Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia. it contained separate protected areas with a total land area of (17.64% of the state's area).

The parks are managed by Parks Victoria, a state government agency. There are also many smaller state areas which are subject to commercial activity such as logging.

Main parks National parks National parks provide the highest level of protection to diverse natural areas. They usually contain the best and most unique examples of our natural values and biodiversity. There are 45 national parks in Victoria, totalling (72.53% of the state's protected areas).

+ National parks of Victoria Order National park nameImage Area Declared Notes ha acre 1 Alfred Parks Victoria: Creation of Parks.pdf 2 Alpine Includes the former Tingaringy NP, Wabonga Plateau SP, Bogong NP, Wonnangatta–Moroka NP, Cobberas–Tingaringy NP3 Barmah Proclaimed in 1987 4 Baw Baw 5 Brisbane Ranges 6 Budj Bim Formerly known as Mount Eccles National Park. UNESCO World Heritage listing from 20197 Burrowa – Pine Mountain 8 Chiltern-Mt Pilot Proclaimed in 1980 ;and in 1997 9 Churchill Formerly known as Dandenong National Park 10 Cobboboonee 11 Coopracambra Proclaimed in 1979 12 Croajingolong Includes the former Wingan Inlet NP, Mallacoota Inlet NP, Captain James Cook NP13 Dandenong Ranges Proclaimed in 1928 14 Errinundra 15 French Island Proclaimed in 1984 16 Grampians 17 Great Otway Includes the former Melba Gully SP, Otway NP, Angahook–Lorne SP, Carlisle SP18 Greater Bendigo Includes the former Whipstick SP, Kamarooka SP19 Gunbower 20 Hattah – Kulkyne Proclaimed in 1960 21 Heathcote-Graytown 22 Kara Kara Proclaimed in 1984 ;Formerly known as St Arnaud Range National Park 23 Kinglake 24 Lake Eildon Includes the former Fraser NP, Eildon SP25 The Lakes 26 Lind Parks Victoria, Lind and Alfred National Parks management plan (August 1998), p. 2. 27 Little Desert 28 Lower Glenelg 29 Lower Goulburn 30 Mitchell River Proclaimed in 1963 31 Mornington Peninsula Includes the former Cape Schanck Coastal Park, and part of Nepean SP;Formerly known as Point Nepean National Park 32 Morwell 33 Mount Buffalo 34 Mount Richmond 35 Murray – Sunset Proclaimed in 1979 36 Organ Pipes 37 Point Nepean 38 Port Campbell 39 Snowy River 40 Tarra-Bulga Includes the former Tarra Valley NP, Bulga NP41 Terrick Terrick Proclaimed in 1988 42 Warby-Ovens Proclaimed in 1975 43 Wilsons Promontory 44 Wyperfeld 45 Yarra Ranges

State parks State parks help protect the state's natural values. They are very similar to national parks, however, the conservation values and landscapes they protect are smaller or less diverse. There are 26 state parks in Victoria, totalling (3.94% of the state's protected areas).

+ State parks of Victoria Order State park name Area Declared Notes ha acre 1 Arthurs Seat Includes part of the former Nepean State Park 2 Black Range 3 Broken-Boosey 4 Bunyip 5 Cape Nelson 6 Cathedral Range 7 Dergholm 8 Enfield 9 Holey Plains 10 Kooyoora 11 Lake Tyers 12 Langi Ghiran 13 Leaghur 14 Lerderderg 15 Moondarra 16 Mount Arapiles-Tooan 17 Mount Buangor 18 Mount Granya 19 Mount Lawson 20 Mount Napier 21 Mount Samaria 22 Mount Worth 23 Paddys Ranges 24 Reef Hills 25 Warrandyte 26 Werribee Gorge

Regional parks Regional parks are found close to urban centres or major tourist routes. While still places of natural beauty, visitor recreation is the primary purpose of regional parks.

Metropolitan parks Metropolitan parks are very similar to regional parks, however, are located in metropolitan Melbourne.

Indigenous Protected Areas Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are "areas of land and sea managed by Indigenous groups as protected areas for biodiversity conservation through voluntary agreements with the Australian Government".

There are 5 indigenous protected areas in Victoria, totalling (0.1% of the state's protected areas). The following IPAs have been declared in Victoria: Budj Bim Kurtonitj Lake Condah Tyrendarra Deen Maar Framlingham Forest

Historic and heritage Parks Victoria is responsible for the largest and most diverse collection of heritage places on public land in Victoria. It manages more than 3,000 historic assets including cultural landscapes, buildings, infrastructure, significant trees, objects and artefacts, archaeological sites, and shipwrecks.

Historic and heritage parks Historic or heritage parks are significant historic cultural landscapes of heritage value. There are 6 historic and heritage parks in Victoria

Historic and heritage areas

There are 75 historic and heritage areas in Victoria including:

Heritage River There are 18 heritage rivers in Victoria, totalling (3.96% of the state's protected areas). These are defined under the Heritage Rivers Act 1992 as parts of rivers and river catchment areas that have significant nature conservation, recreation, scenic or cultural heritage values

Marine protected areas Victoria is the first jurisdiction in the world to create an entire system of highly protected marine national parks at the same time. Victoria contained separate marine protected areas with a total area of (11.87% of the state's coastal waters). Marine national parks and sanctuaries contain important marine habitats and species, or encompass areas of significant natural features; and are highly protected areas in which no fishing, extractive or damaging activities are permitted.

