Editing New South Wales (section)

== National parks ==
[[File:Three Sisters -Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia-20July2012.jpg|thumb|''Three Sisters'' rock formation in the [[Blue Mountains National Park]]]]
{{See also|Protected areas of New South Wales}}
New South Wales has more than 780 national parks and reserves covering more than 8% of the state.<ref>2008 Guide to National Parks, p. 59, NSW NPWS.</ref> These parks range from rainforests, waterfalls, rugged bush to marine wonderlands and outback deserts, including [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage]] sites.<ref>[http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/ Welcome to NSW National Parks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306204055/http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/ |date=6 March 2009 }}. ''Office of Environment and Heritage'', retrieved 2 May 2011</ref>

The [[Royal National Park]] on the southern outskirts of Sydney became Australia's first national park when proclaimed on 26 April 1879. Originally named simply 'National Park' until 1955, this park was the second national park to be established in the world after [[Yellowstone National Park]] in the U.S. [[Kosciuszko National Park]] is the largest park in state encompassing New South Wales' alpine region.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Chisholm, Alec H. | encyclopedia = The Australian Encyclopaedia | volume = 6 | page = 249 | publisher=Halstead Press | location = Sydney | year = 1963 | id = National Parks}}</ref>

The National Parks Association was formed in 1957 to create a system of national parks all over New South Wales which led to the formation of the [[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)|National Parks and Wildlife Service]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|title=Who We Are |publisher=National Parks Association of NSW |url=http://www.npansw.org.au/web/about/who.htm |access-date=1 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804082304/http://www.npansw.org.au/web/about/who.htm |archive-date=4 August 2007 }}</ref> This government agency is responsible for developing and maintaining the parks and reserve system, and conserving natural and cultural heritage, in the state of New South Wales. These parks preserve special habitats, plants and wildlife, such as the [[Wollemi National Park]] where the [[Wollemia|Wollemi Pine]] grows and areas sacred to Australian Aboriginals such as [[Mutawintji National Park]] in western New South Wales.