Forests Commission Victoria

Forests Commission Victoria

Agency overview
Formed	December 1918
Preceding agency	State Forests Department
Dissolved	September 1983
Superseding agency	Department of Conservation Forests and Lands
Jurisdiction	Government of Victoria

The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) was the main government authority responsible for management and protection of State forests in Victoria, Australia between 1918 and 1983.

The Commission was responsible for ″forest policy, prevention and suppression of bushfires, issuing leases and licences, planting and thinning of forests, the development of plantations, reforestation, nurseries, forestry education, the development of commercial timber harvesting and marketing of produce, building and maintaining forest roads, provision of recreation facilities, protection of water, soils and wildlife, forest research and making recommendations on the acquisition or alienation of land for forest purposes″.^[1]

The Forests Commission had a long and proud history of innovation and of managing Victoria's State forests but in September 1983 lost its discrete identity when it was merged into the newly formed Victorian Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL) along with the Crown Lands and Survey Department, National Park Service, Soil Conservation Authority and Fisheries and Wildlife Service.^[2]

After the amalgamation the management of State forests and the forestry profession continued but the tempo of change accelerated, with many more departmental restructures occurring over the subsequent three decades. Responsibilities are currently split between the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP),^[3] Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water, Alpine Resorts Commission, the State Government-owned commercial entity VicForests^[4] and the privately owned Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP).^[5]