for controlling the highly invasive English Broom as well as their effects on native vegetation
•	examining ecological thinning as a technique for maintaining and improving the health of River Red Gums in Barmah National Park
•	further developing and implementing a program aimed at restoring coastal grassy woodland that has been degraded by the invasion of Coast Tea-tree on the Yanakie Isthmus in Wilsons Promontory National Park.
A comprehensive adaptive management framework and conservation outcomes hierarchy was developed by Parks Victoria to direct and inform management and monitoring priorities. This approach will be progressively implemented at priority locations across the park network.
Monitoring
DSE’s Forests and Parks Monitoring and Reporting Information System provides a platform to meet reporting obligations, support future policy and management decisions and assess the health and condition of Victoria’s forests and parks. During the year, monitoring plots were established and measured at 42 sites across Victoria’s forests, including 21 in 12 parks managed under the Act.
Parks Victoria’s Signs of Healthy Parks monitoring program aims to provide an understanding of the health of parks, evaluate the effectiveness of Parks Victoria’s conservation programs and provide early warning of emerging threats.
An important part of the program is the development of monitoring plans that identify priority natural values and threats to be monitored and specify how monitoring will be carried out. During the year, new monitoring plans were commenced for Mornington Peninsula, Point Nepean and Terrick Terrick national parks.
More than 40 monitoring programs were implemented in areas managed under the Act, including those relating to:
•	pest plants in 13 parks, including the Alpine, Chiltern-Mt Pilot, Grampians, Greater Bendigo and Port Campbell national parks 
•	introduced animals (including cats, deer, foxes and rabbits) in 21 parks, including the Alpine, Coopracambra, Hattah-Kulkyne, Lower Glenelg and Wilsons Promontory national parks, Warrandyte State Park and Cape Conran Coastal Park

•	the condition of native vegetation in the Great Otway, Heathcote-Graytown, Little Desert, St Arnaud Range and Terrick Terrick national parks
•	over-abundant kangaroos in Hattah-Kulkyne, Murray-Sunset and Wyperfeld national parks, and over-abundant koalas in Mount Eccles National Park.
Monitoring programs undertaken in marine national parks and sanctuaries included:
•	subtidal reef monitoring in Bunurong and Wilsons Promontory marine national parks and Eagle Rock, Marengo Reefs and Merri marine sanctuaries
•	intertidal reef monitoring  in Bunurong, Point Addis and Port Phillip Heads marine national parks and Jawbone, Mushroom Reef, Point Cooke, Point Danger and Ricketts Point marine sanctuaries
•	community-based monitoring of seagrass and intertidal reefs, as part of the SeaSearch program, in Corner Inlet and Port Phillip Heads marine national parks and Barwon Bluff, Jawbone and Mushroom Reef marine sanctuaries.
Marine pest surveys were completed as part of subtidal and intertidal reef monitoring programs. Further targeted surveys of marine pests were undertaken in and around the Swan Bay section of Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park (Northern Pacific Seastar) and Marengo Reefs Marine Sanctuary (Japanese Kelp).
Environmental management
Information on the values of the parks system and the risks identified in State of the Parks 2007, together with Parks Victoria’s Levels of Protection framework, provided a basis for setting strategic priorities. The environmental management framework focuses on-ground works on protecting the highest values at greatest risk. Examples of projects in the various environmental management program areas are provided below.
Threatened species management
Projects undertaken in relation to threatened species management included:
•	surveying captive-bred Regent Honeyeaters that were released in Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park in May 2010, a project involved DSE,  Parks Victoria, Birds Australia and Taronga Zoo
•	monitoring the population of brush-tailed rock-wallabies that were re-introduced into the Grampians National Park in 2008–09 to assess their health and success in breeding. Several females have bred and, although some predation occurred when the program was interrupted because of the January floods, overall mortalities due to predation remain low

•	monitoring, with Birds Australia, Hooded Plovers on ocean beaches including in the Great Otway and Mornington Peninsula national parks and Cape Liptrap Coastal Park. Warning signs and increased compliance with dog walking regulations during high-risk periods has helped protect Hooded Plovers and nesting chicks. 
Threatened species management in areas affected by the 2009 bushfires included several projects in the Yarra Ranges National Park, including:
•	working with the Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum to assess the habitat of Leadbeater’s Possum across the Maroondah and O’Shannassy catchments and at Lake Mountain, install 129 nest boxes, monitor the colonisation of dispersing possums and provide supplementary feeding of the Lake Mountain population
•	confirming the presence of the Alpine Bog Skink at Lake Mountain (the Eastern Pygmy Possum and the Broad-tooth Rat have not been detected since the fires).
Native animal management
Programs to control koala populations continued in several parks where there was a demonstrable long-term impact on environmental values caused by unsustainable numbers. These programs follow ecological rationales that have been developed with the Koala Technical Advisory Committee and other stakeholders.
At French Island, a contraceptive implant program is gradually replacing relocation. This year 265 adult koalas were relocated to Bunyip State Park, and a further 114 female koalas were implanted with contraceptives and released back to the island.
At Mount Eccles National Park, 368 koalas were caught, with most being treated with contraceptive implants. An evaluation revealed the effectiveness of the program has levelled off and, to maintain forest health, the control program will need to be extended to areas outside the park.
Kangaroo control programs were not undertaken in the Mallee this year because numbers were below the target densities. However, it is expected that numbers will increase as a result of the rainfall experienced in 2010–11.
Catchment and water management
A substantial amount of environmental water was delivered to waterways, wetlands and floodplains along the Murray River, including the Hattah Lakes (Hattah-Kulkyne National Park), Barmah Forest (Barmah National Park) and Lindsay Island and Lake Wallawalla (Murray-Sunset National Park). The watering was undertaken through a broad partnership involving DSE, catchment management authorities, water corporations, Parks Victoria, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the Australian Government and, for the Barmah-Millewa Forest, New South Wales. The program is integrated with river, wetland and catchment management activities to achieve the best ecological objectives. 
The Murray Darling Basin Authority’s Living Murray Program funded structural works at Mulcra Island in Murray-Sunset National Park to enable the efficient use of environmental water and maximise ecological benefits. Planning progressed for further works at Hattah Lakes and Lindsay-Walpolla islands (Murray-Sunset National Park).
This year’s floods restored connections to many wetlands and rivers. The floods brought other benefits to the environment, such as increases in the breeding of native fish, waterbirds and frogs and improved condition in flood-dependent vegetation. For example, Barmah National Park experienced the largest waterbird breeding event in 60 years, with thousands of waterbirds from more than 35 species nesting in the forest.
Marine values protection
Parks Victoria works in partnership with other agencies, local government, industry groups and the community to protect marine park values. During the year, and in addition to the projects reported under Monitoring, Parks Victoria:
•	worked with DSE, volunteers, divers and the Southern Otway Landcare Network to limit the impact of the spread of an introduced seaweed – Japanese Kelp – in the Apollo Bay harbour (adjacent to Marengo Reefs Marine Sanctuary). This included a risk assessment, monitoring the seaweed’s spread, removing some three tonnes of it by hand, and community education
•	partnered with Museum Victoria in the Under the Lens initiative, which captured high quality underwater images and video of marine protected areas at Beware Reef, Cape Howe, Corner Inlet, Point Hicks, Port Phillip Heads, Western Port and Wilsons Promontory to help communicate the marine values of these areas to the community and other agencies
•	trialed a marine common assessment and reporting framework developed by the National Marine and Coastal Committee, which provides a consistent approach to monitoring, evaluation and reporting of marine biodiversity in Australia. The DSE-sponsored trial was conducted in marine protected areas at Wilsons Promontory and Corner Inlet
•	worked with Williamstown High School to establish a wetland system in the school to help clean storm water from the surrounding suburban streets before it entered Jawbone Marine Sanctuary.

Pest plant management
The control of pest plants was again a major component of natural values management in areas under the Act. Appendix 2 lists the targeted species for those areas managed under the Act where more than five hectares was recorded as being treated for the purpose of controlling or eradicating that species.
Projects undertaken during the year include those listed below, with several delivered collaboratively by organisations including Parks Victoria, DSE, DPI, catchment management authorities, alpine resort management boards, community groups and with the assistance of the Commonwealth’s Caring for Country initiative:
•	the Good Neighbour Program, which funded cross-tenure pest plant control projects that were delivered cooperatively with landowners and which focused on established weeds, in particular Blackberry, Bridal Creeper, Gorse, Ragwort, Serrated Tussock and St John’s Wort
•	Otway Eden, which resulted in the treatment of more than 1000 weed infestations in the Great Otway and Port Campbell national parks (as well as the Anglesea Heath and Otway Forest Park). The most common species treated were Asparagus Fern, Blackberry, Bluebell Creeper, Boneseed, Spanish Heath and Sweet Pittosporum
•	Highlands Down, which focused on threats to biodiversity in the Eastern Highlands of East Gippsland and their catchments, including Cape Broom in the Wonnangatta River catchment of the Alpine National Park, Blackberry and Ragwort along the Mitchell River, and willow crossing the divide into East Gippsland
•	Protecting the Best, which covers several parks in East Gippsland and which targeted new and emerging weeds – Blackberry, Bluebell Creeper, Blue Periwinkle, English Broom, Sea Spurge and willow – along high conservation value aquatic ecosystems as well as in coastal areas
•	the survey or treating of more than 25 000 hectares for Blackberry, including in the Alpine, Coopracambra, Errinundra, Kinglake and Snowy River national parks, Wabba Wilderness Park and Bunyip State Park
•	the survey and control of hawkweed in the Alpine National Park
•	the control of English Broom in the Alpine National Park, with the aim of preventing its spread across catchments and eradicating it from the King-Howqua area of the park

