About one-third of Victoria, or about 7.1 million hectares, is publicly owned native forest.
The first area of State forest set aside for recreation was in 1912 at Centennial Park, which was then part of the Mt Arapiles Timber Reserve.
Recreational use of State forests expanded in the 1930s with greater access to private vehicles and forest roads.
The Mt Buller ski fields were developed by the Forests Commission from the early 1940s.
Under Section 50 of the Forest Act (1958), the Commission began setting aside more reserves, usually for recreation, or the conservation of natural features.
In 1958, the area covered by this provision was quite small being only 700 ha, with the exception of Mt Buller at 1710 ha.
But by the 1950s it became evident that community attitudes to forests and conservation were beginning to shift.
In 1958, the Commission added Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw reserves.
Over the next 10 years, the number of Section 50 reserves increased to 81 with an aggregate area of 17,300 ha. These included Sherbrooke, the You Yangs, Macedon Ranges, Grampians (Wonderland Range), Barmah and the Lerderderg Gorge.
In the early 1970s, the Commission, under the new Chairmanship of Dr. Frank Moulds, formed the Forest Environment and Recreation (FEAR) Branch to give greater focus to the multiple use of State forests.
FEAR Branch was an innovative idea and other state forest services around Australia soon followed.
Forest Rangers were also employed in the busier parks from this time.
Work by the Forests Commission started in October 1970, and by 1976 the Victorian segments of the Alpine Walking Track were completed.
By about 1973, the area set aside in forest reserves had grown to 56,000 ha.
In 1979, it was estimated that about 6 million day-visits were made to State forests and people spent about $36 million, mostly in rural economies. The most popular activity was pleasure driving with nearly 80% of the total, followed by picnicking and walking.
Visitation was increasing at about 10-15% per year putting a strain on roads, facilities and meagre district budgets.
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 