The Irish Government today announced the creation of a new National Park, the country's eighth. Located on the Dingle Peninsula, Páírc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí includes the rugged Conor Pass, the unique island of Sceilg Mhichíl, and Mount Brandon, one of the most spectacular of Ireland's 3000-foot mountains.
I am incredibly excited for this development as a local(ish) walker, climber & all round mountain fan. While we have some reason to doubt the government's wildlife strategy I think this is an amazing step forward to starting to get serious about protecting our incredibly valuable uplands & marine life. One of the large benefits being that the obvious desire the state will have to make it contiguous will likely convince landowners to sell the uplands on an ongoing basis.
Regarding the lack of faith in rewilding efforts, I think that criticism is well grounded & reasonable. However, I firmly believe that the National Parks & Wildlife Service is on the rebound and with a stronger legal framework coming down the pipeline things can only get better.
News IFSC Boulder World Cup Salt Lake City 2024 - Report
After the IFSC World Cup season kicked off at the new location of Keqiao last month, the second comp of the season saw the athletes returning to a familiar venue, the home of US competition climbing - Salt Lake City.