Wild Nephin ( ga, Néifinn Fhiáin) is a national park in northwest County Mayo,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It includes much of the Nephin Beg Mountains and one of the largest expanses of

peatland A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, consisting of 150 square kilometres of

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...

. It is a unique

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

with a diverse

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

. It was established as Ballycroy National Park in 1998, then expanded and re-named in 2018, with plans to re-wild the additional lands acquired at Nephin Forest to the east of the Nephin Beg Mountains. Wild Nephin includes the most remote point of land on the Irish mainland. The park is a candidate

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

(cSAC) as part of a site known as the Owenduff/Nephin Complex. It is also a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

and part of the Natura 2000 network.

History

The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

(92/43/EEC), which was transposed into Irish law in 1997, lists certain habitats and species that the Irish Government was required to designate as SACs to ensure their protection. These habitats include blanket bogs. The bog at Ballycroy is especially important in this regard because it is one of the largest examples of a blanket bog habitat left in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Ballycroy was established as a national park on 1 November 1998. It is managed under the State Property Act of 1954. In 2017, 4,000 hectares of conifer forest and mountain controlled by Coillte was added to the 11,000 hectares of the adjoining Ballycroy National Park. The area is to be managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and has been identified as having potential for

rewilding Rewilding may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe Rewilding Europe is a non-profit organisation based in Nijmegen, Netherlands, working to create rewilded landscapes through ...

. The area was originally an industrial forest, consisting of lodgepole pine and spruce plantations, with forestry roads throughout.

Features

Blanket bogs, cliffs and river habitats are found in the park. The blanket bog is one of the largest expanses of

left in

. Conservation of the bog is thus of international importance because of the niches it provides for various species, such as rare species of plants such as ''Hamatocaulis vernicosus''. The Owenduff River is also an important conservation area because it is the only river in Western Europe that still drains a relatively intact and extensive blanket bog system. It is also a important

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and sea trout river. The Owenduff area is an important roosting, feeding and breeding site for a number of migratory bird species, such as the Greenland white-fronted goose, that are protected by the European Union

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...

. Other rare species found in the park include the whooper swan, and the peregrine falcon. Wild Nephin National Park is also the Mayo Dark Sky Park, which is Ireland's first International Dark Sky Park. A visitor centre for the national park opened in 2009. The 700 square meter building overlooks the Atlantic Ocean in Ballycroy village. It opens daily from mid-March until the beginning of November.

References

External links

National Parks WebsiteWild Nephin National Park WebsiteMayo Dark Sky Park Website
{{Authority control National parks of the Republic of Ireland Protected areas established in 1998 1998 establishments in Ireland Bogs of the Republic of Ireland Parks in County Mayo Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland Natura 2000 in Ireland Landforms of County Mayo