Hufeisensiedlung

The Hufeisensiedlung ("Horseshoe Estate") is a housing estate in Berlin, built in 1925–33. It was designed by architect Bruno Taut, municipal planning head and co-architect Martin Wagner, garden architect Leberecht Migge and Neukölln gardens director Ottokar Wagler. In 1986 the ensemble was placed under German heritage protection. On 7 July 2008 it was inscribed as one of six estates that constitute the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates World Heritage Site.
Historical background.
At the beginning of the 20th century Berlin was growing dramatically. From 1850 to the end of the 1920s its population had roughly doubled every 25 years. It was not only the cultural heyday of the Golden Twenties which caused a rapid increase in population, but also the advance of industrialisation and the end of the First World War. Groß-Berlin (Greater Berlin), which had only come about in 1920 through the amalgamation of several districts in the city and its suburbs, was doing full justice to its name. At 3.8 million people, the number of inhabitants not only exceeded today's population but also made Berlin the third-largest metropolis in the world at that time after New York and London.
Reformist housing and concepts of urban planning.
This enormous influx of people was confronted with a lack of housing. Particularly in working class districts like Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg or Wedding.
During the interwar period, housing was built on a large scale by the city of Berlin for broad sections of the population. From 1924 to 1931 alone 140,000 apartments were built. In order to provide an appropriate organizational body for the construction of these estates, housing cooperatives were founded. One of these enterprises, GEHAG ("Gemeinnützige Heimstätten-, Spar- und Bau-Aktiengesellschaft"), founded in 1924, hired Bruno Taut to act as the chief architect responsible for the construction of the estate. Together with five further building projects, the Horseshoe Estate was inscribed as part of the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates World Heritage Site in 2008.
The heritage protected part of the Hufeisensiedlung, which was built between 1925 and 1930, extends over a total of six building sections and an area of around 29 hectares. It consists of 1,285 flats, which are in three-storey buildings aligned with the street, and 679 terraced houses, each with a garden and a small terrace. A further, seventh building section is not part of the World Heritage Site. It is south-east of the junction between Fritz-Reuter-Allee and Parchimer Allee and was built without the involvement of Bruno Taut.
Architectural details and variations.
Closely linked to the heart of Berlin, the development combines a unique architectural style with the social ideal of a terraced garden home for everyone. "Hufeisen" is the German term for horseshoe, which describes the shape of the curved 350-meter long structure which gave name to the project. It consists of 25 housing units joined together around a pond that dates back to the ice age. The central building structure is surrounded by townhouses and embedded in a suburb that feels urban and rural at the same time.
The facades of the terraced houses are painted in dark red, yellow ochre and - especially at the end of a terraced row – in deep blue or gleaming white. Doors and windows and individual building elements of the blocks of flats like loggias, stairwells or low-ceilinged attic floors are painted to contrast clearly with the facades. The front and rear sections are often designed in separate colour combinations. Further contrasts in material and colour are created by the use of bright red and yellow clinker bricks in the area of the chimneys, the entrances and the base of the walls. Perhaps the most striking design feature is the construction and colour of the entrance doors.
Basic facilities, interior design and special offers.
The houses and flats of the Horseshoe Estate were left unfurnished. All residential units had a bathroom and kitchen as well as a separate bedroom. This standard was revolutionary at the time and meant that the estate was very desirable amongst the people of Berlin. However, the technical facilities were not comparable to the standards of today. Only a few houses in the sixth section had central heating. Instead, coal ovens with glazed tiles in attractive colours were installed in every living room and bedroom. In the kitchen there was a sink, a gas cooker with two burners, a larder beneath the window and in the corner of the kitchen or to one side of the loggia a built-in cupboard. There were coal-fired water heaters in the bathrooms, a toilet and a bathtub. Today most of these original parts of the interior facilities are gone.
Like so many architects, Bruno Taut did not want the rooms with their carefully chosen colours to be covered up or cluttered by inappropriate furnishings. He wanted the residents of his buildings to dispense with pictures, paraphernalia and things that just gather dust. But instead of wanting to convert the residents to the Bauhaus-type tubular steel furniture which was very up-and-coming at the time, he made suggestions about how typical furnishings could be improved by simplifying and removing things. Nevertheless, the expression “to taut one’s flat” soon become a byword amongst fashion-conscious people and, in a rather imprecise way, it combined both these approaches to interior design.
Planners.
The Horseshoe Estate is strongly associated with Bruno Taut (1880–1938). Taut was not only the chief architect of the Horseshoe Estate, but also acted as the chief architect of the public utility housing enterprise GEHAG, was part of the Deutscher Werkbund and had an influence on the architecture of the Neues Bauen movement in Berlin. Four out of six estates that gained the UNESCO World Heritage site were developed under his leadership.
Bruno Taut was accompanied by Martin Wagner (1885–1957), who acted as a political organiser and networker and is regarded as a key figure in the construction of Berlin's housing estates. He initiated the founding of GEHAG (a non-profit building society and housing cooperative), was a co-founder of the "Deutsche Bauhütte" and the director of various professional associations. Initially responsible as the second architect for the Stavenhagener Straße section of the Horseshoe Estate, Martin Wagner was appointed in 1926 to the position of city planning director of Greater Berlin, which had been created in 1920.
Taut and Wagner were supported by Leberecht Migge (1881–1935), a freelance landscape architect who was a proponent of social and nature-oriented garden design and who drew the first designs for the green and open spaces of the Horseshoe Estate. However, only some of these designs were implemented by Ottokar Wagler, the director of the parks and gardens department in the district of Berlin-Neukölln.
Maintenance.
Like most of the other Berlin estates the Horseshoe Estate survived the Second World War relatively undamaged. In the post-war period parts of the plasterwork and the colours were lost and at first they were incorrectly restored. The authorities for the conservation of historic buildings reacted and commissioned expert reports, which were then to serve as the basis for proper maintenance work – a process which continues up to now and that is backed up by a program "Nationale Welterbestätten" initiated by the Germany Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. The Berlin estates' relatively good condition has a lot to do with the clear ownership structure which existed until the late 1990s. This structure ensured that renovation work was commissioned by one body and often on a large scale. This situation changed when GEHAG was privatised by the Senate in 1998 and when subsequently the 679 terraced houses in the Horseshoe Estate, which up until then had been exclusively let to tenants, were sold off to private individual buyers, so that the conservation of this monument as a homogeneous ensemble is now additionally in the hands of several hundred individual owners.


