View source for Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service

{{Short description|Government body of Tasmania, Australia}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox Government agency
| agency_name     = Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
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| logo            = PWSlogo2003.jpg
| logo_width      = 120px
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| formed          = 1 November 1971
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| dissolved       =
| superseding     =
| jurisdiction    = [[Government of Tasmania]]
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| minister1_pfo   =
| chief1_name     = Jason Jacobi
| chief1_position = Deputy Secretary
<!-- etc -->| parent_agency   = [[Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (Tasmania)]]
| child1_agency   =
| child2_agency   = <!-- etc -->
| website         = {{url|parks.tas.gov.au}}
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}}
'''Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service''' is the [[Tasmanian Government|government]] body responsible for managing [[protected areas of Tasmania]] on [[Crown land#Australia|public land]], such as national parks, historic sites and [[Regional Reserve (Australia)|regional reserves]]. Historically it has also had responsibility for managing wildlife, including game.
==History==
The National Parks and Wildlife Service was set up on 1 November 1971 after controversy surrounding the proposal to flood [[Lake Pedder]] and the unsuccessful attempts to prevent the project going ahead.<ref>{{Citation | title=Tasmania. National Parks and Wildlife Service | journal=Trove | publication-date=2008 | url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-460729 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> A Select Committee formed from the interested parties recommended the establishment of a professional park service to properly manage the natural environment in Tasmania, and to replace the former Scenery Preservation<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152493130 |title=Preservation of scenery. |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph (Launceston)|Daily Telegraph]] |volume=XXXIV |issue=265 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=6 November 1914 |accessdate=30 March 2024 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and Animals & Birds Protection Boards,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203865419 |title=Lyre Birds for Tasmania. |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=25,612 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=19 May 1937 |accessdate=30 March 2024 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> previously responsible for scenic reserves (including national parks) and wildlife sanctuaries respectively.
The new service initially had a staff of 59 under inaugural Director Peter Murrell.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Murrell, Peter | author2=Tasmania. National Parks and Wildlife Service | title=A proposal for a Wild River National Park, the Franklin-Lower Gordon Rivers : submitted to the Minister for National Parks and Wildlife ... | publication-date=1979 | publisher=National Parks and Wildlife Service | isbn=978-0-7246-0904-8}}</ref><ref>Noting that a reserve was named after Murrell{{Citation | author1=Monash, Ross | title=Distribution of mammal species in the Peter Murrell Nature Reserve and Conservation Area, Tasmania | publication-date=1998 | publisher=Southern Cross University | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/35417925 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author1=Tasmania. Parks and Wildlife Service | author2=Tasmania. Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment | title=Peter Murrell State Reserve and Conservation Area : Fire Management Plan 2006 | publication-date=2006 | publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32356507 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> The ''[[National Parks and Wildlife Act 1970]]'' had made new provisions for the conservation of fauna and flora and the establishment and management of national parks and reserves. Existing national parks at the time included [[Ben Lomond National Park|Ben Lomond]], [[Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park|Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair]], [[Freycinet National Park|Freycinet]], [[Mt Field National Park|Mt Field]], [[Rocky Cape National Park|Rocky Cape]] and [[Southwest National Park|Southwest]]. Former wildlife sanctuaries [[Mount William National Park|Mount William]], [[Maria Island]] and [[Narawntapu National Park|Narawntapu]] were set up as national parks and [[Macquarie Island]] designated a nature reserve.
[[Image:Lake pedder.jpg|thumbnail|250px|left|Lake Pedder in 1970 before it was flooded, part of Lake Pedder National Park from 1955 and Southwest National Park from 1968. The furore surrounding the flooding led directly to the formation of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the forerunner of Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.]]
The creation of an Archaeology Section within the service followed the passing of the ''[[Aboriginal Relics Act 1975]]''. In the following year [[Precipitous Bluff]] was incorporated into the [[Southwest National Park]]. Controversy in 1979 over the proposed Lower Gordon hydro-electric power scheme, which would have flooded the [[Franklin River]], led to the creation of the [[Franklin-Lower Gordon Wild Rivers National Park]] in 1981 (construction of the dam was stopped by a [[Federal Court of Australia|Federal Court]] ruling in 1983). The [[Walls of Jerusalem National Park]] was also created in June 1981.
Until 1987 the service operated relatively independently and, since then, has had a chequered history within the structure of the Tasmanian bureaucracy, being initially merged in that year with the Department of Lands, to form the Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife,<ref>{{Citation | author1=Tasmania. Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife | title=Report on the activities of the Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife | publication-date=1990 | publisher=Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21121554 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> and relocated to new premises.
In 1989 the Department of Lands, Parks and Wildlife split to become the Department of Environment and Planning<ref>{{Citation | author1=Tasmania. Department of Environment and Planning | title=Report on the activities of the Department of Environment and Planning | publication-date=1990 | publisher=The Dept | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/20381145 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> and the Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage,<ref>{{Citation | author1=Tasmania. Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage | title=Annual report | publication-date=1990 | publisher=Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32694878 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> which managed Crown land as well as the reserves, and with duties to conserve wildlife and historic heritage sites. The [[Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens]] and the [[Port Arthur, Tasmania|Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority]] also became part of this new Department.
