Forgotten wilderness: the Spero – Wanderer region

Report

The Spero – Wanderer region is a 139,000 hectare tract of wild country south of Macquarie Harbour and west of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) that has been left out of the TWWHA. Also known as the Southwest Conservation Area, the area is managed by the Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) but its low-level conservation tenure means that mineral exploration and mining (for example) are permitted. The case for adding this part of the Southwest Conservation Area to the World Heritage listing of the Tasmanian Wilderness is compelling.