Loch Benachally

Loch Benachally is a large shallow freshwater reservoir that is located close to the Forest of Clunie in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
The reservoir is operated by Scottish Water.
Iron Age villages.
Directly south-east of the reservoir are the remains of an Iron Age hut circle settlement and field system, centred on , that can clearly be seen from an aerial view. The settlement consisted of a line of 6 hut circles connected by a common baulk, with an isolated hut about to the east. The huts range from down to between wall centres. Some huts have stone enclosures. The field system of the Iron Age settlement has been visibly preserved down the ages and is marked with the remains of lynchets, walls and heaps of cleared stone. As the huts are in a straight line, they resemble a street. The conspicuousness of the "street" is enhanced by a wall which runs parallel to the row of houses, to the south.
To the east-north-east of the Loch Benachally directly from the dam at the very south of the loch, is another Iron Age hut circle settlement and field system. Here as well, the field system is easily recognisable. The hut circle settlement follows a north-west to south-east orientation and is a larger settlement with 12 hut circles. The huts measure from down to between wall centres. There are two fields—a large field to the north and west of the hut circle group, and a small field to the south.


Philip Crosbie Morrison

Philip Crosbie Morrison (19 December 1900 – 1 March 1958), generally known as "Crosbie Morrison", was an Australian naturalist, educator, journalist, broadcaster and conservationist.
Early years.
Morrison was born in Hawthorn, Victoria. He attended Auburn State School and University High School. In 1918 he became a teacher at Wesley College. He entered Melbourne University in 1921 where he studied zoology, obtaining a BSc in 1924 and a MSc in 1926.
The journalist and educator.
In 1926 Morrison joined the staff of the Melbourne Argus as a journalist. In 1938 he was persuaded by Keith Murdoch to accept the position of founding editor of a new monthly magazine, "Wild Life". In order to promote the magazine he also began a series of weekly radio broadcasts on the ABC (through 3AR), 3UZ and 3DB. His "Wild Life" series on 3DB ran for over 20 years and made him an admired radio personality. It was syndicated throughout Australia on the Major Broadcasting Network. He was also a prominent panelist on 3DB's popular Information Please, which was also heard Australia-wide through the Major network.
During the Second World War he also served for a while as the Victorian state publicity censor, and later with the broadcasting division of the federal Department of Information, until policy disagreements forced his departure. He also worked as a lecturer in natural history with the Victorian Council of Adult Education and, from 1942, with the Australian Army Education Service.
The conservationist.
Morrison had long promoted the protection of wildlife and the need for proper management of national parks in his radio broadcasts and in "Wild Life" magazine. In 1952 he became the inaugural chairman of the newly formed Victorian National Parks Association. In 1957 he was appointed the first director of the Victorian National Parks Authority.
Personal life.
Morrison married Lucy Frances Washington on 8 March 1930. He died on 1 March 1958 of a cerebral haemorrhage at his home in Brighton, survived by his wife and two sons.
Honours.
The Crosbie Morrison Building and nearby Amphitheatre at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, were named for him.
Publications.
Apart from numerous articles, papers and reports published in "Wild Life" and elsewhere, books authored by Morrison include two posthumous compilations of material from his radio broadcasts:


