Longevity of relationships is a cornerstone of listening and respectfully planning with Traditional Owners and their knowledge.
Protected areas – lands and waters ostensibly dedicated to the protection of the world’s ecological and cultural heritage – can be found across 235 countries, often forming the “backbone” of conservation systems. Their origins began in the United States with the world’s first national park at Yellowstone in 1872. Perhaps lesser known is the fact that the renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted was responsible for their creation. In 1865, Olmsted visited Yosemite and penned Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report, 1865, which led to the protection of Yosemite (technically as a state park) and the gazettal of Yellowstone through the enactment of the United States Statutes at Large in 1872.
One hundred and forty-nine years since Yellowstone’s establishment, Australia’s protected area system now covers an impressive 19.74 percent of the country’s landmass and performs a valuable role at both national and state level. Today’s protected areas, like those of yesteryear, still negotiate
