Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located 240 kilometres (150 mi) south of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of about 500,000 (as of December 2008), of whom almost half reside in and around Hobart the capital city.ÿÿ

Tasmania’s area is 68,401 square kilometres (26,410 sq mi), of which the main island covers 62,409 square kilometres (24,096 sq mi).ÿ

Tasmania's forests mightily impressed early European visitors in the 19th century; one reason for settlement was to secure another place for procuring timber for the British navy. Shipbuilding did develop, along with other forest-based industries, but farmers and pastoralists were the first important users of forested land.ÿÿ

The cultural landscapes created by thousands of years of use and management by burning by Aboriginal people were taken over by pastoralists. Clearing of the taller forest with a dense understorey on more fertile soils began in earnest in the mid-nineteenth century in response to land laws from 1851 which encouraged the purchase of forested Crown land. Significant areas were alienated, but much was not cleared. Tasmania has a high proportion of privately owned forests, about 30 percent by area, which was formally recognised by the government when the Private Forests Council was established in 1978.ÿÿ

A government authority, Private Forests Tasmania, was formed in 1994, to provide assistance and advice on private forest management.

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sourced from wikipedia and also from

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/F/Forestry.htm

Last updated: 0000-00-00 00:00:00