The State Government of Western Australia is responsible for managing much of WA's native forests and woodlands. This includes the jarrah and karri of the south-west, the remnant areas of rainforest in the Kimberley, and the Great Western Woodlands, which represents the largest and most intact eucalypt woodland remaining in southern Australia.
February 2001 saw a turning point in managing WA’s south-west native forests, with an end to timber harvesting in all old-growth forests vested in the Conservation and Parks Commission of Western Australia.
Just under 2.3 million hectares of native forest in our State’s south-west region is on lands managed by DBCA. Of this, more than one million hectares of south-west forest is in national parks, conservation parks and nature reserves. When you include the 1.2 million hectares of State forest and timber reserves, the south-west forest area represents a significant investment in protecting the diversity of WA’s unique landscape, flora and fauna.