Editing Little Desert National Park (section)

===National Park===
The low-nutrient sandy soil combined with low rainfalls made farming difficult. After the Second World War, the State Government considered clearing and selling land in the Little Desert region. Local opposition to selling the land for farming was intense and quickly gathered support around Victoria. The [[Henry Bolte|Bolte Government]] was initially unmoved by environmental concerns. Public outrage over the proposed subdivision resulted in the responsible minister's losing his safe seat in a by-election.  The Little Desert debate galvanised Victoria's conservation movement into forming a peak body, the [[Conservation Council of Victoria]], and the conservative Victorian government of [[Henry Bolte]] to adopt environmental policies, such as establishing the [[Land Conservation Council]] to systematically and independently review all future public land use across the state. The architect of the Land Conservation Council was the newly appointed Minister of Lands, Conservation and Soldier Settlement, [[Bill Borthwick|William Borthwick]], who supported retaining the area as a nature reserve.<ref name=clode>{{cite book|first=Danielle|last=Clode|year=2007|title=As if for a thousand years: A history of Victoria's Land Conservation and Environment Conservation Councils|publisher=Victorian Environmental Assessment Council|location=Melbourne|pages=16–18}}</ref> So in 1955 the Kiata Lowan Sanctuary was established to preserve the 'Eastern block' of the Desert and protect the local [[Malleefowl]]. In 1969 this Sanctuary became 'The Little Desert National Park' in the 'Eastern Block' and in 1986 the 'Central' and 'Western' Blocks were added.<ref name=History />