•	the surveillance and control of Grey Sallow Willow in alpine peatlands across the Bogong High Plains in the Alpine National Park and in Mount Buffalo National Park. Control programs occurred in more than 7500 hectares of those areas and also in the King and Howqua rivers
•	programs focusing on controlling pest plants in several box-ironbark parks, including Greater Bendigo and Heathcote-Graytown national parks (Artichoke Thistle) and Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park (Boneseed and Gorse). Previous control programs have led to a substantial decrease in the occurrence of Bridal Creeper in Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park
•	programs in the Mallee focusing on the bio-control of Bridal Creeper in Wyperfeld National Park and Lake Albacutya Park and the control of Thorn Apple in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and Murray-Kulkyne Park
•	a comprehensive weed control program in bushfire affected parks, including Kinglake, Tarra-Bulga, Wilsons Promontory and Yarra Ranges national parks, and a large-scale release of rust in Kinglake and Yarra Ranges national parks and Cathedral Range State Park to help protect regenerating plant communities from the smothering effects of Tutsan
•	the commencement of a four-year collaborative weed control program in the Dandenong Ranges National Park with the Shire of Yarra Ranges. This and other programs implemented over the preceding ten years have resulted in a large-scale reduction in the density and distribution of weeds, particularly invasive woody species.
Pest animal management
Extensive control programs were undertaken to reduce pest animal populations and the harm they cause. Appendix 3 lists the species and the parks managed under the Act that were targeted during the year in pest animal management projects.
In the Mallee, where the declining effectiveness of biological control (Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease virus and myxomatosis) had resulted in increases to the rabbit population, the use of integrated conventional control (baiting, ripping, fumigating), as part of Mallee Bounce Back, has now stopped or reversed increases in the rabbit population. Sustained low rabbit populations and above average rainfall in 2010–11 resulted in accelerated woody regrowth and the replacement of mature woodland trees.
Predator control and small mammal monitoring was carried out in the Great Otway National Park as part of Otway Ark. Forty bait stations were established across some 12 000 hectares around Cape Otway. Remote cameras were set-up within and outside the baited areas.

Fox control programs outside the Otways included:
•	post-bushfire programs in an area including Kinglake, Lake Eildon and Yarra Ranges national parks and Cathedral Range State Park
•	Grampians Ark, which includes the Grampians National Park and Black Range State Park
•	Glenelg Ark, in south-west Victoria, which includes Cobboboonee and Lower Glenelg national parks and Discovery Bay Coastal Park
•	Southern Ark, in Far East Gippsland, which includes parks east of the Snowy River
•	control programs in the Alpine National Park to protect Mountain Pygmy-possums at Mount Hotham and Falls Creek, Long-footed Potoroos in the Barry Mountains and Spot-tailed Quolls in the eastern Alps
•	a cooperative project with the Whroo-Goldfields Conservation Management Network to protect Brush-tailed Phascogale, Bush Stone-curlew and Common Dunnart in Heathcote-Graytown National Park
•	an integrated program of baiting and trapping across Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park to protect shorebirds and susceptible small mammals.
Other activities to control pest animals included:
•	the Good Neighbour Program, which delivers cooperative pest control projects with private landholders
•	working with the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (Victoria) to control goats in Murray-Sunset National Park
•	controlling goats in the Grampians National Park and working with DPI to plan goat eradication programs in Snowy River and Warby-Ovens national parks
•	removing the last known population of horses from the Wonnangatta-Moroka unit of the Alpine National Park and adjacent forest and reducing the population of horses on the Bogong High Plains by 30 animals
•	completing a review of the impact of feral horses on Barmah National Park
•	implementing pig control programs using trapping and shooting in the Alpine, Coopracambra, Croajingolong and Snowy River national parks, where pigs have caused extensive damage to riparian habitats, and completing a plan to eradicate pigs from Discovery Bay Coastal Park.
Large parts of Victoria experienced major outbreaks of locusts in 2010 and early 2011. As part of a major statewide response in spring 2010 and into the summer and autumn of 2011, targeted spraying occurred in several parks managed under the Act, mostly in the Mallee. In total, an estimated 10 000 hectares of parks were sprayed.

Grazing management
In Terrick Terrick National Park, a grazing regime was applied to manage grassland biomass. This was assessed during the year to determine its effects on fauna population structure. The results will assist in the management of the grasslands and the declining populations of the endangered Plains Wanderer, Fat-tailed Dunnart and other species.
Grazing licences ceased in Barmah and Gunbower national parks, Leaghur State Park and Gadsen Bend and Nyah-Vinifera parks as part of the phase-out of grazing licences in the new River Red Gum park areas.
Ecological fire management
There was further progress towards determining appropriate long-term ecological fire regimes with the development of landscape-scale fire ecology assessments and risk assessments. This information is used throughout Victoria as a component of integrated fire management and to inform fire operations plans, and now covers a large number of parks across the state.
A long-term statewide biodiversity monitoring program called HawkEye commenced in late 2010 to inform how planned burning affects biodiversity and ecosystem processes and to guide how to balance the dual objectives of fire safety and biodiversity protection. Several areas managed under the Act will be important areas for monitoring, research, modelling and evaluation.
A risk analysis and management tool for biodiversity values in the Mallee was developed to inform fire management activities. A two-year study in the Grampians National Park was completed which identified discrete biophysical units in the landscape which will provide the ecological basis for future fire management planning. 
Integrated fire management planning continued in the Otways, including the Great Otway National Park. The Otways are also the subject area for a landscape-scale fire management modelling case study being undertaken as part of the DSE-led Future Fire Management Project
Auditor-General’s report on environmental management of marine protected areas
On 2 March 2011 the Victorian Auditor-General’s report Environmental management of marine protected areas was tabled in Parliament (see <www.audit.vic.gov.au>). The report contains findings in relation to the management and planning of marine protected areas and recommends eleven actions to improve performance in these areas. The recommendations were accepted and are in the course of being implemented.

Fire
The bushfire season was very quiet this year. Victoria experienced its wettest summer on record and, together with reduced daytime maximum temperatures, resulted in very few days of dangerous fire weather conditions. High summer rainfalls and below average temperatures saw a decrease in the number of days when there were extreme fire conditions. The cooler conditions from February to May 2011 assisted in achieving an increased level of planned burning operations across public land, including areas managed under the Act.
Bushfires
DSE recorded 23 fires starting in areas managed under the Act. These fires, together with an escaped burn which entered the Big Desert Wilderness Park from South Australia, affected approximately 1550 hectares, mostly public land. All but two of the fires were less than 40 hectares, with 15 recorded as burning one hectare or less. The largest fire started in Mount Richmond National Park (739 hectares) as an escape from a planned burn. The fire in the Big Desert Wilderness Park burnt some 700 hectares of the park.
Planned burning
As part of the 2010–11 statewide planned burning program, there were 130 burns in areas managed under the Act which treated nearly 92 100 hectares. They comprised 95 burns which treated some 69 400 hectares for fuel reduction purposes, and another 35 burns which treated nearly 22 670 hectares for ecological purposes. The largest of the areas treated were in the Alpine National Park (8286 ha and 7700 ha), with six other burns – in the Alpine, Lake Eildon and Murray-Sunset national parks and Mount Samaria State Park – each of more than 2000 hectares. The Environmental management section of the report contains further information on ecological fire management.
Melbourne Bushfire Protection Program 
The four-year Melbourne Bushfire Protection Program commenced in 2009 and aims to improve bushfire preparedness on Melbourne’s urban-bushland interface. The program includes Churchill, Dandenong Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Organ Pipes and Point Nepean national parks, Arthurs Seat and Warrandyte state parks, Lysterfield Park, Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve and Woodlands Historic Park.
Works this year relating to those areas included:
•	establishing 9.6 kilometres of new fuelbreaks and improving 34.8 kilometres of existing fuelbreaks in eight of those areas
•	slashing grass and undergrowth
•	undertaking environmental and cultural heritage surveys prior to doing works
•	developing three fuelbreak management plans.
Preparing for emergencies
Emergency management plans were reviewed to ensure that they remain current and effective. An emergency scenario is used to test the effectiveness of the plans. In parks with large numbers of visitors, like Wilsons Promontory and Port Campbell national parks, Victoria Police is involved in the test emergency scenario. 
Fire recovery – 2009 bushfires
Parks Victoria implemented the second year of an extensive rebuilding program following the 2009 bushfires. Works included the following:
•	Kinglake National Park – the Island Creek picnic area and The Gums camping area were redesigned and rebuilt and Blackfish Way was re-opened. Detailed planning commenced for the reconstruction of the Masons Falls and Jehoshaphat Gully visitor areas
•	Wilsons Promontory National Park – the majority of damaged visitor assets were repaired except for planned improvements to two walking tracks, which were delayed due to the March 2011 storm
•	Yarra Ranges National Park – repairs were completed and improvements made to facilities along Lady Talbot Drive and in the Cambarville area; the toilet at Donnellys Weir was rebuilt; and improvements were made to visitor information at several sites
•	Bunyip State Park – the rebuilding of visitor facilities was completed at several sites, including a redesign of the picnic area at Lawsons Falls. The long-term sustainability of the park’s four-wheel drive track network has been improved
•	Cathedral Range State Park – all works were completed, including improvements to the Sugarloaf Saddle and Jawbone Saddle visitor areas and to walking tracks.

