Bob Brown is famous for his role in the campaigns to save Lake Pedder and the Franklin River in Tasmania from damming, thus achieving worldwide publicity for the World Heritage qualities of Tasmania's wilderness areas. Bob Brown has been a Member of Tasmanian State Parliament (1983-93); Director of Tasmanian Wilderness Society (1979-84); recipient of International Merit Award of the IUCN (1984); UNEP Global 500 Award (1987), Goldman Environmental Prize (1990) and MAPW Distinguished Physician Award (1990). Bob is a Life Member of Australian Conservation Foundation and currently Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania.
Bush Heritage came about when two magnificent forest reserves, abutting the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, were put up for auction. Realising that these 241 hectares were destined to be woodchipped, Bob used his Goldman Environmental Prize of $49,000 as a deposit, borrowing the rest from friends and the bank, to buy the properties and set up the Australian Bush Heritage Fund in 1991. Dr Bob Brown was President of Bush Heritage until 1996 and a Board Member until 1997.