The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the state of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Despite its name the NPWS is a state agency rather than a

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

one, with similarly named

counterparts Counterpart or Counterparts may refer to: Entertainment and literature * "Counterparts" (short story), by James Joyce * Counterparts, former name for the Reel Pride LGBT film festival * ''Counterparts'' (film), a 2007 German drama * ''Counterp ...

fulfilling comparable functions in other states and territories.

History

The NPWS was established in 1967 when the Fauna Protection Panel and the Parks and Reserves Branch of the NSW Lands Department were amalgamated under Lands Minister Tom Lewis . Lewis also established a charity, the National Parks Foundation, to assist the NPWS in raising funds for conservation. The first Director of the NPWS was Sam P. Weems, formerly of the

US National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. Seven years after the founding of the NPWS, various state laws regulating flora and fauna were consolidated together into the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 The ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'' is the legislation passed by the New South Wales Parliament with the explicit intent of conserving the's natural and cultural heritage of the state of New South Wales; fostering public appreciation, u ...

'', which remains the enabling legislation for the NPWS to this day. From its establishment in 1967 until 2003 the NPWS was a discrete agency of the

NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. Since that time it has been a directorate of various broader state government departments. In September 2003 it joined with the Environment Protection Authority, Resource New South Wales, and the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust to form the Department of Environment and Conservation. This department, by then renamed as the

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), a former division of the Government of New South Wales between April 2011 and July 2019, was responsible for the care and protection of the environment and heritage, which includes ...

, was abolished in 2011, and the NPWS was transferred to the

Office of Environment & Heritage The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), a former division of the Government of New South Wales between April 2011 and July 2019, was responsible for the care and protection of the environment and heritage, which includes ...

under the Department of Premier and Cabinet. In 2014 the Office of Environment & Heritage was transferred to the Department of Planning and Environment before also being abolished in 2019. Today, the NPWS continues to be a part of the Department of Planning and Environment cluster, within the Environment and Heritage Group.

Scope of activities

Nearly 900

of a variety of types have been declared in New South Wales under the ''

'', most of which the NPWS has the responsibility to manage. Covering over , these range from national parks where the NPWS is tasked with conserving biodiversity and protecting ecological integrity to other less restrictive categories of parks and reserves where more intensive human activity must be balanced against maintaining natural and cultural values. This is controlled through the preparation of plans of management which determine how the NPWS manages conservation, hazard protection, research, education, and sustainable visitation activities in its parks and reserves. The NPWS also administers fire management strategies for the land it manages in order to limit risks from bushfires, such as by conducting hazard reduction burns in collaboration with other state agencies such as the

New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the land area of New South ...

Organisational structure

The NPWS is divided into four branches: Business Delivery, Park Operations (Coastal), Park Operations (Inland), and Conservation and Aboriginal Partnerships. It is lead by a Deputy Secretary, who reports to the Coordinator-General of the Environment and Heritage Group, who reports to the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment, who in turn reports to the

Minister for Environment and Heritage The New South Wales Minister for the Environment and Heritage is minister in the Government of New South Wales with responsibilities which included environmental regulation and policy, national parks, and the conservation and protection of bu ...

, the minister responsible for the NPWS.

Gallery

File:2009 Toyota Land Cruiser (VDJ79R) WorkMate 2-door cab chassis, National Parks and Wildlife Service (2009-12-20) 01.jpg, Park ranger vehicle File:NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service Helicopter hover entry and exit re-accreditation 3 (cropped).jpg,

Eurocopter AS350 Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Ai ...

References

External links