Once adopted, this plan of management will replace the existing plan, which was adopted in 2006. Public exhibition of the draft plan provided members of the community with the opportunity to have a say in the management directions for the parks. Comments closed 24 January 2022.
The draft plan is accompanied by the Dharawal National Park, Dharawal Nature Reserve, Dharawal State Conservation Area Draft Planning Considerations report. Readers of the plan should refer to this document for detailed explanations of the parks' values and management considerations.
The parks are located approximately 45 kilometres south-west of Sydney between the Georges River and Illawarra Escarpment. Key issues addressed in this plan include:
- celebrating the significant cultural values of the parks and supporting the Aboriginal community in caring for Country
- continuation of opportunities for low impact, self-reliant visitor activities, supported by small-scale visitor facilities at appropriate locations on the edges of the parks
- maintaining the current high water quality and considerable value of the parks as a wildlife corridor.
What is a plan of management?
Parks and reserves established under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 need to have a plan of management. The plan includes information on important park values and provides directions for future management. Once the plan is adopted, no management operations can be undertaken in the park unless they are consistent with the plan.
Why is a new plan being prepared?
The current plan of management was adopted in 2006 and many things have changed since then, including, a change in the classification of a large area of the parks from State Conservation Area to National Park. The draft plan responds to these changes and new information about the park values and management considerations.
