On 20 October 2005, Brazil's Ministry of the Environment announced the creation of two protected areas in the state of Santa Catarina. The Araucárias National Park of 12,481 ha and the Mata Preta Ecological Station of 6,563 ha are both of great importance in protecting remnant forests of the Paraná or Brazilian pine, Araucaria angustifolia (Araucariaceae). The Araucaria pine forest of southern and southeastern Brazil, a distinctive formation of the Brazilian Atlantic forest, once covered more than 20 million ha, but — devastated by the timber industry and clear-cutting — is today reduced to remnants covering a mere 2% of that area. The Brazilian pine has been on the Brazilian threatened species list since 1992. Source: SBS – Sociedade Brasileira de Silvicultura, website: < http://www.sbs.org.br>, accessed 25 October 2005.