Mel Arnold

Mel Arnold (born 1958) is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal electoral district of North Okanagan—Shuswap during the 2015 Canadian federal election.
Arnold was active on the boards of local service clubs, including the BC Wildlife Federation and Canadian Wildlife Federation, where he held the role of President for two terms. Before serving as a member of Parliament, he served on his Salmon Arm's environmental advisory council for eight years. In 2010 was appointed to the B.C. government's Species at Risk Task Force.


Firestone Reserve

The Firestone Reserve is a private, biological and ethnographic protected area in southwestern Costa Rica. The Firestone Reserve is home to the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology, an undergraduate educational program of Pitzer College in California, USA. The Reserve consists of 60 hectares of mostly secondary forest dissected by several stream canyons with primary forest. The Reserve is part of the "Paso de la Dante" ("Path of the Tapir") ecosystem project, and contiguous with the Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Refuge.


Mekonge Integral Ecological Reserve

The Mekonge Integral Ecological Reserve is found in Cameroon, and covers 26.44 km.


Protected areas of Australia

Protected areas of Australia include Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas managed by the Australian government, as well as protected areas within each of the six states of Australia and two self-governing territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, which are managed by the eight state and territory governments.
Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, the Christmas Island Territory, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Territory, the Norfolk Island Territory and the Australian Antarctic Territory are managed by Director of National Parks, an agency within the Department of the Environment and Energy, with the exception of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, a separate body within the department.
Protected areas cover of Australia's land area, or about 11.5% of the total land area. The Australian Capital Territory has the highest level of protection at nearly 55% of its territory, followed by Tasmania with nearly 40% and South Australia with 25%. The lowest level of protection is in Queensland and the Northern Territory with less than 6%. Of all protected areas, two-thirds are considered strictly protected (IUCN categories I to IV), and the rest is mostly managed resources protected area (IUCN category VI). Over 80% of the protected area in Australia is publicly owned and managed by the Australian government or state and territory governments. The second-largest component of protected areas are the Indigenous Protected Areas while only 0.3% are privately owned.
Protected areas managed by the Australian government.
The following list shows only the Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas that are managed by the Australian government which represents a small portion of all protected areas located in Australia. Each state and territory is responsible for the management of the protected areas under its jurisdiction with exception to protected areas such as the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory. The majority of Australian protected areas are managed by the state and territory governments.
National Parks.
The following protected areas which are designated as national parks are managed by the Australian government and in some instances in conjunction with indigenous land owners:
Australia's first national park - and the second in the world - is Royal National Park in New South Wales, established in 1879.
National Heritage List.
The National Heritage List is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and historic places, including those of cultural significance to Indigenous Australians. Once on the National Heritage List the provisions of the "Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999" apply. Some of these also form part of the World Heritage Sites listed in a separate section below.
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas.
As of 2014 there are 12 Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
Antarctic Specially Managed Areas.
As of 2014 there is 1 Antarctic Specially Managed Area
Commonwealth Marine reserves.
The Australian Government manages an estate of marine protected areas known as Commonwealth marine reserves (CMR) which was established under the "Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999" (EPBC Act). These marine reserves are in Australian waters, but not state or territory waters. A majority of the reserves are not in effect until new managements plans are released following a review of reserves established in 2012.
In addition to the Coral Sea CMR and the Heard Island and McDonald Islands CMR, there are a further 57 Commonwealth marine reserves grouped into 5 geographical regions called "Commonwealth marine reserve networks":
Calperum and Taylorville Stations.
Calperum and Taylorville Stations are pastoral leases located next to each other near Renmark in South Australia and which were purchased for conservation purposes using both private and Australian government funds. Calperum Station was purchased by the Chicago Zoological Society in 1993 while Taylorville Station was purchased by the Australian Landscape Trust in 2000 with the ownership of both leases being deeded to the Director of National Parks. Both properties are managed by the Australian Landscape Trust.
Protection arising from Australian government policy and international obligations.
World Heritage listed areas.
, the following sites are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites:
Indigenous protected areas.
An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area formed by agreement with Indigenous Australians and formally recognised by the Australian government as being part of the National Reserve System. there are 75 IPAs occupying about and comprising more than 44% of the National Reserve System.
Biosphere reserves.
The following biosphere reserves belonging to the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve program are located within Australia:
Ramsar sites.
As a contracting party to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (known as the Ramsar Convention), Australia is encouraged "to nominate sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or that are important for conserving biological diversity, to the List of Wetlands of International Importance". As of March 2014, the Australian Government has nominated 65 Ramsar sites.
Protected areas managed by Australian states and territories.
Refer:


