Planning
In managing national parks, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service aims to:
- protect the park's natural condition,
- ensure rare or threatened species are protected,
- provide facilities for minimal impact and nature-based recreation,
- protect parks from overuse,
- concentrate human activity in less sensitive areas, and
- help visitors enjoy the park's special attractions.
The Nature Conservation Act 1992 requires that management plans be prepared for each park to guide how the park is managed. The management plan:
- identifies the park's key natural and cultural values, and
- proposes strategies for day-to-day and long-term management to protect those values.
Many national and conservation parks requiring relatively basic management tasks have plans in brochure format. Other parks with a wide range of recreational activities and needing guidelines and policies for protecting native plants and animals and scenic and cultural heritage values are produced in report format. Legislation outlines how the community can get involved in the management planning process:
- Public submissions are actively sought before the management plan commences.
- These submissions are taken into account during the planning process.
- The community is invited to comment on the draft management plan.
- Community input must be considered before a final management plan is written and approved.
We value your input. About four to eight weeks is allowed for public comment on a draft plan. If you want to have a say in the way parks are managed, search this site or contact Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service offices to find out when public submissions are required. Your submission could:
- extend or correct existing information about how the park is to be managed;
- address particular outcomes, guidelines or actions;
- suggest extra outcomes, guidelines or actions;
- show what needs to be included or clarified;
- indicate support for a particular outcome; and
- state briefly why you disagree with a proposed strategy or outcome.
Draft and final plans in brochure format are free. Plans can be inspected at and obtained from the department Customer Service Centre, 160 Ann Street, Brisbane, and inspected at regional and the relevant local QPWS offices. Once approved, the final management plan is implemented. Changes cannot be made without further public consultation.
Last updated: 26 April 2007