Severe storms between September 2010 and March 2011 impacted or slowed some of the fire recovery works. For example, the severe storm at Wilsons Promontory National Park in March 2011 damaged many of the repaired assets, and the remaining fire recovery works were put on hold until the flood recovery program for the park was planned.
Floods
Victoria experienced eight severe storms between September 2010 and March 2011 which caused significant damage to, and flooding of, parks across the state. Most of Victoria was affected in at least one of the storms.
The most severely affected parks managed under the Act were the Alpine, Grampians, Mount Buffalo and Wilsons Promontory national parks and Lysterfield Park. For example, the severe storm in January 2011 caused more than 190 landslips in the Grampians National Park. At Wilsons Promontory National Park there was an aerial evacuation of visitors, including several school groups, following torrential rainfall on 22 March 2011 which partially destroyed the Darby River bridge.
Other affected parks included Brisbane Ranges, Chiltern-Mt Pilot, Dandenong Ranges and Greater Bendigo national parks, Cathedral Range, Langhi Ghiran, Lerderderg Gorge, Mount Buangor and Warrandyte state parks and Beechworth Historic Park.

Extensive damage to some parks resulted in their total or partial closures for days or weeks. As at 30 June 2011, several parks, including the Grampians and Wilsons Promontory national parks, still had partial closures in place.
Flood recovery
As part of the 2011–12 state budget, the government announced considerable funding for flood recovery works on public land across Victoria, including parks under the Act. This included a specific initiative to restore and re-open Victoria’s affected parks in 2010–11 and 2011–12, including $21.6 million for the Grampians National Park and $13 million for Wilsons Promontory National Park (these amounts include anticipated insurance payments for loss or damage caused to public assets during the floods).
The funding covers works including clearing debris and re-opening access to damaged areas; restoring roads and bridges, walking tracks and visitor facilities; assessing and mitigating the risk of landslips and debris falls; and protecting and restoring natural and cultural values.
Successive storms made damage assessments and early recovery works difficult in some areas. In the Alps, damage to roads and crossings caused by the September 2010 storms was repaired only to be damaged again in February 2011.
Table 3 illustrates the work undertaken in the most severely affected parks. Recovery works will continue in 2011–12.

Table 3 – Flood recovery works	
Park	Examples of works	
Alpine NP	Flood repair works to roads and tracks, camping and picnic areas, and walking tracks were undertaken by local contractors or with the assistance of DSE (for strategic fire access routes).	
	Local engineering companies were contracted to assess the damage to roads and some walking tracks and associated structures and to recommend repairs and some improvement works, which will commence in November 2011 after the spring thaw.	
Grampians NP	There was initially a considerable effort to mitigate public risk by closing damaged areas, removing dangerous trees and creating access to critical infrastructure (roads, water assets and communication towers) by clearing roads of significant amounts of debris.	
	An interim walking track and creek crossing was completed at Silverband Falls, allowing visitor access over Easter while a long-term solution is investigated.	
	As at 30 June 2011 repairs by the Northern Grampians Shire to Mt Zero Road were underway and repairs to Mt Difficult Road were nearly complete; resurfacing and drainage works were underway at The Balconies; and works were progressing at McKenzies Falls.	
Mount Buffalo NP	Most of the Eurobin Creek suspension bridge was repaired or replaced following the preparation of new engineering designs.	
Wilsons Promontory NP	As at 30 June 2011 VicRoads had nearly completed repairs to the Darby River Bridge, and repairs to Darby Saddle, park roads and at Tidal River were well underway. Repairs were also underway on several minor landslips and on several walking tracks.	
	Engineering assessments were completed for beach access points and walking tracks, and planning for works commenced.	
	Extensive repairs commenced on the Tidal River general store.	
Lysterfield Park	Key trails were repaired and re-opened.	

NP	National Park

Traditional Owner partnerships
In October 2010 the Victorian Government and the Gunaikurnai People entered into an agreement which formally recognises the Gunaikurnai as the Traditional Owners of an area in Gippsland and recognises that they hold, by consent, native title over areas of Crown land in that region.
Included in the settlement is an agreement that several areas will be handed back to the Gunaikurnai as Aboriginal Title, to be jointly managed with the state. These areas include Mitchell River, Tarra-Bulga and The Lakes national parks, Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park and an area at the New Guinea caves in Snowy River National Park. DSE and Parks Victoria commenced discussions with the Gunaikurnai to progress the establishment of a Traditional Owner land management board for those areas under the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987.
DSE and Parks Victoria continued to work with other Traditional Owner partners across the state:
•	the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (the representative body of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Yupagalk Peoples) – in the co-management of parts of the Little Desert and Wyperfeld national parks as well as Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park and Lake Albacutya Park
•	the Gunditjmara People – in the course of developing a management plan for parks and reserves in the far south-west Victoria, including Cobboboonee, Lower Glenelg and Mount Eccles national parks
•	the Wadi Wadi People – to progress their involvement in the management of Nyah-Vinifera Park
•	the Yorta Yorta People – to progress the establishment of a Traditional Owner land management board for Barmah National Park.
Aboriginal cultural heritage
In consultation with Traditional Owners, cultural heritage assessments were carried out in French Island, Grampians, Kinglake and Wilsons Promontory national parks. Cultural heritage surveys were included in the flood recovery programs for the Grampians and Wilsons Promontory national parks.

Cultural heritage management plans were approved for the Alpine, Errinundra, Wilsons Promontory and Yarra Ranges national parks and Cape Nelson State Park.
Cultural heritage protection works were carried out at Pearl Point in Cape Conran Coastal Park in conjunction with the Bidawell, Gunaikurnai and Monaro Peoples.
Parks Victoria worked with Traditional Owners to develop education and interpretive signs for several parks. Signs were installed in Kinglake National Park, and designs were approved and Stage 1 of installation commenced at Cobboboonnee and Mount Eccles national parks.
Non-Aboriginal cultural heritage
In the Alpine National Park, King River Hut and Westons Hut, both destroyed by fire, were rebuilt with the assistance of the Weston family, the Victorian High Country Huts Association and community volunteers.
At Mount Buffalo National Park, significance assessments of the movable heritage collection at the Chalet were completed.
At Point Nepean National Park, there was considerable activity which included:
•	the repair of buildings at the Quarantine Station, including Hospital 3 and its adjacent cook house, and their opening for public access and interpretation
•	conservation works by the Friends of Point Nepean at the forts, protecting various components from corrosion and removing the build-up of sand and weeds from several fort structures
•	the completion of extensive works to restore South Channel Fort and make it safe so that it could be re-opened to the public. Weeds were controlled, salt tolerant native species planted, solar lights were installed and an occupational health and safety audit completed. The Minister re-opened the site on 16 April 2011, and licensed tour operators commenced offering guided tours
•	the staging of an interpretive play, In sickness and in health, by the Friends of Woodlands as a special event at the Quarantine Station during National Heritage Week.
At Yarra Ranges National Park, a heritage action plan was completed for the Cambarville historic area, which was affected by the 2009 bushfires.

Volunteers
Volunteers continued to make a major contribution to the management of many areas under the Act. Friends groups, individuals, schools, corporate volunteers and special interest groups provide invaluable support to Parks Victoria and park management.
Friends groups and volunteers (including campground hosts, four-wheel drive camp hosts and volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia) contributed more than 77 000 hours of voluntary work in 48 parks managed under the Act. Examples of their generous contributions include:
•	the Friends of Baw Baw National Park, who, in collaboration with Bushwalking Victoria, undertook maintenance along the Australian Alps Walking Track
•	the Friends of the Hooded Plover, who conducted surveys to monitor the birds population in Mornington Peninsula National Park and ran community awareness programs to increase understanding of the threats to the birds
•	the Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum, who managed feeding stations for the possums at Lake Mountain in the Yarra Ranges National Park during winter.
The Campground Host Program was delivered in nine parks managed under the Act, including Croajingolong, Lake Eildon and Mount Buffalo national parks. The Four Wheel Drive Camp Host Program was delivered in ten parks managed under the Act, including the Alpine, Grampians and Great Otway national parks.
Parks Victoria’s partnership with Conservation Volunteers Australia enabled supervised teams to deliver a diverse range of projects including threatened species conservation, monitoring, weed and pest control and track maintenance at Churchill, Dandenong Ranges, Grampians, Great Otway, Heathcote-Graytown, Mornington Peninsula, Point Nepean and Wilsons Promontory national parks, Arthurs Seat State Park and Lysterfield Park.
Community group grants
Parks Victoria’s Healthy Parks Healthy People community grants are provided to community groups who wish to undertake projects in Victoria’s parks. Eighty grants were provided for projects relating to areas managed under the Act, including:
•	in the Alpine National Park
	–	replacing fences around feral horse exclusion plots demonstrating impacts of feral horses at Cowombat Flat
	–	surveying alpine peatlands for willows in areas 	that have been subject to control work over the 	last four years
•	in the Great Otway National Park – removing environmental weeds from the Moggs Creek area, and carrying out mammal surveys within the park using hair tube analysis, scat collection and infra red photography 
•	in Mornington Peninsula National Park – revegetation and weed control to restore three swale grassland bowls near London Bridge
•	in Cape Liptrap Coastal Park – surveying and controlling high risk ‘garden escapee’ weeds, together with a plant exchange program for adjacent residents who remove the high risk weeds from their garden
•	in Bunurong Marine Park – developing an educational resource kit interpreting fossils found in the park.

Information, interpretation and education
A range of information, interpretation and education services are provided in relation to areas managed under the Act. These services are aimed at encouraging visitation and increasing community knowledge and understanding of Victoria’s parks and biodiversity.
Information was again provided to the public through Parks Victoria’s 24-hour information service (13 1963), the Parks Victoria website <www.parkweb.vic.gov.au> and Park Notes.
More than 13 000 people participated in face to face education or interpretation activities in areas managed under the Act. They included 4130 students who participated in curriculum-based learning programs at education centres at the Dandenong Ranges National Park (3000 students) and Wilsons Promontory National Park (1130 students); these programs receive financial support from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Programs were also delivered independently at the Grampians National Park by the Brambuk National Park and Cultural Centre (4210 students).
Other highlights of the interpretation and education program include:
•	the development of an education website for school students called Enviro Activ (see <www.enviroactiv.com.au>), which covers Victoria’s wetland environments and allows students to make nature documentaries
•	training for seasonal ranger staff and the development of support materials, including the publication of a list of activity ideas and start-up grants for Junior Ranger programs
•	Kallista Primary School students working on environmental projects in the Dandenong Ranges National Park as part of the Environment Corps program
•	the development of teaching resources, media releases and interpretive signage as part of the flood recovery work in the Grampians National Park
•	a series of summer holiday interpretation programs along the coast, including interpretative tours at the Twelve Apostles in Port Campbell National Park for Chinese-speaking visitors and rock pool rambles at Merri Marine Sanctuary.
Enhancing visitor enjoyment and tourism
Visitor facilities
Works were carried out across the state to improve visitor and tourist access and enjoyment while maintaining park values and reducing risks. Projects completed during the year included those summarised in Table 4 as well as those referred to in Fire recovery, Flood recovery and Non-Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Roads and tracks were maintained or upgraded in parks across the state through the Four Wheel Drive Program, fire and flood recovery programs and other programmed maintenance. The Four Wheel Drive Program funded maintenance of four-wheel drive tracks in the Alpine, Croajingolong, Grampians, Lake Eildon and Mitchell River national parks and Bunyip and Mount Samaria state parks.
In addition to the above activities:
•	planning of Stage 1 of the 148-kilometre Grampians Peak Trail from Halls Gap to Borough Huts in the Grampians National Park commenced (works were delayed by the severe storm in January 2011)
•	following an expression of interest process in 2009–10, Parks Victoria entered into exclusive negotiations with Mount Buffalo Community Enterprise regarding the future of the Mount Buffalo Chalet. The company’s proposal for the chalet’s redevelopment and operation includes significant restoration of the original core chalet buildings along with construction of new accommodation and facilities to replace the other ageing infrastructure and buildings
•	following an expression of interest process, Parks Victoria entered into exclusive negotiations with a consortium to work on the proposed redevelopment of a new chairlift and associated visitor facilities in Arthurs Seat State Park. The Minister unveiled concept drawings in May 2011.

Tour operators
Tour operators are licensed to run tours and activities on Victorian public land. As at 30 June 2011, there were 286 operators licensed to operate in areas under the Act.
There was considerable work done in preparation for the introduction, on 1 July 2011, of the reforms to the licensing system for tour operators and activity providers on public land, including areas on the schedules to the Act. The changes establish a consistent approach to licensing businesses that conduct tours or recreational activities for profit across all Crown land. The reforms include changes to the fee structure and licence length and strengthened offence and penalty provisions.
Visits to parks
The Visitor Number Monitor is a biennial survey of Victorian, New South Wales, South Australian and overseas visitors. The latest survey, conducted during 2010–11, found that there were just over an estimated 33 million annual visits to national and state parks. This is slightly more than the previous survey in 2008–09 (just under 33 million annual visits). The long-term average growth remains between one and two per cent per annum since monitoring began in 2001.
Visitor numbers were monitored at sites in Port Campbell National Park and Bay of Islands Coastal Park during 2010–11. Total annual visitation to Port Campbell National Park was estimated at just over three million visits, with the Twelve Apostles receiving just over one million visits. The figures indicate that this national park is the most highly visited national park in Victoria. The annual visitation to Bay of Islands Coastal Park was estimated at almost 900 000 visits. While the results show no significant increase in visitor numbers when compared with monitoring conducted in 2001 and 2002, they suggest that the average duration of each visit at the Twelve Apostles has increased considerably. 

Park management
Management arrangements 
The Secretary is responsible under the Act for ensuring that the parks and other areas to which the Act applies are controlled and managed in accordance with the Act.
Parks Victoria, established under the Parks Victoria Act 1998, is responsible through a management services agreement for managing the parks and other areas under the Act on behalf of the Secretary. Various powers under the Act have been delegated to employees of Parks Victoria.
DSE, on behalf of the Secretary, works with Parks Victoria and provides strategic policy advice to the Minister and the Secretary. Under the Act, the Director of National Parks (who is the Chief Executive Officer of Parks Victoria) provides advice to the Minister and the Secretary on the operational elements of park management.
Parks Victoria’s 2010–11 business plan described the park management services and strategic priorities to be delivered for the year. Its annual report for 2010–11 provides information on its operations for the year.
Management agreement
Barwon Water entered into an agreement with the former Minister under section 32NA of the Act to enable it to manage and control the Lower Stony Creek Reservoir dam wall and related structures and installations in the recent addition to Brisbane Ranges National Park (see Changes to the parks system).
Finance
The estimated expenditure in relation to areas managed under the Act in 2010–11 was $108.5 million. This includes fire and fire recovery costs, flood recovery costs and major capital works carried out on areas managed under the Act. Information about DSE’s and Parks Victoria’s overall financial activities is contained in their respective annual reports.
Staff
Parks Victoria manages a wide range of areas, including all of the parks and other areas under the Act, as well as conservation reserves, regional and metropolitan parks and aspects of the bays and waterways in or near Melbourne. As at 30 June 2011, Parks Victoria had 1177 direct employees, comprising 1091 ongoing staff (1032 FTE), 71 fixed-term staff (66.1 FTE) and 15 casual staff (4.8 FTE).
It is estimated that, as at 30 June 2011, 320 rangers (including 25 chief rangers) and 186 field service officers were engaged in managing areas under the Act. There were 78 ongoing and fixed-term Indigenous staff, including rangers, working in areas managed under the Act.
Thirty seasonal rangers were recruited to run visitor services programs across the state during the summer period, including in areas managed under the Act. These seasonal programs greatly enhance Parks Victoria’s capacity to maintain visitor services during the peak fire period.
Staff from DSE, particularly the Forests and Parks Division, and DPI also contributed to the parks program.
Management report
A report on the four new River Red Gum national parks – Barmah, Gunbower, Lower Goulburn and Warby-Ovens – was prepared as required under section 17 of the Act and tabled in Parliament on 28 June 2011. The report set out the priority management actions for the parks and the allocated funding.
Legislation
There were several amendments to the Act during the year, and amendments to one set of regulations under the Act.
Parks and Crown Land Legislation Amendment (East Gippsland) Act 2009
This Act amended the National Parks Act on 20 August 2010 to:
•	expand the parks system in East Gippsland, add areas to seven parks elsewhere in the state and excise a small area from Lerderderg State Park (see Changes to the parks system)
•	enable the Minister to authorise deer hunting by stalking in the new Tara Range Park in East Gippsland, subject to conditions
•	enable the Minister to grant a reasonable right of access over Brisbane Ranges National Park and Tara Range Park to a person whose land abuts or is surrounded by the park 
•	enable the Minister to enter into an agreement with Barwon Water for the management and control of the Lower Stony Creek Reservoir dam wall and related structures and installations in the addition to Brisbane Ranges National Park
•	update various provisions relating to Wannon Water.

Parks and Crown Land Legislation (Mount Buffalo) Act 2010
This Act amended the National Parks Act on 8 July 2010 principally to:
•	replace the existing provision for granting leases in Mount Buffalo National Park to enable the Minister, after consulting with the National Parks Advisory Council, to grant leases in relation to the Mount Buffalo Chalet, Cresta Valley and Dingo Dell for up to 21 years for purposes which the Minister considers are not detrimental to the protection of the park and, in certain circumstances, for up to 50 years, and to enable the Minister to grant associated licences
•	amend the offence and enforcement provisions relating to marine national parks and marine sanctuaries to permit boats carrying rock lobster, but not rock lobster pots, to anchor in those areas; create an offence to use commercial fishing equipment in those areas; and apply an additional enforcement provision of the Fisheries Act 1995 to particular offences under the National Parks Act.
This Act also amended the National Parks Act on 21 August 2010, principally to add approximately 790 hectares to six parks and excise some 72 hectares from three parks (see Changes to the parks system). The definition of part of the boundary of Discovery Bay Marine National Park was amended so that it is defined by reference to coordinates.
Other amending Acts
This Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 commenced on 23 September 2010. It amended the provisions in the National Parks Act relating to land management agreements between the Secretary and either Parks Victoria or a Traditional Owner land management board. It also amended the Act in relation to the application of joint management plans to parks where a Traditional Owner land management board has been appointed.
The Transport Integration Act 2010 and the Statute Law Revision Act 2011 also made minor, technical amendments to the Act during the year.
National Parks (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
Following a decision by the former government to abolish park entry fees, the National Parks (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2001 were amended on 1 July 2010 to remove the entry fees for the whole or parts of Baw Baw, Mornington Peninsula, Mount Buffalo, Point Nepean, Wilsons Promontory and Yarra Ranges national parks.
Authorities granted under the Act
Leases
A lease was granted under section 19(2)(a) of the Act to SkyHigh Victoria Pty Ltd to enable it to operate a kiosk/café and visitor information service at the Ferntree Gully picnic ground in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Licences and permits
Table 5 lists permits granted under various sections of the Act. In addition, apiary permits were granted under section 21(1)(b) and commercial tour permits under section 21(1)(c)(ii) (see Tour operators).
Consents to public authorities
Table 6 shows the consents granted under section 27 of the Act to public authorities (as defined in the Act) to carry out works, subject to conditions, in various parks.
Consent to earth resource activities
As reported in last year’s annual report, the former Minister’s consent under section 40 of the Act to seismic exploration within the Bay of Islands Coastal Park, as part of a larger exploration program for natural gas, was tabled in Parliament on 27 May 2010. Notice of a resolution to revoke the consent was given in the Legislative Council on 23 June 2010. The resolution was not subsequently debated and the consent was therefore not revoked.
Deer hunting authorisation
A notice under section 37(3) of the Act was gazetted on 15 September 2010 to authorise deer hunting by stalking in Tara Range Park, subject to conditions. 