Dolmen of Menga

The Dolmen of Menga () is a megalithic burial mound called a tumulus, a long barrow form of dolmen, dating from the 3750-3650 BCE approx. It is near Antequera, Málaga, Spain.
It is one of the largest known ancient megalithic structures in Europe. It is long, wide and high, and was built with thirty-two megaliths, the largest weighing about .
After completion of the chamber (which probably served as a grave for the ruling families) and the path leading into the center, the stone structure was covered with soil and built up into the hill that can be seen today. When the grave was opened and examined in the 19th century, archaeologists found the skeletons of several hundred people inside.
The dolmen sits from the Dolmen de Viera and about from another subterranean structure known as Tholos de El Romeral.
In 2016, the dolmens of Menga, Viera, and El Romeral were all inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Antequera Dolmens Site".
Abrigo de Matacabras.
The Abrigo (shelter) of Matacabras, located at the foot of the northwest face of the Peña de los Enamorados, is closely linked with the Dolmen of Menga whose central axis points directly to it. The tomb is orientated to the northeast, north of the sunrise on the summer solstice, and is the only known tomb so oriented in Europe in this cultural context.
In 2018, the ATLAS research group from the University of Seville published a study of the high resolution analysis of Abrigo de Matacabras's schematic style cave paintings. The small cave has both visual and symbolic links to the Menga dolmen, establishing landscape relationships that are possibly unique in European prehistory. The results confirmed the Neolithic chronology of the cave “probably, at least, at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC... and its importance as a place of reference for the Neolithic (and possibly even older) population of the region...”


James Glancy

James Alexander Glancy, (born August 1982) is a British television presenter and conservationist. He formerly served as a member of the Royal Marine Commandos and was a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2019 to 2020.
Early life and education.
Glancy was born in Surrey in 1982. Glancy studied history at St Anne's College, Oxford. He was captain of the university's boxing team. He was sponsored through university by the Royal Marines.
Military service.
Glancy served in the Royal Marines and the Special Boat Service (SBS). In March 2013, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 April 2012 to 30 September 2012". The CGC is a second level UK honour, with only the Victoria Cross ranking higher for combat gallantry. He completed three tours of Afghanistan.
Television and conservation.
Glancy presents the environmental show "Planet SOS" on the Mail Plus and has hosted documentaries on the Discovery Channel, including "Shark Week".
Political career.
Glancy stood as a candidate in the 2019 European Parliament election for the Brexit Party. He was placed at number two on his party's list and was elected as one of its three MEPs in the South West England constituency alongside Ann Widdecombe and Christina Jordan.


Bijar Protected Area

Bijar Protected Area is in northeastern Kurdistan province, 15 kilometers from Bijar city. Its area is .


