local employment. Noongar use The Dryandra area is the country of the Wiilman subgroup of the Aboriginal Noongar people. They have strong cultural links with Dryandra, which they know as Wilgadjny. Within the complex, five important archaeological sites have been identified, including an ochre pit used for body decoration and rock art. One Noongar man born in 1910 described the ochre pit as being "a very spirity place" and somewhere to be avoided at night. Other known sites include artefact scatters, stone arrangements and a scarred tree, however the woodland has not yet been fully surveyed for significant Aboriginal sites. In 1995, following requests from local Aboriginal people, the Department of Environment and Conservation was considering the feasibility of permitting some cultural activities including hunting and camping within the woodland, to pass on skills to younger members of that community. If permitted, such activities would need to be managed on a sustainable basis to ensure that the conservation goals of the woodland are not compromised. Recent history Almost all of the land within the complex today was classified as a state forest in 1903 as an area for the protection of water catchments and growing wandoo and mallet forests. In 1962, a sub-committee of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Academy of Science made recommendations which were reviewed in 1972 and 1974 by the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia. In summary, the recommendations were: The recommendations were endorsed by the state cabinet in 1976. Since that time, Dryandra has been managed principally as a nature reserve but also for limited commercial operations related to plantation timber. In 1995, a management plan was prepared by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (now Department of Environment and Conservation) for the Lands and Forest Commission who hold tenure over the state forests which form the woodland. The plan recommended (amongst other things) that the entire area be referred to officially as "Dryandra Woodland" rather than as various state forests in recognition of its structural difference with the taller and denser forests of the Darling Range. Previously, a smaller section had been referred to as "Dryandra", with other sections known by their various forestry names. The principal objectives of the plan were: to achieve conservation, recreation and timber production goals, and in the next 70 to 100 years for the timber production role to be one of research and development; to