Table 2 – Excisions	
Park	Area (ha)	Summary description	
20 August 2011	
Lerderderg SP		0.75	Disturbed area including part of a house	
21 August 2011			
Croajingolong NP		71	Part of runway approach path at Mallacoota Aerodrome requiring ongoing maintenance to meet Civil Aviation Safety Authority obstacle limitation standards	
Kinglake NP		1	Government road providing legal access	
Beechworth HP		0.25	Disturbed area containing access track to freehold land	

	HP	Historic Park
	NP	National Park
	SP	State Park

Natural values management

Fire and flood management and recovery

Traditional Owner partnerships and cultural heritage management

Community involvement

Visitor and tourism services

Table 4 – Visitor facilities	
Park	Project	
Alpine NP	Establishment of visitor facilities along the Bogong High Plains Road	
	Major maintenance to the Taylors Crossing footbridge across the Mitta Mitta River on the Australian Alps Walking Track	
Croajingolong NP	Replacement of footbridges and boardwalks on The Narrows walk near Mallacoota	
Dandenong Ranges NP	Upgrading of the Tan Track	
Great Otway NP	Improvements to the Great Ocean Walk, including 10 kilometres of new track, construction of a new viewing area and installation of trail signs, seats and boot cleaning stations	
Mornington Peninsula NP	Replacement of the water supply tank at the Gunnamatta ocean beach	
Mount Buffalo NP	Improvements to visitor safety at several lookouts	
Point Nepean NP	Site planning and design and preliminary infrastructure works for the redevelopment of the Quarantine Station site	
	Renovation of Building 11 at the Quarantine Station as a multipurpose space for interest groups	
Port Campbell NP	Repairs to the main boardwalk at the Twelve Apostles and to the visitor centre underpass, and replacement of footbridges at the car park	
Snowy River NP	Completion of the Tulloch Ard Gorge Lookout Walk (including the lookout)	
Tarra-Bulga NP	Upgrading of the Tarra Valley day visitor area, including redesign and sealing of the car park and replacement of the toilet and visitor shelter	
Wilsons Promontory NP	Relocation of the works depot at Tidal River and the decommissioning of the site	
	Removal of the underground fuel tanks and bowsers at Tidal River	
Yarra Ranges NP	Establishment of safer road crossings on the O’Shannassy Aqueduct trail	
Cape Conran CP	Repairs to accommodation cabins	

	CP	Coastal Park
	NP	National Park

Supporting park management

Table 5 – Licences and permits	
Park	Section of Act	Licensee/permittee	Purpose	
Lower Glenelg NP	21(1)(c)(ii)	Holdsworth Haulage Pty Ltd	Provision of management services at Princess Margaret Rose Caves, including guided tours.	
Mount Buffalo NP	21(1)(c)(ii)(i)	Individual	Operation of a café within Keown Lodge, Dingo Dell	
Port Campbell NP	21(3)	Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club	Operation and maintenance of a radio communication tower	
Bunyip SP	26A	Two individuals	Grazing over 2.2 ha	
Lysterfield Park	21(1)(c)(ii)	Lysterfield Sailing Club	Use of lake and clubrooms	

NP	National Park
SP	State Park

Table 6 – Consents to public authorities	
Park	Public authority	Consent purpose	
Alpine NP	Bureau of Meteorology	Installation of hydrographic stations at Snowy Range and High Ridge	
Kinglake NP	Telstra Corporation Ltd	Installation of fibre optic cable, Wild Dog Creek Track	
Murray-Sunset NP	South Australia Water Corporation	Installation of regulators and associated works at Mulcra Island as part of the Living Murray project	
Yarra Ranges NP	Telstra Corporation Ltd	Installation of DSE incident channel at Lake Mountain	

NP	National Park

Enforcement
There were 23 individuals successfully prosecuted in the courts during the year for committing 51 offences under the Act (36) or associated regulations (15).1 Most of the offences related to fishing or possessing a priority species in a marine national park or marine sanctuary (12), obstructing, abusing or threatening an authorised officer (9), possessing or using a gun or other weapon (11) and dogs (10).
There were 365 infringement notices issued during the year in relation to prescribed offences against the Act (83) or the National Parks (Park) Regulations 2003 (282). These included notices in relation to offences relating to dogs (128), using recreational fishing equipment in a marine national park or marine sanctuary (83), cutting or otherwise interfering with vegetation (36), lighting or maintaining a fire (32) and entering or remaining in a prohibited or restricted area (34).
In addition, there were 58 warnings issued for infingeable and non-infringeable offences, including in relation to using recreational fishing equipment in a marine national park or marine sanctuary (20), dogs (13) and entering or remaining in a prohibited or restricted area (9).
DPI fisheries officers continued to play a major role in enforcement in connection with the marine national parks and marine sanctuaries.
Interstate cooperation
Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council
The National Marine Protected Areas Working Group, established under the auspices of the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, finalised the report Progress towards implementing the national representative system of marine protected areas 2010. Its public release, endorsed by the Natural Resource Management Standing Committee, will occur in 2011–12.

Australian Alps Cooperative Management Program
The Memorandum of understanding in relation to the cooperative management of the Australian Alps national parks (MOU) covers eleven parks and reserves in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria. In Victoria, these are the Alpine, Baw Baw, Mount Buffalo and Snowy River national parks and Avon Wilderness Park. The purpose of the MOU is to promote cross-border cooperation in the protection and management of this highly significant conservation area.
The Australian Alps Cooperative Management Program operates under the auspices of the Australian Alps Liaison Committee. The committee seeks to provide land managers with appropriate technical tools and sound scientific advice in management reports and strategies to assist in achieving the objectives of the MOU in delivering best practice land management across the region. Parks Victoria represented Victoria on the committee.
During the year the program included:
•	finalising an independent technical report – Caring for our Australian Alps catchments – and distributing it to agency staff to guide program development
•	commencing a three-year study of feral horses, involving park management agencies across the Australian Alps and DSE, with the aims of developing methods for on-ground estimation of horse densities and investigating the impacts of feral horses on streams and wetlands
•	writing a paper on the fire history of the Australian Alps that uses fire history data to analyse the effect of fuel age on forest flammability, for peer review and publication
•	work on reports on the responsiveness of flora after fire in 40 long-term plots across the Alps and on the analysis of the growth rings of Mountain Plum Pine to help determine snow depths and fire history in the Alps dating back some 500 years
•	updating the Alps Education Kit, a valuable resource for teachers and students.
•	completing a fact sheet on the potential impacts of climate change on the Alps, which was posted on the Alps website

1	The numbers refer to the numbers of successful prosecutions during the year regardless of when the offences took place.. 