Roland Clement

Roland Charles Clement (November 22, 1912 – March 21, 2015) was an American environmentalist who worked for two decades at the National Audubon Society where he served many roles including staff biologist, staff ecologist, and Vice President. He was also a key figure in helping to ban DDT.
Early life and education.
Roland C. Clement was born in 1912 in Fall River, Massachusetts, the oldest child of Germain A. (a musician) and Angelina (DesJardins) Clement. He attended a two-year business college from 1928-1930 and worked as a bookkeeper for twelve years. In 1934, during the Great Depression, he was able to pursue his interest in ornithology when he began banding birds with Maurice Broun at the O.L. Austin Ornithological Research Station on outer Cape Cod. In 1938, Clement returned to school. He attended a two-year vocational program in Wildlife Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, graduating in 1940.
In 1943, he enlisted in the Air Force where he worked as a weather observer from 1943 to 1946. He trained in Illinois, Louisiana, and Colorado. After training he was assigned to the Goosebay Station in Labrador where he remained from September, 1943 to August, 1944. After being promoted to Technical Sergeant, he was asked to take charge of weather duties at the remote George River's Indian House Lake in the interior of Labrador. While at Indian House Lake, he extensively studied birds and small mammals and later published two life histories based on these studies. He later returned to Labrador to spend six weeks for more detailed studies in 1957 and in 1958.
After the war, Clement matriculated at Brown University where he majored in botany and minored in geology graduating in 1949. He then pursued graduate study in wildlife conservation at Cornell University graduating with a MS in Wildlife Conservation in 1950.
Career.
Clement served as the executive director of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island from 1950 to 1958. During that time he also taught at Brown University as well as at the Rhode Island College of Education. He then joined the National Audubon Society, headquartered in New York City, where he would work from 1958 to 1977. During his time at the Audubon as membership secretary from 1958 to 1962, but quickly advanced to staff biologist form 1962 to 1967, and finally Vice President of the National Audubon Society from 1967 to 1977. He was known for his work in developing sanctuaries and protecting endangered species including whooping crane, peregrine falcons, bald eagle, and the California Condor. However, he may best be remembered for his work on banning DDT and publicly supporting and advocating the work of Rachel Carson. The publication of "Silent Spring" elicited strong responses, both positive and negative. He was a vocal advocate for Carson, debating with her detracts like Robert White-Stevens. On June 6, 1963, Clement testified with Carson before the Senate Committee on Commerce. They were submitting testimony regarding a bill, introduced by Senator Maurine Neuberger of Oregon, that would require states to be informed of federal spraying and to increase warnings of the hazardous effects of pesticides on wildlife.


National Botanical Gardens (Uganda)

The National Botanical Gardens of Uganda, commonly known as the Botanical Gardens Entebbe, are located in Entebbe, Uganda. They were laid out in 1898 by the first curator, A Whyte, close to the shores of Lake Victoria. The gardens are divided into different zones, including a rainforest zone. This rainforest formed the backdrop to scenes from the Tarzan films featuring Johnny Weissmuller, shot in the 1940s.
Notable birds found in the gardens.
Grey kestrel
Yellow-throated leaflove
Slender-billed weaver
Orange weaver
Jackson's golden-backed weaver
Grey-capped warbler
Brown-throated wattle-eye
Palmnut vulture
African fish eagle
Ross's turaco
Great blue turaco
Black-and-white casqued hornbill
African grey parrot
Notable animals found in the gardens==
Vervet monkeys
Tree squirrels
Events.
A number of events have been held in the Botanical Gardens including bird watching, biking, nature walks music festivals, monkey feeding and so on. <br>
The Milege World Music Festival happens every November with live music, games, camping and so on in the gardens.


