First national park created in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region

The Dryandra Woodland National Park, near Narrogin, 180 kilometres south-east of Perth, is the first national park in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region.

Dryandra is a key stronghold for some of Australia's rarest and most vulnerable wildlife, including numbats, woylies, brushtail wallabies, chuditch (Western Quoll the size of a domestic cat - Western Australia's largest endemic carnivore), quenda (southwestern brown bandicoot) and the mound-building malleefowl.

The conversion of the former State forest to national park, including the creation of two class A nature reserves, will help ensure the future protection of native animals living in one of the last remnants of original woodland in the western Wheatbelt.

Numbers of numbats, Western Australia's animal emblem, have increased at Dryandra in recent years thanks to a Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions conservation program. The department's Western Shield program, which has been operating for 25 years and works to protect WA's native wildlife through broadscale management of introduced predators, including foxes and feral cats, has achieved significant conservation outcomes for many vulnerable native species in Dryandra.

The Dryandra Woodland National Park (a formal park naming process is still under way) is also home to Barna Mia, a predator-proof animal sanctuary where the public can see rare and protected wildlife, including numbats, in their nocturnal environment.

Western Australian Environment Minister Reece Whitby advises "the creation of this new national park will better protect the woodland's unique native species, while also offering wonderful outdoor recreational opportunities for visitors and the local community.

"The new national park is within a day's travel from Perth and will continue to be a popular destination for wildlife enthusiasts, campers and bushwalkers for generations to come."

Image top: Numbat courtesy Wilderness Society Credit: James Evans; and above Dryandra woodland