Marine national parks There are 13 marine national parks in Victoria, totalling (43.05% of the state's protected waters).

+ Marine national parks of Victoria Order Marine national park name Area Declared ha acre 1 Bunurong 2 Cape Howe 3 Churchill Island 4 Corner Inlet 5 Discovery Bay 6 French Island 7 Ninety Mile Beach 8 Point Addis 9 Point Hicks 10 Port Phillip Heads 11 Twelve Apostles 12 Wilsons Promontory 13 Yaringa

Marine sanctuaries There are 11 marine sanctuaries in Victoria, totalling (0.71% of the state's protected waters).

+ Marine sanctuaries of Victoria Order Marine sanctuaries name Area Declared ha acre 1 Barwon Bluff 2 Beware Reef 3 Eagle Rock 4 Jawbone 5 Marengo Reefs 6 Merri 7 Mushroom Reef 8 Point Cooke 9 Point Danger 10 Ricketts Point 11 The Arches

Coastal and marine parks Coastal Parks and Marine Parks protect areas of coastal, intertidal or subtidal land. There are 6 marine (or marine & coastal) parks in Victoria, totalling (56.24% of the state's protected waters). There are also 5 coastal parks in Victoria, totalling (1.13% of the state's protected land areas).

+ Marine parks of Victoria Order Marine park name Area Declared Notes ha acre 1 Bay of Islands Coastal park 2 Bunurong Marine & coastal park 3 Cape Conran Coastal park 4 Cape Liptrap Coastal park 5 Corner Inlet Marine & coastal park 6 Discovery Bay Coastal park 7 Gippsland Lakes Coastal park 8 Nooramunga Marine & coastal park 9 Shallow Inlet Marine & coastal park 10 Wilsons Promontory Marine park & marine reserve

The former Point Cook Coastal Park (proclaimed in 1978) became part of the Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary. The former Cape Schanck Coastal Park (proclaimed on 1 December 1975) became part of the old Point Nepean National Park in 1988.

Reference areas Reference areas are tracts of public land containing viable samples of one or more land types that are relatively undisturbed. There are 144 reference areas in Victoria, totalling (2.81% of the state's protected areas) and all but are located inside other protected areas including:

Other nature areas Wilderness and Nature parks Wilderness parks are large areas with native plant and animal communities that are relatively unaffected by humans. They are managed for conservation, with no facilities provided for visitors and no vehicles are permitted. There are 3 wilderness parks in Victoria, totalling (5% of the state's protected areas).

There is 1 nature park in Victoria, totalling (0.05% of the state's protected areas).

+ Wilderness & Nature parks of Victoria Order Park name Area Declared Notes ha acre 1 Avon Wilderness park 2 Big Desert Wilderness park 3 Phillip Island Nature park 4 Wabba Wilderness park

Wilderness zones There are 19 wilderness zones in Victoria, totalling (15.98% of the state's protected areas) and all but are located inside other protected areas.

Bowen Buchan Headwaters Cape Howe Chinaman Flat Cobberas Galpunga Genoa Indi Minook Mount Cowra Mount Darling – Snowy Bluff North Wyperfeld Razor-Viking Sandpatch Snowy River South Wyperfeld Sunset Tingaringy Wilsons Promontory

Natural catchment area There are 25 natural catchment areas in Victoria, totalling (3.77% of the state's protected areas).

Remote and natural area There are 24 remote and natural areas in Victoria, totalling (7.55% of the state's protected areas).

Other reserves In Victoria, there are a total of 2776 nature reserves, totalling (11.64% of the state's protected areas) divided is the following different groups:

Bushland Reserve There are 1592 bushland reserves in Victoria, totalling (1.13% of the state's protected areas). Cave Reserve There are 9 cave reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.01% of the state's protected areas). Conservation park / reserve There are 13 conservation parks / conservation reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.52% of the state's protected areas). Flora & Fauna Reserve There are a total of 186 flora and/or fauna reserves in Victoria, totalling (2.98% of the state's protected areas). Geological Reserve There are 14 geological reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.01% of the state's protected areas). Gippsland Lakes Reserve There are 39 gippsland lakes reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.18% of the state's protected areas). Nature Conservation Reserve There are 263 nature conservation reserves in Victoria, totalling (3.41% of the state's protected areas). Natural Features and Scenic Reserve There are 49 natural features reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.26% of the state's protected areas). There are 50 scenic reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.24% of the state's protected areas). There are 24 combined natural features and scenic reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.49% of the state's protected areas). Streamside Reserve There are 259 streamside reserves in Victoria, totalling (0.2% of the state's protected areas). Tall Trees Reserve There is 1 tall trees reserve in Victoria, totalling . Wildlife Reserve There are 277 wildlife reserves in Victoria, totalling (2.2% of the state's protected areas).

Some of the nature reserves include Dexter's Bush Deep Lead Nature Conservation Reserve Jackass Flat Nature Conservation Reserve Kurrawonga Reserve Long Forest Flora & Fauna Reserve Marble Gully - Mount Tambo Nature Conservation Reserve Mount Elizabeth Nature Conservation Reserve Mount Hope Nature Conservation Reserve Mullinger Swamp Wildlife Reserve The Spit Wildlife Reserve Snape Reserve Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve

See also Protected areas of Australia Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne

References

External links Parks Victoria Victoria National Parks Travel Victoria – National & state parks Travel Victoria – Metropolitan parks Travel Victoria – Coastal & marine parks