•	developing a design and prototype as part of a project to install symbolic Aboriginal ‘totems’ across the Alps that recognise the Traditional Owners of the Alps
For the first time in several years, field-based staff gathered to compare and contrast weed and pest animal control programs across the Alps. Some 60 staff attended presentations on the management of pest plants and animals and the use of remote cameras.
River Red Gum Adaptive Management Science Advisory Committee
Following the establishment of the new River Red Gum parks in Victoria and New South Wales, and to encourage a sharing of knowledge and expertise, a scientific advisory committee was appointed under New South Wales legislation to provide quality assured scientific advice to government on the management of the River Red Gum forests. The objectives of the committee include providing a scientific program to underpin the active forest management of the River Red Gum parks and reserves in both states.
The committee, which comprises ten members (chair, deputy chair, a policy representative from each state and six independent scientists) was appointed in 2011:
Chair:	Dr Graham MitchellDeputy Chair: 	Dr Kate WilsonMembers:	Associate Professor Leon Bren	Professor Rod Keenan	Professor Richard Kingsford	Associate Professor Ian Lunt	Mr Ross McDonnell (NSW)	Mr Lee Miezis (Victoria)	Dr Libby Rumpff	Dr Skye Wassens.
Advisory bodies
National Parks Advisory Council
The National Parks Advisory Council is appointed under section 10 of the Act. Its main functions are to advise the Minister generally in relation to the administration of the Act and on particular matters in relation to that administration on which its advice is sought by the Minister. The council also provides advice on proposed excisions from parks and on the granting of certain leases and consents for earth resource activities. The council’s 2010–11 annual report provides information on the council and its activities during the year.
The council comprises the Secretary (or his or her nominee), the Director of National Parks (who is the Chief Executive Officer of Parks Victoria) and eight non-government members.
As at 30 June 2011, the membership of the council was as follows:
Convenor:	Dr Charles Lane
Members:	Mrs Heather Gee
	Mr John Gray
	Mr Gary Howell (Secretary’s nominee)
	Dr Bill Jackson (Director of National Parks)
	Mr Lance Jennison
	Dr Brian Martin
	Dr Philip Moors
	Dr Mary-Jane Rogers
	Dr John Sherwood.
Alpine Advisory Committee and Greater Alpine National Parks Advisory Committee
The Alpine Advisory Committee is appointed under section 32AE of the Act to assist with the development of a management plan for the Alpine National Park. Its members also formed the Greater Alpine National Parks Advisory Committee appointed under the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 to assist concurrently with the development of the plan as it relates to Baw Baw, Errinundra, Mount Buffalo and Snowy River national parks and Avon Wilderness Park (as well as several other areas not managed under the Act). The committees’ term ended on 30 June 2011.
The membership of the committee was as follows:
Convenor:	Mr Richard Pickering
Members:	Ms Trudy Anderson	Ms Anne Casey (resigned 28 June 2011)
	Ms Eileen Clark
	Mr Michael Coldham
	Mr Gregg Cook
	Mr Graeme Dear
	Mr William Flamsteed 
	Mr Philip Ingamells
	Mr Ernie Innes
	Mr Charles Lovick
	Mr Jarrod Paine
	Mrs Deirdre Slattery
	Mr Glenn Tempest
	Mr Simon Turner
	Mr Philip Weigall.	                                                                                                  
Parks Victoria has also established several non-statutory advisory groups to assist in its management and planning of particular parks.
Appendixes

Appendix 1 – Areas managed under the National Parks Act

	A 	National parks (Schedule Two)	
	National park	Area (ha) 30 June 2010	Addition (ha)	Excision (ha)	Area (ha)30 June 2011	
1	Alfred 	3 050			3 050	
2 	Alpine	660 550	825		661 375	
3	Barmah	28 505			28 505	
4 	Baw Baw	13 530			13 530	
5 	Brisbane Ranges	7 718	1 200		#8 865	
6	Burrowa-Pine Mountain	18 400			18 400	
7	Chiltern-Mt Pilot 	21 560			21 560	
8	Churchill 	271			271	
9	Cobboboonee	18 510			18 510	
10	Coopracambra	38 800			38 800	
11	Croajingolong 	*87 790	855	71	#*88 500	
12	Dandenong Ranges	3 540			3 540	
13	Errinundra	26 875	12 340		#39 870	
14  	French Island	*11 050			*11 050	
15	Grampians 	168 110	37		168 145	
16	Great Otway	*103 185	13		*103 195	
17	Greater Bendigo**	17 004	413		#17 324	
18	Gunbower	9 330 			9 330	
19	Hattah-Kulkyne	49 975			49 975	
20	Heathcote-Graytown	12 700			12 700	
21	Kinglake 	22 430	22	1	#23 175	
22	Lake Eildon	27 750			27 750	
23	Lind 	1 370			1 370	
24	Little Desert	132 647			132 647	
25	Lower Glenelg	26 430			26 430	
26	Lower Goulburn	9 310			9 310	
27	Mitchell River	14 250			14 250	
28	Mornington Peninsula	*2 680			*2 680	
29	Morwell 	565			565	
30	Mount Buffalo	31 020			31 020	
31	Mount Eccles 	8 375			8 375	
32	Mount Richmond	1 733			1 733	
33	Murray-Sunset 	664 810			664 810	
34	Organ Pipes 	153			153	
35	Point Nepean	*575			*575	
36	Port Campbell 	*1 830			*1 830	
37	Snowy River 	98 700	16 005		#114 600	
38	St Arnaud Range 	13 900	91		13 990	
39	Tarra-Bulga 	2 015			2 015	
40	Terrick Terrick	5 925	468		6 390	
41	The Lakes 	2 390			2 390	
42	Warby-Ovens	14 655			14 655	
43	Wilsons Promontory 	*49 049			*49 049	
44	Wyperfeld 	361 770			361 770	
45	Yarra Ranges	77 190			77 190	
	Total – National parks	2 871 975	32 269	72	2 905 217	

	*	Area includes the area of the national park located beneath a marine national park.
	**	Parts of Greater Bendigo NP extend only to 100 metres below the land surface.
	#	Area takes into account a recalculation of the park area based on the new plan.

	B	Wilderness parks (Schedule Two A)	
	Wilderness park	Area (ha) 30 June 2010	Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1 	Avon	39 650	39 650	
2	Big Desert	142 300	142 300	
3	Wabba	20 100	20 100	
	Total – Wilderness parks	202 050	202 050	

	C 	State parks (Schedule Two B)	
	State park	Area (ha) 30 June 2010	Addition (ha)	Excision (ha)	Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Arthurs Seat	558			558	
2	Black Range	11 700			11 700	
3	Broken-Boosey	1 010			1 010	
4	Bunyip 	16 655			16 655	
5	Cape Nelson 	210			210	
6	Cathedral Range	3 616			3 616	
7	Dergholm 	10 400			10 400	
8	Enfield 	4 400			4 400	
9	Holey Plains	10 740			10 740	
10	Kooyoora 	11 350			11 350	
11	Langi Ghiran 	3 040			3 040	
12	Leaghur 	2 050			2 050	
13	Lerderderg 	20 180	3.9	0.75	20 185	
14	Moondarra 	6 330			6 330	
15	Mount Arapiles-Tooan	7 470			7 470	
16	Mount Buangor 	2 400			2 400	
17	Mount Granya 	6 140			6 140	
18	Mount Lawson	13 150			13 150	
19	Mount Napier 	2 800			2 800	
20	Mount Samaria	7 600			7 600	
21	Mount Worth 	1 040			1 040	
22	Paddys Ranges	2 010			2 010	
23	Reef Hills	2 020			2 020	
24	Warrandyte 	686			686	
25	Werribee Gorge	575			575	
	Total – State parks	148 130	3.9	0.75	148 135	

	D	Other parks (Schedule Three)	
	Other park 	Area (ha) 30 June 2010	Addition (ha)	Excision (ha)	Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Bay of Islands CP	950			950	
2	Beechworth HP	1 090		0.25	1 090	
3	Cape Conran CP	11 700			11 700	
4	Cape Liptrap CP	4 225			4 225	
5	Discovery Bay CP	*10 460			*10 460	
6	Gadsen Bend Park	1 620			1 620	
7	Gippsland Lakes CP	17 600	10		17 610	
8	Haining Farm	66			66	
9	Kings Billabong Park	2 195			2 195	
10	Lake Albacutya Park	8 300			8 300	
11	Langwarrin FFR	214			214	
12	Lysterfield Park	1 397			1 397	
13	Murray-Kulkyne Park	4 555			4 555	
14	Nyah-Vinifera Park	1 370			1 370	
15	Steiglitz HP	425			425	
16	Tara Range Park	–	7 620		7 620	
17	Tyers Park	1 810			1 810	
18	Woodlands HP	820			820	
	Total – Other parks	68 797	7 630	0.25	76 427	

	
	CP	Coastal Park
	FFR	Flora and Fauna Reserve
	HP	Historic Park
	*	Area includes the area of the park located beneath a marine national park.

	E	Other parks and reserves (Schedule Four)			
	Other park or reserve	Area (ha) 30 June 2010	Addition (ha)	Area (ha)  30 June 2011	
1	Bunurong MP	*1 660		*1 660	
2	Castlemaine Diggings NHP**	7 560	25	7 585	
3 	Corner Inlet MCP	*18 000		*18 000	
4 	Deep Lead NCR (No. 1)** 	1 120		1 120	
5 	Nooramunga MCP	15 000		15 000	
6 	Shallow Inlet MCP	2 000		2 000	
7 	Wilsons Promontory MP )				
8 	Wilsons Promontory MR )	*10 000		*10 000	
	Total – Other parks and reserves	55 340	25	55 365	

	MCP	Marine and Coastal Park
	MP	Marine Park
	MR	Marine Reserve
	NCR	Nature Conservation Reserve
	NHP	National Heritage Park
	*	Area includes the area of the park or reserve located beneath a marine national park.
	**	Castlemaine Diggings NHP and Deep Lead NCR (No. 1) extend only to 100 metres below the land surface.

	F	Wilderness zones (Schedule Five)	
Wilderness zones are located within several national parks, as set out below. The areas of the wilderness zones are included in the areas of the relevant parks in Part A of this appendix.	
	National park	Wilderness zone	*Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Murray-Sunset	Sunset	126 900	
2	Murray-Sunset	Minook	38 700	
3	Murray-Sunset	Galpunga	35 700	
4	Murray-Sunset	Mount Cowra	23 500	
5	Wyperfeld	North Wyperfeld	97 900	
6	Wyperfeld	South Wyperfeld	61 300	
7	Wyperfeld	Chinaman Flat	29 800	
8	Alpine	Mount Darling-Snowy Bluff	40 400	
9	Alpine	Razor-Viking	15 700	
10	Alpine	Indi	13 800	
11	Alpine	Cobberas	10 000	
12	Alpine	Buchan Headwaters	30 000	
13	Alpine	Tingaringy	7 900	
14	Snowy River	Snowy River	27 000	
15	Snowy River	Bowen	17 500	
16	Coopracambra	Genoa	19 400	
17	Croajingolong	Sandpatch	15 600	
18	Croajingolong	Cape Howe	7 100	
19	Wilsons Promontory	Wilsons Promontory	21 800	
	Total – Wilderness zones		640 000	

	*	No changes during the year.

