Western Australia's forest reserve system contains more than a million hectares in national parks, conservation parks, nature reserves and other reserves.
Reserves also protect habitat, evolutionary processes and ecological support systems.
In areas of State forest where activities such as wood production, mineral production and forest recreation are permitted, biodiversity can be maintained by complementary management outside reserves. The identification and protection of special zones and corridors along streams and roads and around wetlands, heaths, woodlands, and rock outcrops ensures that multiple use forests can maintain a rich assemblage of plants and animals that complements biodiversity conservation in reserves. There are other means of protecting habitat and thus conserving biodiversity. One of these is the retention of 'habitat trees' with hollows for birds and other animals, 'den logs' for animals such as the numbat and chuditch, and patches of unique understorey within logged areas.