Forests for Everyone: a new era for South East Queensland’s native State Forests

Queensland boasts some of the most outstanding natural and living cultural landscapes remaining in the world. Our native forests are incredibly diverse and harbour much of our iconic and endangered wildlife.
Greater gliders, koalas, quolls, glossy black cockatoos and many more threatened species can be found in Queensland’s native state forests.

The cessation of logging in the South East Queensland (SEQ) planning region has resulted in the allocation of up to 13,193 hectares for recreation and conservation across 12 of the region’s state forests. But approximately 50,000 hectares remain unallocated. These state forests are close to highly populated areas and are valued by local communities for their recreational opportunities, including hiking, mountain biking, horse-riding, four-wheel driving and other activities. Where appropriate, these activities should be maintained and supported through dedicated facilities, access points and outreach for their sustainable ongoing use.

These forests present a strategic opportunity to establish conservation parks with a recreational focus.
Historic logging tracks are often suitable for activities such as mountain biking, horse riding, scenic driving and providing access to campsites. With careful planning, ecological values can be improved while enhancing access to nature for a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts in one of Australia’s fastest growing regions.

Recreation groups and conservationists are advocating for the designation of these areas as conservation parks. Transitioning these state forests into conservation parks will create new recreation, tourism, and lifestyle opportunities, while showing that the Queensland Government is responsive to community expectations.

Queenslanders love nature, with polling showing that 77% want more national parks, and 71% support a doubling of parks by 2030. These figures are supported by enthusiastic public use of national parks, with almost two thirds of Queenslanders having visited a national park in the last 12 months.

The expansion of protected areas is central to the outdoor recreation sector, which in turn delivers significant health and economic benefits for Queenslanders, and to Queensland’s tourism industry, a major pillar of our economy. Over 90% of Queenslanders say national parks are important for their lifestyle.

Tourism contributes $37.6 billion annually to Queensland’s economy and sustains over 277,000 jobs across 65,000 businesses. Nature-based tourism is a high-growth sector delivering strong returns on public investment. National Parks generate approximate 17,241 jobs across the tourism industry.
With the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, Queensland has an unprecedented opportunity to show global leadership in conservation and sustainable tourism.

Many international tourists now look for genuine environmental credentials, and the government’s ambition for 45 eco-tourism products by 2045 will only succeed with carefully planned, coordinated investment in product development and in the growth and management of protected areas.