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Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1967 |
Jurisdiction | New South Wales |
Headquarters | 12 Darcy Street, Parramatta Square Sydney NSW Australia |
Minister responsible | |
Agency executives |
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Parent department | NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, The Environment and Water |
Website | www |
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment and responsible for managing more than 890 national parks and reserves, covering over 7.5 million hectares of land across the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the NPWS is a state government agency rather than federal government, likewise as other states and territories National Parks agencies around Australia. However the states and territories agencies around Australia do still work closely together. [1]
The NPWS was established in 1967 when the Fauna Protection Panel and the Parks and Reserves Branch of the NSW Lands Department were amalgamated [2] under Lands Minister Tom Lewis AO . [3] Lewis also established a charity, the National Parks Foundation, to assist the NPWS in raising funds for conservation. [4] The first Co-ordinator General of the NPWS was Sam P. Weems, a former superintendent in the US National Park Service. [5] Seven years after the founding of the NPWS, various state laws regulating flora and fauna were consolidated together into the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 , which remains the enabling legislation for the NPWS to this day. [6] Training of NPWS staff and rangers was conducted at an academy training facility located within the Royal National Park area. [7]
From its establishment in 1967 until 2003 the NPWS was a discrete agency of the NSW Government. [8] Since that time it has been a directorate of various broader state government departments. In September 2003 it joined with the Environment Protection Authority, Resource New South Wales, and the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust to form the Department of Environment and Conservation. [9] This department, by then renamed as the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, was abolished in 2011, and the NPWS was transferred to the Office of Environment & Heritage under the Department of Premier and Cabinet. In 2014 the Office of Environment & Heritage was transferred to the Department of Planning and Environment before also being abolished in 2019. [10] Today, the NPWS continues to be a part of the Department of Planning and Environment cluster, within the Environment and Heritage Group. [11]
Nearly 900 protected areas of a variety of types have been declared in New South Wales under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 , most of which the NPWS has the responsibility to manage. Covering over 70,000 square kilometres (7,000,000 ha), [12] these range from national parks where the NPWS is tasked with conserving biodiversity and protecting ecological integrity to other less restrictive categories of parks and reserves where more intensive human activity must be balanced against maintaining natural and cultural values. [13] This is controlled through the preparation of plans of management which determine how the NPWS manages conservation, hazard protection, research, education, and sustainable visitation activities in its parks and reserves. [14] The NPWS also administers fire management strategies for the land it manages in order to limit risks from bushfires, [15] such as by conducting hazard reduction burns in collaboration with other state agencies such as the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. [16]
The NPWS is divided into four branches: Business Delivery, Park Operations (Coastal), Park Operations (Inland), and Conservation and Aboriginal Partnerships. It is led by a Deputy Secretary, who reports to the Coordinator-General of the Environment and Heritage Group, who reports to the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment, who in turn reports to the Minister for the Environment, the minister responsible for the NPWS. [11]
Biriwal Bulga National Park is an Australian national park in New South Wales. It is approximately 45 km north west of Taree and 60 km west of Port Macquarie on the Bulga Plateau.
The Yengo National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Lower Hunter region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 154,328-hectare (381,350-acre) park is situated 213 kilometres (132 mi) northwest of Sydney, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Cessnock, 121 kilometres (75 mi) northwest of Gosford, and 91 kilometres (57 mi) southwest of Newcastle. The average elevation of the terrain is 309 metres.
The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a World Heritage Site with fifty separate reserves totalling 366,500 hectares from Newcastle to Brisbane.
Hacks Lagoon Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the locality of Bool Lagoon about 24 kilometres south of the municipal seat of Naracoorte.
The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), a former division of the Government of New South Wales between April 2011 and July 2019, was responsible for the care and protection of the environment and heritage, which includes the natural environment, Aboriginal country, culture and heritage, and built heritage in New South Wales, Australia. The OEH supported the community, business and government in protecting, strengthening and making the most of a healthy environment and economy within the state. The OEH was part of the Department of Planning and Environment cluster and managed national parks and reserves.
Seal Bay Conservation Park is a protected area located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia. It is the home of the third largest Australian sea lion colony in Australia.
The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It makes plans based on evidence for the state's cities and regions, working with the community, business and local government to create places for people in NSW to live, work and spend their leisure time, while ensuring good access to transport and other services like shops and restaurants. The department is also responsible for the evidence-based assessment of state significant development applications.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia (NPWSSA), formerly a government agency known as National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and later a service under variously named government departments and branded National Parks and Wildlife and National Parks South Australia, is a South Australian Government service within Department for Environment and Water, responsible for national parks in the state of South Australia.
The Montague Island Light is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Barunguba / Montague Island, an island in the Tasman Sea, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) offshore from Narooma on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The lighthouse is located at the highest point of the island. It was designed by James Barnet and NSW Colonial Architect and built from 1878 to 1881 by J. Musson and completed By W. H. Jennings. It is also known as the Montague Island Lightstation and its setting. The property is owned by the Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999, and the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
The Yathong Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is also a nationally and internationally recognized biosphere situated in the central-western region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 107,240-hectare (265,000-acre) reserve was listed by UNESCO in 1977 as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). The reserve is significant for its biodiversity in both native plant and animal species. Cultural heritage and historical grazing activities add to the significance of this site as a conservation area.
The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia. The 86.4-hectare (213-acre) reserve is situated 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of West Wyalong and may be accessed via the Newell Highway and The Charcoal Tank Road. The reserve is an important refuge for native flora and fauna in a highly fragmented landscape, one in which the majority of the original vegetation has been removed.
Nuyts Reef Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia associated with Nuyts Reef, which is located off the state's west coast in the Great Australian Bight about 29 kilometres west south-west of Fowlers Bay.
Olive Island Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia associated with Olive Island off the west coast of Eyre Peninsula and which is located about 25 kilometres west-northwest of the town of Streaky Bay.
Waitpinga Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 15 kilometres south of the town of the Yankalilla in the gazetted locality of Parawa.
Director of National Parks is a Commonwealth corporate entity responsible for the management of a portfolio of terrestrial and marine protected areas proclaimed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Calectasia Conservation Park, formerly the Calectasia National Parks Reserve, is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia in the locality of Wattle Range about 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the town of Penola.
The Blue Mountains walking tracks are heritage-listed picnic areas, walking tracks and rest areas located in the Blue Mountains National Park, in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1880. The property is owned by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Agnes Banks Natural Area is a heritage-listed natural sand deposit, fauna habitat and native flora site at Rickards Avenue in the western Sydney suburb of Agnes Banks in the City of Penrith local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as The Natural Area and Agnes Banks Sand Deposits. The property is owned by CSR Limited and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Limeburners Creek National Park is a protected national park on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The 91.2 km national park is located 5 km (3.1 mi) to the north of Port Macquarie and exists across both the Kempsey Shire and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council local government areas, but is chiefly managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service. The area was originally erected as a nature reserve but this reservation was revoked when it became formally recognised as a national park in 2010 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974). Many threatened ecological habitats and species of fauna and flora are found within this park, alongside several heritage sites of cultural significance, particularly to the local Birpai and Dunghutti people upon whose land the park exists. The protected status of this national park is largely owing to the ecological and cultural value of the area, in addition to the value of the ecosystems to further scientific research.