More fire down under. (Clippings).National parks and fire management agencies in Australia began 2003 batling a massive rash of wildfires that had burned more than 2,896 square miles of alpine national parks and forests by February 1. The wildfires began from 60 small blazes started by lightning strikes associated with dry thunderstorms in late December and early January. By mid-February, fires were burning along a 125-mile-long front through the forested ranges of Alpine National Park, Wabba Wilderness area and Mt. Buffalo National Park Buffalo National Park was created in eastern Alberta on June 5, 1909, and delisted in 1947. It was one of several national parks created in the prairies expressly to protect and regenerate populations of bison and pronghorn antelope whose numbers were dangerously small. in Victoria as well as Mt. Kosciuszko National Park Kosciuszko is one of the largest and one of the most important national parks in Australia. It covers over 6,900 km² and contains Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko for which it is named, and Cabramurra the highest town in Australia. in New South Wales New South Wales, state (1991 pop. 5,164,549), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Wollongong, and Broken Hill. . On January 18 the northernmost fires erupted from the forest and raged through the southwestern suburbs of Canberra The suburbs of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs and other industrial areas and villages. While these divisions have no formal role in the governance or administration of the city, they formed a basis for the planning , Australia's capital city, killing four and hospitalizing hundreds. Fires destroyed 530 homes and damaged hundreds of others. The fires also devastated a nearby wildlife research center that housed a breeding program for endangered species and destroyed a bog in Kosciuszko National Park that was home to the endangered dime-sized corroboree frog. The National Parks and Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service operates across Australia, with branches in each of the states. Some state branches of the service are:
Australia's National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI NAFI National Association of Flight Instructors NAFI North American Family Institute (juvenile corrections) NAFI Navy - Air Force Interface (for Electronic Document Access) ) has called for a review of national park management, claiming the fires demonstrate the need for logging to be allowed in national parks to reduce forest fuel loads, similar to President Bush's "Healthy Forest Initiative." |
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