In the same year the [[Douglas-Apsley National Park]], important for its dry [[sclerophyll]] forests, was established in the east of the state. The [[Tasmanian Wilderness]] World Heritage Area was expanded to include the [[Central Plateau Conservation Area]]. With other additions the [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage Area]] increased to {{Convert|13800|km2}}, approximately 20% of Tasmania's land area.
In 1991, Tasmania's first marine protected areas were established at [[Maria Island]], [[Governor Island, Tasmania|Governor Island]], [[Tinderbox, Tasmania|Tinderbox]] and [[Ninepin Point]], and the service's original Director, Peter Murrell, retired. Also in that year, an existing reserve  known since 1951 as [[Hartz Mountains National Park]] was formally named as such.
On 3 February 1993, the Department once again merged, this time becoming the Department of Environment and Land Management (DELM),<ref>{{Citation | title=Department of Environment and Land Management TA1018 [Records] | publication-date=1993 | publisher=Libraries Tasmania | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/201854418 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> with the Parks and Wildlife Service functioning as a separate division.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Tasmania. Parks and Wildlife Service | title=Parks and Wildlife Service | publication-date=2004 | publisher=Tasmania. Parks and Wildlife Service | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/202918048 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> In that year the introduction of park fees allowed the service to fund projects aimed at visitors including visitor centres and official trails.
In 1995 several areas of land previously managed by the service were transferred to the [[Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania]] and an Aboriginal Heritage Unit was created to provide training for Aboriginal community members, to help facilitate their advising on Aboriginal heritage management.
In 1996 the [[Mole Creek Karst National Park]] was created and [[South Bruny National Park]] followed in October 1997.
[[Image:Freycinet Wineglass Bay.jpg|thumbnail|right|300px|Wineglass Bay, part of Freycinet National Park which was expanded under the Regional Forest Agreement]]
Under the 1998 Tasmanian [[Regional Forest Agreement]] (RFA) an extra {{Convert|3960|km2}} of public land were added to Tasmania's reserves, expanding the amount of public land in reserves by 17%. The RFA also expanded [[Mount William National Park|Mount William]] and [[Freycinet National Park|Freycinet]] National Parks, and created [[Tasman National Park|Tasman]] and [[Savage River National Park|Savage River]] National Parks. Offsetting these gains were {{Convert|700|km2}} of reserves that were made available for forestry development.
A further departmental merger occurred after the 1998 state elections with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, and the Government Analytical and Forensic Laboratories (GAFL) coming on board, creating the [[Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment]] (DPIWE). The Parks and Wildlife Service was split into two separate divisions: the Resource Management and Conservation Division had responsibility for natural and cultural resources, and the Parks and Wildlife Service covered Tasmania's parks, reserves and World Heritage Areas.
In April 1999 an existing reserve on Flinders Island, known since 1967 as [[Strzelecki National Park]], was formally named as such.
In August 2000, state waters surrounding sub-antarctic Macquarie Island were declared a marine protected area around {{Convert|747|km2}} in area.
In December 2001 three [[Bass Strait]] islands, Deal, Erith and Dover, were declared part of the [[Kent Group National Park]] and, in 2005, marine protected areas were created there and at [[South West Wilderness|Port Davey-Bathurst Harbour]].
The Parks and Wildlife Service was separated from the DPIWE following the 2002 state elections, becoming part of the Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and the Arts (DTPHA), while the Resource Management and Conservation Division remained part of the DPIWE.
In April 2006 the DTPHA incorporated the Environment Division from the DPIWE, becoming the Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment<ref>{{Citation | title=Annual report | publication-date=2006 | publisher=Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/28422314 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> and, subsequently, in March 2008, the Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts (DEPHA).<ref>{{Citation | author1=Tasmania. Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts | title=Annual report | publication-date=2008 | publisher=Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/247105378 | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>
In 2007 the [[Tasmanian Coast Conservation Fund]] was established. Tour company operator Robert Pennicott, founder of Bruny Island Cruises and Tasman Island Cruises, came together with environmental group WILDCARE to establish the fund. While operating separately to the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, the fund is used to provide funding to the Parks and Wildlife Service to assist in environmental protection and conservation projects in Tasmania's National Parks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tasmanian Coast Conservation Fund|publisher=WILDCARE Inc. |url=http://wildcaretas.org.au/donations/wildcare-tasmanian-coast-conservation-fund/|accessdate=4 January 2008}}</ref>
From July 2009, the DEPHA ceased to exist, and the Parks and Wildlife Service became part of the new Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE).
From December 2021 the name of the Parks and Wildlife Service's parent department was changed to the [[Department of Natural Resources and Environment (Tasmania)|Department of Natural Resources and Environment]].
==See also==
*[[Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council]]
*[[NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service]]
*[[Parks Victoria]]
*[[Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service]]
*[[National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia]]
*[[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)]]
*[[Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory]]
*[[ACT Parks and Conservation Service]]
*[[Director of National Parks]] (Australian Federal Government)
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/manage/about/history.html|title=A History of the Parks and Wildlife Service|publisher=Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service|year=2006|accessdate=1 December 2006}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tasmania Parks And Wildlife Service}}
[[Category:1971 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Government agencies of Tasmania|Parks]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1971]]
[[Category:Protected area administrators of Australia]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Tasmania]]