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Managing Wilderness Areas |
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Processes relating to the establishment of the proposed Walpole Wilderness Area, as part of the State Government's ‘Protecting our old-growth forests' policy, initiated the development of a CALM policy on wilderness. CALM's Policy Statement 62 – Identification and Management of Wilderness and Surrounding Areas will apply to public lands vested in the Conservation Commission of Western Australia.
This policy follows an extensive public consultation period and liaison with key stakeholders such as the Wilderness Society. It also has been endorsed by the Conservation Commission of WA.
The policy outlines the approach to be taken to identify wilderness areas. It also includes guidelines on permitted management strategies and activities for land vested in the Conservation Commission and set aside for conservation purposes.
The policy adopts the Australian Heritage Commission's National Wilderness Inventory as the basis for determining wilderness quality. The key criteria for wilderness are:
- remoteness from settlement;
- remoteness from access;
- apparent naturalness; and
- biophysical naturalness.
The overall aim is to manage wilderness areas for their intrinsic values and to provide opportunities for solitude, inspiration and self-reliant recreation. These wilderness areas will be islands of naturalness so that future generations can experience areas that have evolved relatively untouched by modern society.
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