	G 	Remote and natural areas (Schedule Six)	
Remote and natural areas are located within several national parks, as set out below. The areas of the remote and natural areas are included in the areas of the relevant parks in Part A of this appendix.	
	National park	Remote and natural area	*Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Murray-Sunset	South Sunset	24 000	
2	Wyperfeld	Hopping Mouse Hill	32 100	
3	Little Desert	Little Desert	16 400	
4	Grampians	Victoria Range	14 000	
5	Grampians	Serra Range	11 200	
6	Grampians	Major Mitchell Plateau	6 900	
7	Baw Baw	Baw Baw Plateau	6 500	
8	Alpine	The Governors	8 100	
9	Alpine	Macalister	33 300	
10	Alpine	Dandongadale	3 700	
11	Alpine	Bundara-Cobungra	13 700	
12	Alpine	Bogong	16 300	
13	Alpine	Davies Plain	10 500	
14	Alpine	Suggan Buggan	17 800	
15	Alpine	Upper Snowy	11 800	
16	Mount Buffalo	North Buffalo	6 500	
17	Burrowa-Pine Mountain 	Mount Burrowa	6 200	
18	Errinundra	Brodribb	7 700	
19	Coopracambra	Mount Kaye	8 100	
20	Croajingolong 	Rame Head	9 800	
21	Wilsons Promontory	Wilsons Promontory Islands (12)	469	
22	Wilsons Promontory	Southern Wilsons Promontory	14 400	
	Total – Remote and natural areas		279 469	

	*	No changes during the year.

	I 	Marine sanctuaries (Schedule Eight)	
	Marine sanctuary	*Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Barwon Bluff	17	
2	Beware Reef	220	
3	Eagle Rock	17	
4	Jawbone	30	
5	Marengo Reefs	12	
6	Merri	25	
7	Mushroom Reef	80	
8	Point Cooke	290	
9	Point Danger	25	
10	Ricketts Point	115	
11	The Arches	45	
	Total – Marine sanctuaries	876	

	*	No changes during the year.

	H 	Marine national parks (Schedule Seven)	
	Marine national park*	**Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Bunurong	2 100	
2	Cape Howe	4 050	
3	Churchill Island	670	
4	Corner Inlet	1 550	
5	Discovery Bay	2 770	
6	French Island	2 800	
7	Ninety Mile Beach	2 750	
8	Point Addis	4 600	
9	Point Hicks	4 000	
10	Port Phillip Heads	3 580	
11	Twelve Apostles	7 500	
12	Wilsons Promontory	15 550	
13	Yaringa	980	
	Total – Marine national parks	52 900	

	*	Marine national parks extend only to 200 metres below the land surface. Some partly overlay parts of other parks under the Act.
	**	No changes during the year.

	J	Other areas (non-scheduled)*			
	Area*	Section of Act	Area (ha)  30 June 2010	Removal(ha)	Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
1	Bald Hills BR	19B	1		1	
2	Collins Settlement Historic Site	19B	1		1	
3	Flinders NCR	19B	1		1	
4	Flinders Natural Interest Reserve	19B	4		4	
5	Long Forest NCR	19B	283		283	
6	Lower Glenelg PPR and SLR	19B	24		24	
7	Main Ridge NCR	19B	64		64	
8	Moreep BR	19B	10		10	
9	Nyerimilang Park	19B	200		200	
–	Recreation Reserve, Otway	19B	1	**1	–	
10	Wychitella NCR	19B	3 780		3 780	
11	Mt St Gwinear access road	19C	35		35	
12	Commonwealth land adjacent to Woodlands Historic Park	19D	31		31	
13	Picnic area at McKenzie’s Flat (Lerderderg State Park)	19E	#		#	
14	Blackwood Ranges Track (Lerderderg State Park)	19E	#		#	
15	Glenample Homestead	32AA	8		8	
	Total – Other areas		4 443	1	4 442	

	BR	Bushland Reserve
	NCR	Nature Conservation Reserve
	PPR	Public Purposes Reserve
	SLR	Scenic Lookout Reserve
	*	Only specific sections of the Act apply to these areas.
	**	Included in the Great Otway National Park.
	#	Area approximately 0.1 ha.

	K 	Summary – areas managed under the Act	
	Category	No. as at 30 June 2011	Area (ha) 30 June 2010	Area (ha) 30 June 2011	
A	National parks (Schedule Two)	45	2 871 975	2 905 217	
B	Wilderness parks (Schedule Two A)	3	202 050	202 050 	
C	State parks (Schedule Two B) 	25	148 130	148 135	
D	Other parks (Schedule Three) 	18	68 797	76 427	
E	Other parks and reserves (Schedule Four) 	8	55 340	55 365	
H	Marine national parks (Schedule Seven)	13	52 900	52 900	
I	Marine sanctuaries (Schedule Eight)	11	876	876	
J	Other areas (non-scheduled)	15	4 443	4 442	
	Total	138	3 404 511	3 445 412	

	L	Unproclaimed additions	
As at 30 June 2011 legislation provides for the following additions to the parks system.	
     Act 	Section of Act	Park	Area (ha)	
1	National Parks Act 1975	50K	Greater Bendigo National Park	*16	
2	National Parks (Amendment) Act 1989	29(3)	Moondarra State Park	178	
 Total – unproclaimed areas			194	

	*	Area will become part of the park on surrender of title to the Crown.

Appendix 2 – Pest plant control projects
Appendix 2 lists the targeted species for those parks where an area of more than five hectares was recorded as being treated for the purposes of controlling or eradicating that species. Areas of less than five hectares were also treated in various parks.

Park	Target species	
Alfred NP	Blackberry	
Alpine NP	Blackberry, Cape Broom, English Broom, Greater Birds-foot Trefoil, Grey Sallow, King Devil Hawkweed, Orange Hawkweed, Scotch Thistle, St John’s Wort, Sweet Briar, Timothy Grass, Tree of Heaven, willow	
Arthurs Seat SP	Boneseed, Sweet Pittosporum	
Barmah NP	Sweet Briar, Thorn Apple (common)	
Baw Baw NP	Cape Broom, Wandering Creeper	
Beechworth HP	Blackberry	
Brisbane Ranges NP	Cinnamon Fungus, Gorse, Scotch Thistle, Serrated Tussock	
Bunyip SP	Blackberry	
Burrowa-Pine Mountain NP	Blackberry, Paterson’s Curse	
Cape Conran CP	Dolichos Pea	
Cape Nelson SP	Blue Periwinkle	
Castlemaine Diggings NHP	Gorse, Boneseed	
Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP	Blackberry, Paterson’s Curse	
Churchill NP	Sweet Pittosporum	
Cobboboonee NP	Aarons Beard, Blue Periwinkle	
Coopracambra NP	Blackberry, Dolichos Pea, willow	
Croajingolong NP	Mirror Bush, Sea Spurge	
Dandenong Ranges NP	Angled Onion, English Holly, Ragwort, Red Cestrum, Sweet Pittosporum, Wandering Creeper	
Dergholm SP	Cape Tulip (one-leaf), Paterson’s Curse	
Discovery Bay CP	African Boxthorn, Blackberry, Blue Periwinkle	
Enfield SP	Galenia	
Errinundra NP	Blackberry	
French Island NP	Aarons Beard, African Boxthorn, Blackberry, Blue Periwinkle, Bridal Creeper, Californian Thistle, Cape Tulip (one-leaf), Cluster Pine, Couch, South African Weed-orchid, Sweet Vernal-grass, Variegated Thistle	
Gippsland Lakes CP	African Boxthorn, Boneseed, Dolichos Pea, Sea Spurge	
Grampians NP	Blackberry, Bridal Creeper	
Greater Bendigo NP	Artichoke Thistle	
Great Otway NP	Asparagus Fern, Blackberry, Bluebell Creeper, Boneseed, Spanish Heath, Sweet Pittosporum	
Haining Park	Sweet Pittosporum	
Hattah-Kulkyne NP	Thorn Apple (recurved)	
Heathcote-Graytown NP	Artichoke Thistle	
Holey Plains SP	Ragwort, St John’s Wort	
Kinglake NP	Blackberry	
Lake Albacutya Park	Bridal Creeper	
Lake Eildon NP	St John’s Wort	
Park	Target species	
Langwarrin FFR	Sallow Wattle, Sweet Pittosporum	
Leaghur SP	African Boxthorn	
Lerderderg SP	Blackberry, Gorse	
Little Desert NP	Bridal Creeper	
Lower Glenelg NP	Aarons Beard, Blackberry, Blue Periwinkle	
Lysterfield Park	Boneseed, Sweet Pittosporum	
Mitchell River NP	Blackberry, Ragwort, Sea Spurge, willow	
Moondarra SP	Wandering Creeper	
Mornington Peninsula NP	African Boxthorn, Blackberry, Climbing Dock, Dolichos Pea, Gorse, Myrtle-leaf Milkwort, Polygala, Ragwort, Sallow Wattle, Sea Spurge, Sweet Pittosporum	
Morwell NP	Sycamore Maple, Wandering Creeper	
Mount Arapiles-Tooan SP	Horehound	
Mount Buffalo NP	Blackberry, Grey Sallow, Himalayan Honeysuckle	
Mount Granya SP	Blackberry, Paterson’s Curse	
Mount Lawson SP	Paterson’s Curse	
Mount Worth SP	Wandering Creeper	
Murray-Kulkyne Park	Thorn Apple (recurved)	
Murray-Sunset NP	Paterson’s Curse	
Paddys Ranges SP	Bridal Creeper	
Point Nepean NP	African Boxthorn, Myrtle-leaf Milkwort, Polygala	
Port Campbell NP	African Boxthorn	
Port Phillip Heads MNP	African Thistle, Blackberry, Marram Grass	
Snowy River NP	Blackberry	
Steiglitz HP	Gorse	
Tarra-Bulga NP	Pampas Grass, Wandering Creeper	
Terrick Terrick NP	African Boxthorn	
Tyers Park	Wandering Creeper	
Wabba WP	Blackberry	
Warby-Ovens NP	Paterson’s Curse, St John’s Wort	
Warrandyte SP	Japanese Honeysuckle, Sallow Wattle	
Werribee Gorge SP	Paterson’s Curse, Serrated Tussock	
Wilsons Promontory NP	Agapanthus, Ragwort	
Wyperfeld NP	Bridal Creeper	
Yarra Ranges NP	Blackberry, Ragwort, Spanish Heath, Sweet Pittosporum	

