The WA Government has announced $3.35 million will be injected into the expansion of Wellington National Park as part of the State Budget.
Almost 7,500 hectares of State forest has been proposed for addition to the national park. This addition will increase the overall area of the national park to 25,000 hectares.
The proposed expansion along the southern boundary to the Preston River will provide a focus for tourism along major access routes and enhance opportunities for recreation and tourism.
Wellington National Park is located just outside of Collie and features the Wellington Dam and Collie River Valley, with the park widely used for camping, mountain biking, fishing, swimming, rafting, canoeing and bushwalking.
This funding will allow for the upgrading of roads and provide visitor facilities such as lookouts, tracks, trails and campgrounds, while providing a greater level of protection for flora and fauna.
The proposed areas also include registered Aboriginal heritage places and sites of other Australian cultural heritage.
This expansion forms part of the Government’s Plan for Our Parks initiative, which seeks to increase the conservation estate through the establishment of five million hectares of new conservation reserves over five years.
Source: WA Government