North East Tasmania Gondwana National Park
North East
Vision
Tasmania has some of Australia's most iconic wild places containing Gondwanic remnant vegetation. Over the years various community, scientific and political leaders have articulated a clear case for a national park in north east Tasmania that protects the unique landscapes, fauna and flora.
Protection would enable new management regimes that protect these assets for all time, and allow the community to be part of these landscapes. Taking away the locked gates of logging coupes in state forests opens these places up to everyone and creates new possibilities for rewilding and rehabilitating fragmented and damaged ecosystems. This would revive local communities, build our agri-tourism sector, improve recreational and eco-tourism opportunities and reconnect people to country.
There is an exciting and important opportunity to protect our forests and wild places, creating and shaping the missing major piece of biologically unique conservation estate in Tasmania. It's waiting to be protected.
Restoring
Restoring and rehabilitating our landscapes is an opportunity to create land management jobs on the ground and in the lab, nature based education industries, and make the north east a hub for science based ecological restoration that revives communities, climate and ecosystem services.
Protection of some of Tasmania’s most important forests in the north east has been left unaddressed. These include the biologically distinct Eucalyptus regnan (swamp gum) and Eucaplyptus viminalis (white gum), and rainforests of north east Tasmania. Forests that survived the last ice age in the glacial refugium, re-poplated north east Tasmania with their genetically unique seed stock.
Reviving
Reviving our regional communities through rapid transition away from unviable logging of native forests, focusing on the existing plantation estate for the production of sawn timber and pulp is our strongest way forward. Giving security and a social licence for the timber industry and generating opportunities for significant growth in jobs and income from the sector through the processing and improved management of plantations timber.
Such a transition is a win for the local and state economy, for creating local job opportunities, for tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, for our burgeoning farm and food sectors, and for the growing adventure and ecotourism industries.
Reconnecting
The North East Tasmania Gondwana National Park will allow people to reconnect with nature and our landscape. Unlocking forests currently behind logging gates and making them accessible to everyone.
Wild places we can go to for recreation, outdoor learning, rewilding, ecosystem rehabilitation, and the chance to reconnect with the rich cultural heritage of the area.
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” J.Muir.