	CP 	Coastal Park
	FFR	Flora and Fauna Reserve
	HP	Historic Park 
	MNP	Marine National Park
	NHP	National Heritage Park
	NP	National Park
	SP	State Park
	WP	Wilderness Park
Appendix 3 – Pest animal control projects
Appendix 3 lists the targeted species for those parks where an area of more than five hectares was recorded as being treated for the purposes of controlling or eradicating that species. Areas of less than five hectares were also treated in various parks.

Park name	Target species	
Alpine NP	Horse (feral), Pig (feral), Red Fox, Wild Dog	
Bay of Islands CP	European Rabbit	
Black Range SP	Red Fox	
Brisbane Ranges NP	European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Broken-Boosey SP	Red Fox	
Castlemaine Diggings NHP	European Rabbit	
Cape Conran CP	Red Fox	
Cathedral Range SP	Red Fox	
Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP	European Rabbit, Pig (feral), Red Fox	
Cobboboonee NP	Red Fox	
Coopracambra NP	Pig (feral), Red Fox	
Corner Inlet MCP	Red Fox	
Croajingolong NP	Pig (feral), Red Fox	
Dandenong Ranges NP	Red Fox	
Discovery Bay CP	Pig (feral), Red Fox	
Errinundra NP	Pig (feral), Red Fox	
French Island NP	Cat (feral)	
Gippsland Lakes CP	Red Fox	
Grampians NP	European Rabbit, Goat (feral), Red Fox	
Great Otway NP	Red Fox	
Hattah-Kulkyne NP	European Rabbit	
Heathcote-Graytown NP	Red Fox	
Holey Plains SP	Red Fox	
Kinglake NP	European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Lake Albacutya Park	European Rabbit	
Lake Eildon NP	Red Fox	
Park name	Target species	
Langi Ghiran SP	European Rabbit	
Leaghur SP	European Rabbit	
Lerderderg SP	European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Lind NP	Red Fox	
Little Desert NP	European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Lower Glenelg NP	Red Fox	
Mitchell River NP	Red Fox	
Mornington Peninsula NP	Red Fox	
Mount Buangor SP	European Rabbit	
Mount Richmond NP	Red Fox	
Mount Samaria SP	Red Fox	
Murray-Kulkyne Park	European Rabbit	
Murray-Sunset NP	European Rabbit, Goat (feral)	
Nooramunga MCP	Red Fox	
Paddys Ranges SP	Red Fox	
Point Nepean NP	Red Fox	
Shallow Inlet MCP	Red Fox	
Snowy River NP	Pig (feral), Red Fox, Wild Dog	
Steiglitz HP	European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Tarra-Bulga NP	Red Fox	
The Lakes NP	Red Fox	
Warby-Ovens NP	Red Fox	
Warrandyte SP	European Rabbit	
Werribee Gorge SP	European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Wilsons Promontory NP	Cat (feral), European Rabbit, Red Fox	
Wyperfeld NP	European Rabbit	
Yarra Ranges NP	Red Fox, Wild Dog	

	CP	Coastal Park
	HP	Historic Park 
	MCP	Marine and Coastal Park
	NHP	National Heritage Park
	NP	National Park
	SP	State Park
Appendix 4 – Location of parks and other areas
National and other parks/areas

	1	Murray-Sunset NP 
	2	Hattah-Kulkyne NP
	3	Murray-Kulkyne Park
	4	Big Desert WP
	5	Wyperfeld NP
	6	Lake Albacutya Park
	7	Little Desert NP
	8	Mount Arapiles-Tooan SP
	9	Dergholm SP
	10	Black Range SP
	11	Grampians NP
	12	Deep Lead NCR (No. 1)
	13	Lower Glenelg NP and Cobboboonee NP
	14	Discovery Bay CP
	15	Lower Glenelg PPR and SLR
	16	Mount Richmond NP
	17	Cape Nelson SP
	18	Mount Eccles NP
	19	Mount Napier SP
	20	Langi Ghiran SP
	21	Mount Buangor SP
	22	Paddys Ranges SP
	23	St Arnaud Range NP
	24	Kooyoora SP
	25	Wychitella NCR
	26	Leaghur SP
	27	Terrick Terrick NP
	28	Greater Bendigo NP
	29	Heathcote-Graytown NP
	30	Castlemaine Diggings NHP
	31	Lerderderg SP and associated leased areas
	32	Long Forest NCR
	33	Werribee Gorge SP
	34	Enfield SP
	35	Moreep BR
	36	Brisbane Ranges NP
	37	Steiglitz HP
	38	Bay of Islands CP  
	39	Port Campbell NP
	40	Glenample Homestead
	41	Tara Range Park
	42	Great Otway NP
	43	Point Nepean NP
	44	Collins Settlement HS
	45	Mornington Peninsula NP
	46	Arthurs Seat SP
	47	Main Ridge NCR
	48	Bald Hills BR
	49	Flinders NCR
	50	Flinders NIR
	51	French Island NP
	52	Langwarrin FFR
	53	Churchill NP
	54	Lysterfield Park
	55	Bunyip SP
	56	Dandenong Ranges NP
	57	Warrandyte SP
	58	Organ Pipes NP
	59	Woodlands HP and adjacentCommonwealth land
	60	Kinglake NP
	61	Haining Farm
	62	Yarra Ranges NP
	63	Cathedral Range SP
	64	Lake Eildon NP
	65	Mount Samaria SP
	66	Reef Hills SP
	67	Broken-Boosey SP
	68	Barmah NP
	69	Warby-Ovens NP
	70	Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP
	71	Beechworth HP
	72	Mount Granya SP
	73	Mount Lawson SP
	74	Burrowa-Pine Mountain NP
	75	Wabba WP
	76	Mount Buffalo NP
	77	Alpine NP
	78	Avon WP
	79	Baw Baw NP and Mt St Gwinear access road
	80	Moondarra SP
	81	Tyers Park
	82	Mount Worth SP
	83	Bunurong MP
	84	Cape Liptrap CP
	85	Shallow Inlet MCP
	86	Wilsons Promontory NP 	
	87	Wilsons Promontory MP
	88	Wilsons Promontory MR
	89	Corner Inlet MCP
	90	Nooramunga MCP
	91	Tarra-Bulga NP
	92	Morwell NP
	93	Holey Plains SP
	94	Gippsland Lakes CP
	95	The Lakes NP
	96	Mitchell River NP
	97	Nyerimilang Park
	98	Snowy River NP
	99	Errinundra NP
	100	Coopracambra NP
	101	Lind NP
	102	Alfred NP
	103	Cape Conran CP
	104	Croajingolong NP
	105	Kings Billabong Park
	106	Gadsen Bend Park
	107	Nyah-Vinifera Park
	108	Gunbower NP
	109	Lower Goulburn NP

	A	Discovery Bay MNP
	B	Merri MS
	C	The Arches MS
	D	Twelve Apostles MNP
	E	Marengo Reefs MS
	F	Eagle Rock MS
	G	Point Addis MNP
	H	Point Danger MS
	I	Barwon Bluff MS
	J	Port Phillip Heads MNP
	K	Point Cooke MS
	L	Jawbone MS
	M	Ricketts Point MS
	N	Mushroom Reef MS
	O	Yaringa MNP
	P	French Island MNP
	Q	Churchill Island MNP
	R	Bunurong MNP
	S	Wilsons Promontory MNP
	T	Corner Inlet MNP
	U	Ninety Mile Beach MNP
	V	Beware Reef MS
	W	Point Hicks MNP
	X	Cape Howe MNP
Marine national parks and marine sanctuaries
	BR	Bushland Reserve
	CP	Coastal Park
	FFR	Flora and Fauna Reserve 
	HP	Historic Park
	HS	Historic Site
	MCP	Marine and Coastal Park
	MNP	Marine National Park
	MP	Marine Park
	MR	Marine Reserve
	MS	Marine Sanctuary
	NCR	Nature Conservation Reserve
	NHP	National Heritage Park
	NIR	Natural Interest Reserve
	NP	National Park
	PPR	Public Purposes Reserve 
	SLR	Scenic Lookout Reserve 
	SP	State Park
	WP	Wilderness Park

www.dse.vic.gov.au