Park Management

Management Structure

The Park is administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, part of the Environment, Infrastructure and Services Division of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which has headquarters in Dublin City. The Regional Manager is responsible for overall management and is based at the Eastern Region Headquarters in Kilafin, Co. Wicklow. The Regional Manager heads the Park staff, which comprises a District Conservation Officer; Conservation Rangers; Education Guides; General Operatives and Administrators.

Park Council

A Council for the Park has been appointed by the Minister of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The role of the Council is to represent local communities and interest groups. The Park Council will play an important and continuing role in the future of the Park. The Council was involved in the preparation of the Park Management Plan and will review its implementation.

Management Plan

The Park Management Plan for the five-year period 2005-2009 was officially launched by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. Dick Roche T.D. on 29th April 2005. Copies of the plan can be purchased from the Government Publications Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, price €15.00. The plan consolidates and improves upon the significant achievements which have been effected within the Park since it was established by the State in 1991. The primary aims of the management plan are to:

• develop and maintain the highest standards of conservation management and educational provision
• facilitate appropriate recreational, community and commercial interests and activities, consistent with the conservation and educational imperative
• ensure the orderly implementation of strategies in consultation with local interests and statutory agencies; and, by so doing,
• ensure that the Park is a protected landscape of the highest international standards for all our visitors, and for the generations to come, in full accordance with the principles of sustainable development.

Aims of the Park

• To conserve nature within the Park.
• To conserve other significant features and qualities within the Park.
• To encourage public appreciation of the Park through the provision of interpretative materials and the development of the education programme
• To develop a harmonious relationship between the Park and the surrounding community, taking into account the social and economic needs of local communities.
• To promote research and environmental monitoring in the Park and thus contribute to scientific knowledge.

International Standards The Park is a category II national park according to the international criteria laid down by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The Park is included in the United Nations List of National Parks and Equivalent Reserves.