Parks and Reserves

The Conservation Land Purchase Program

In a systematic process to increase the reservation levels of Victoria’s most threatened ecosystems, particularly native grasslands and grassy woodlands, the emphasis of the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Conservation Land Purchase Program is on acquiring high quality samples of such ecosystems from private land for addition to the reserve system. The acquisition of sites is funded by the government, often with financial support from the National Reserve System Program of the Commonwealth Government's Natural Heritage Trust. All acquisitions are on a completely voluntary basis. Purchase priorities are derived from inventories of the most significant sites of threatened ecosystems throughout the State and assessed in relation to the comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness of the existing reserve system. The Department also purchases private land to link park and reserve areas and remove inliers in order to consolidate protected habitat and alleviate potential management problems. The ecological attributes of some of the more significant recent acquisitions are outlined in the following two articles published in The Victorian Naturalist published by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. Ecological attributes of strategic land acquisitions for addition to Victoria's public protected area estate: 2004-2005 (PDF - 523 Kb) Fitzsimons, J.A., Williams, C & FitzSimons, P. (2006), The Victorian Naturalist 123, 134-145. Further strategic additions to Victoria’s public protected area system: 2002-2004 (PDF - 1.6 Mb) Fitzsimons, J.A., FitzSimons, P. & Ashe, C. (2004), The Victorian Naturalist 121, 214-225. Some recent strategic additions to Victoria’s protected area estate 1997-2002 (PDF - 1.3 Mb) Fitzsimons, J.A. & Ashe, C. (2003), The Victorian Naturalist 120, 98-108. Management Planning Land purchases which result in the creation of new reserves require management plans to ensure the values on the site are protected. Management Statements are prepared for reserves purchased through the National Reserve System Program. Finalised Management Statements for new Nature Conservation Reserves are presented below: Balmattum Nature Conservation Reserve Interim Management Statement (PDF - 2.5 Mb) Bendoc Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 3.0 Mb) Blacks Creek Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 375 Kb) Boonderoo Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.2 Mb) Craigieburn Grasslands Nature Conservation Reserve Interim Management Statement (PDF - 413 Kb) Dreeite Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.4 Mb) Green Hills Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 2.9 Mb) Kangaroo Swamp Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 2.6 Mb) Kotta Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 877 Kb) Moodemere Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.8 Mb) Mount Mercer Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.0 Mb) Pine Grove Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.9 Mb) Pomborneit North Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.3 Mb) Ridge Paddock addition to the Cobra Killuc Wildlife Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.6 Mb) Roslynmead Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.3 Mb) Rutherglen Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 608 Kb) Swallow Lagoon Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 2.3 Mb) Terrick Terrick East Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.0 Mb) Wanurp Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 475 Kb) Youanmite Nature Conservation Reserve Management Statement (PDF - 1.9 Mb) Land purchased for addition to existing National and State Parks is managed in accordance with the respective park management plans. Values Statements for these additions are prepared to inform management decisions on the particular site. Bessiebelle addition to Mount Eccles National Park Values Statement (PDF - 1.7 Mb) Bullock & Decoy Swamps addition to French Island National Park Values Statement (PDF - 678 Kb) Burrah Burrah addition to Grampians National Park Values Statement (PDF - 523 Kb) Duchers Swamp addition to French Island National Park Values Statement (PDF - 532 Kb) Mitchelldale addition to Mitchell River National Park Values Statement (PDF - 974 Kb) North Mount and Swans additions to Grampians National Park Values Statement (PDF - 485 Kb) Parrie Yalloak addition to Grampians National Park Values Statement (PDF - 566 Kb)

Images from top to bottom: Black Swamp, Youanmite, Cobra Killuc, Pomborneit North, Swallow Lagoon, Wanurp and Blacks Creek Nature Conservation Reserves