Wicklow Mountains National Park Management Plan
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Management Plan for Wicklow Mountains National Park 2005-2009 National Parks and Wildlife Service First published by The National Parks & Wildlife Service Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government www.npws.ie © Government of Ireland 2005 Printed on 50% recycled paper from plantation forests ISBN 0-7557-7007-2 Printed in Ireland by Colorprint Ltd Designed by Design Image, Dublin Picture Credits: Front cover: Con Brogan, Hubert Hedderington, John Griffin, Enda Mullen Back cover: Richard Mills, NPWS staff page 2, 11, 15, NPWS staff; page 6, 20, 23, John Griffin; page 11, Richard Mills; page 16, Eamon Doran; page 18, Enda Mullen; page 21, Hubert Hedderington (full details on back page) TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ iii FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ vii SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ ix READER’S GUIDE ...................................................................................................................... xiii ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................................................. xv 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 LOCATION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 ORIGIN ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 ADMINISTRATION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.4 NATURAL HERITAGE ................................................................................................. 2 2. THE MANAGEMENT PLAN AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................... 3 2.1 THE MANAGEMENT PLAN ......................................................................................... 3 2.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF WMNP ............................................................................ 3 3. WMNP: THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT ........................................................................... 6 3.1 WMNP AND THE WORLDWIDE NETWORK OF NATIONAL PARKS ............................... 6 3.2 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR NATIONAL PARKS ............................................... 6 3.3 NATIONAL POLICY ON IUCN GUIDELINES ................................................................. 8 3.4 STATUS OF WMNP IN IRISH LAW .............................................................................. 8 4. WMNP IN RELATION TO NATIONAL AND EU ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANNING POLICY ... 9 4.1 EU & NATIONAL CONSERVATION DESIGNATIONS ..................................................... 9 4.2 THE NATIONAL PARK AND ITS SURROUNDINGS ....................................................... 10 4.3 LEGISLATION RELATING TO BUILT HERITAGE ........................................................... 12 5. OWNERSHIP AND RIGHTS ............................................................................................... 13 5.1 OWNERSHIP ............................................................................................................. 13 5.2 RIGHTS ..................................................................................................................... 13 5.3. FUTURE EXPANSION OF WMNP................................................................................. 14 6. HOW WMNP IS USED AND MANAGED ............................................................................. 15 6.1 PAST HUMAN USE .................................................................................................... 15 6.2 CURRENT HUMAN USE ............................................................................................. 16 6.3 CURRENT CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT ................................................................ 21 iii 7. THE PLAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS 2005-2009 AND BEYOND .................................... 22 7.1 MANAGEMENT ISSUES ............................................................................................. 23 7.2 MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ..................................................................................... 25 7.3 ZONING WITHIN WMNP ............................................................................................ 51 8. REFERENCE MATERIAL ..................................................................................................... 54 8.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 54 8.2 AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS ............................................................................................ 61 APPENDIX 1 ORIGINS OF THE NATIONAL PARK CONCEPT .................................................... 62 APPENDIX 2 DESIGNATIONS AFFECTING WMNP ................................................................... 63 APPENDIX 3 INVENTORY OF RESOURCES AND VALUES ........................................................ 65 A3.1 NATURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................... 65 A3.2 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................. 75 A3.3 OTHER VALUES .......................................................................................... 75 A3.4 WMNP INFRASTRUCTURE .......................................................................... 76 APPENDIX 4 TABLE OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND ZONING ....................................... 77 APPENDIX 5 PLANTS MENTIONED IN TEXT AND APPENDICES ............................................. 88 APPENDIX 6 FAUNA RECORDED IN WMNP ............................................................................ 90 APPENDIX 7 RESEARCH PROJECTS ........................................................................................ 96 APPENDIX 8 WMNP COUNCIL MEMBERS .............................................................................. 98 MAPS 1 WICKLOW MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK 2 DESIGNATIONS 3 GROSS HABITAT 4 GRAZING IMPACT ASSESSMENT 5 DESTOCKING LEVELS 6 MANAGEMENT ZONES iv FOREWORD The Wicklow Mountains National Park extending to some 17,000 hectares, is a national asset of great ecological, social, educational, recreational and aesthetic value. The primary aims of this Wicklow Mountains National Park Manage- ment Plan for the 2005-2009 period are to develop and maintain the highest standards of conservation management and development, and to facilitate appropriate educational, recreational and com- munity interests and activities, consistent with the conservation imperative. These aims are to be achieved in co-operation with local interests and statutory agencies. Responsibility for the overall management of Wicklow Mountains National Park rests with me, as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and is delivered through the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department. It is my task to ensure that Wicklow Mountains National Park is developed as a protected habitat for wildlife and an amenity of the highest international standards for the residents of Wicklow, for all our visitors and for the generations to come. As the Minister directly responsible for the Park, and as a T.D. representing Wicklow I am particularly keen to ensure the welfare of Wicklow’s greatest natural asset and amenity. I welcome the particular emphasis in this Plan which is placed on the importance of improving access, including visitor facilities, and of defining the Park boundary itself. I support the commitment to a wide-ranging education programme, together with the emphasis on the replacement of conifer plantations with native trees as part of a comprehensive programme of woodland management. The commissioning of a vegetation map for the whole Park, coupled with specific surveys on rare and protected plant species, are important to the future effective conservation management of the Park. This Management Plan is the product of a long and detailed consultative process, initially between my Department and the Wicklow Mountains National Park Council – representing the principal “frontline” stakeholders of the Park – and subsequently with the wider public. I would like to convey my warm appreciation to the members of the Council for the enduring and valued contribution which they have made to the elaboration of this Plan and which they continue to make to the National Park. I also acknowledge the input of those organisations and individuals who took part in the public consultation process. I believe that this Plan lays a firm foundation for the development and success of Wicklow Mountains National Park over the coming years. ______________________________ Dick Roche T.D. Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government v INTRODUCTION In 1999 I was asked by the Manager of the Wicklow Mountains National Park to chair a public meeting in order to set up a Council which would be the interface between the National Park manage- ment and the local communities, users and other interest groups. In excess