of chemical sprays. So in the 1970s the Commission commenced major environmental studies in north-east Victoria into the effects of plantations. The studies included surveys of the biology of existing plantations compared to adjoining native forests as well as the impact of plantations on the catchment hydrology. Subsequent Land Conservation Council reviews, beginning in the 1970s, restricted the areas of new softwood plantations on public land and by 1987 degraded farmland was being purchased for the PX program and the clearing of native forest halted. The entire FCV plantation estate was transferred to the State owned entity, the Victorian Plantations Corporation (VPC) in 1993. The VPC was later sold in 1998 to American superannuation company Hancock Timber Resource Group for $550 million to become Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP). In August 2001, Hancock Victoria Plantations consolidated its plantation holdings by purchasing the assets of Australian Paper Plantations for over A$150 million. After many years of lobbying by environmental groups, about 8000 ha of land was returned to public ownership in 2006 under a $5.5M agreement between Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP) and the State Government into what is known as the "Cores and Links" reserve. A further 15000 ha of HVP managed native forest has been protected as part of the agreement. The Black Saturday fire that began near Churchill on 7 February 2009 destroyed a large area of HVP plantation. The trees were quickly salvaged and replanted but it had significant flow-on effects to the continuity of wood supply for local harvesting contractors, sawmills and the papermill at Maryvale. Tourism The spectacular Grand Ridge Road which was built in the 1920s winds through the Ranges, and provides picturesque views to the north over the Latrobe Valley and to the south towards Wilsons Promontory. The Grand Strzelecki Track was opened in May 2012 as a walking track over 100 km long from Billy's Creek to the Tarra Bulga National Park that can be completed in stages. Agnes Falls near Toora is a spectacular waterfall that cascades over a series of rocks with a 59-metre drop, the highest single span waterfall in Victoria. Tarra – Bulga National Park. Gallery See also List of mountains in Victoria Strzelecki (disambiguation) References External links Map of Strzelecki State Forest (1975), Forests Commission Victoria – http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/139885 FCRPA – Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (Peter McHugh) – https://www.victoriasforestryheritage.org.au/ McHugh, Peter. (2020). Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria :