Mayo's Wild Nephin Park forges links with famous Californian facility
Pictured at Wild Nephin National Park last Friday for the twinning ceremony were, from left: Dara Calleary, Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Alan Dillon, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; Catriona Ryan, NPWS Director of National Parks and Nature Reserves; Cicely Muldoon, Superintendent at Yosemite National Park; Cllr Michael Loftus, Cathaoirleach, Mayo County Council; Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform; Sean Carey, Cathaoirleach, Westport-Belmullet Municipal District; Denis Strong, Divisional Manager, NPWS; Claire D. Cronin, United States Ambassador to Ireland; and Cllr Gerry Coyle. Pictures: Michael McLaughlin
It was a historic day for Wild Nephin National Park last Friday as a new Sister Park arrangement with Yosemite National Park in California was officially inked.
Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD and US Ambassador to Ireland Claire D Cronin visited Wild Nephin National Park in Ballycroy for the signing of the agreement. The agreement was signed by Catriona Ryan, Director of National Parks and Nature Reserves, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Cicely Muldoon, Superintendent of Yosemite National Park.
The agreement runs over five years and will enable co-operation between both parks to support their shared goals in nature conservation and promoting natural and cultural tourism. It will facilitate information exchange, collaboration and sharing good practice.
“This Sister Park agreement presents exciting opportunities for both parks," said Minister Noonan. "While they may differ in size and geographical features, the challenges they face in Wild Nephin and Yosemite are really very similar. These include balancing nature conservation with visitor impact, preserving our ecological and cultural heritage, controlling invasive species, and educating new generations. This agreement marks another connection in the shared history of Ireland and the USA and has a special meaning here in Mayo. It is also a reminder that the challenge of protecting biodiversity is both a local and a global one."
Ambassador Cronin said the two parks are “treasures” that need to be celebrated and protected.
“I am thrilled to celebrate a new sister parks agreement between Wild Nephin National Park and Yosemite National Park, especially in the 100th year of US-Ireland diplomatic relations. These two parks are treasures of natural beauty and biodiversity.”
Denis Strong, Divisional Manager with NPWS, thanked his staff for all their efforts and extolled the benefits of the link between the parks.
"This is a momentous and historic step in the evolution of the Park," said Mr Strong.
“We’re looking forward to tapping into the wealth of knowledge at Yosemite National Park over the next five years. While Wild Nephin is definitely the younger sister in this arrangement between our National Parks, we also have lots to share in terms of our conservation work, along with our community and stakeholder engagement. Forestry and woodlands restoration, fire management and dark skies are just some of the themes that we’re hoping to pursue through our collaboration," he added.
Cicely Muldoon, Superintendent of Yosemite National Park, said the two parks share the same challenges including the increasing impact of climate change.
“We all struggle with protecting these very important places, not only for people to enjoy them now, but for generations to come. National Parks are forever, so creating this partnership today just makes us stronger. The global community of National Parks has to stand together if we are to preserve these parks for our grandchildren and the people who will follow us.”