Iolo Williams

Iolo Tudur Williams (; ; born 22 August 1962) is a Welsh nature observer and television presenter, best known for his BBC and S4C nature shows, working in both English and his first language of Welsh.
Biography.
The son of a headmaster school teacher, Williams was born in Builth Wells, Breconshire, but his family moved to Pembrokeshire, before moving to Montgomeryshire when he was aged five to live in Llanwddyn near Lake Vyrnwy. Educated at Llanfyllin High School, after gaining two A levels in Biology and French, he almost joined the British Army but instead went to North East London Polytechnic (NELP)—now the University of East London—graduating with a degree in ecology.
Career.
After graduation, Williams worked on a farm and then in the timber trade, before joining the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in 1985, staying for 14 years working in the field and as a regional co-ordinator. This led to his making regular appearances in the media, making a name for himself as a leading expert on Welsh bird life.
He's also visited many schools and encouraged younger people.
In 1997 he made "Visions of Snowdonia" with BBC Wales, which followed the lives of six people living and working on the slopes of the country's highest mountain. After making a second series, in 1999 Williams decided to leave the RSPB and pursue a full-time career in the media. He presently makes his main appearances on BBC Wales, and with wider Welsh-focused programmes on S4C, in his first language of Welsh, made by independent TV company Telesgop.
In 2007 he presented 'Canals of Wales with Iolo Williams', which was a five part series looking at the canals of Wales. In 2008 he presented another series focusing on the Welsh landscape, titled Iolo's Natural History of Wales, which aired in 2008.
Williams presented "Rugged Wales", which aired on BBC Two on 13 and 20 March 2012. In 2013 he presented the first series of Great Welsh Parks. In 2015 he presented a second series of the programme. He continued to present series for the BBC which focused on his native Wales, presenting 'The Brecon Beacons' in 2016, before presenting a third series of Great Welsh Parks. He continued to showcase Welsh wildlife by presenting Iolo's Snowdonia in 2018. 2018 also saw him travel to Australia to film 'Wonders of the Great Barrier Reef', which saw him cement his place as one the BBC's key natural history presenters.
In 2019 Williams became a regular presenter on "Winterwatch", "Springwatch" and "Autumnwatch" on BBC Two. In 2020 he presented The Last Wilderness of Wales.
Awards.
In 2007, Williams was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Bangor University. He received further honorary fellowships from Aberystwyth University in 2015 and the University of South Wales in 2017.
Personal life.
Williams and his wife Ceri live near the town of Newtown, Powys. The couple have two sons (Dewi and Tomos); and had two rescue dogs, Ianto and Gwen, who have both appeared in some of his television series.
Known for frequently wearing shorts for his work, he has, as a result, become a Welsh cult gay icon.
Williams and his wife built a timber-framed home, fully insulated, double-glazed with energy-saving lightbulbs throughout. They have a wildlife garden, and grow their own vegetables. They compost all their food waste, and recycle everything else, whilst always eating organic and local produce. As a result of this, in a World Wide Fund for Nature survey of carbon footprints of ecology personalities, Williams and his family were found to have a low rating of 1.81, compared to a Welsh average of 3.0.


Inventoried roadless area

Inventoried Roadless Areas are a group of United States Forest Service lands that have been identified by government reviews as lands without existing roads that could be suitable for roadless area conservation as wilderness or other non-standard protections. The Inventoried Roadless areas include approximately of land in 40 states and Puerto Rico. Most of these lands are in the western portion of the lower 48 states and Alaska. Idaho alone contains over of inventoried roadless areas. The inventoried roadless areas range from large areas with wilderness characteristics to small tracts of land that are immediately adjacent to wilderness areas, parks and other protected lands.
Roadless Area Review and Evaluations (RARE).
The first review of Forest Service roadless lands was started in 1967 after the creation of the Wilderness Act by Congress in 1964. This effort was called the “Roadless Area Review and Evaluation” or “RARE I”, and culminated in 1972 with a finding that that were suitable to be designated as wilderness. The RARE I recommendations were abandoned by the Forest Service after courts ruled that the agency had not sufficiently complied with the regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). A second roadless inventory, RARE II, was initiated in 1977, which culminated in a recommendation of wilderness designation for of national forest land and further study for another . This set of recommendations was also quickly challenged in the courts and largely voided as a result.
2001 Roadless Rule.
The most recent review of inventoried roadless areas began in 1998 under the oversight of Michael Dombeck, then head of the US Forest Service. This review was finished in 2000 and culminated in a set of Forest Service regulations in 2001 that are collectively known as the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule of 2001 is certainly the most far-reaching conservation action taken by the federal government since the Wilderness Act of 1964. The rule does not specifically protect roadless areas from development nor does it strictly prohibit multiple use activities on these lands. Specifically, the rule was aimed at controlling the amount of road-building activities undertaken by the forest service, which has more miles of roads under its control than the US Interstate Highway System.
In 2008, conservationists marked the 10 year anniversary of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule with a panel of speakers headed by former US Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck. At the event, Dombeck said, "In spite of seven years of Bush administration effort, roadless areas remain protected in the National Forests of the lower 48 states, but more litigation to remove protection is in progress with the outcome uncertain."
Rationale for limiting road construction.
The rationale for limiting road-building in the inventoried roadless areas was to minimize the negative environmental impacts of roads construction, maintenance, and automobile traffic. Over the past several decades, researchers have documented a wide range of impacts that roads have on the environment. In this sense, the roadless rule provided a great deal of protection to a large group of lands that previously had little protection within the current Forest Service administrative structure.
The second impetus for the creation of the Roadless Rule was an effort to expand the system of protected federal lands to include ecosystems that were not very well represented in the current system of National Parks, wilderness areas, and preserves. To a great degree, the current system of parks and wilderness areas in the US is very successful at preserving high elevation ecosystems, places that are rugged, beautiful and otherwise difficult to develop. The Roadless Area Review and Evaluation, and several studies since, concluded that ecosystems that exist at mid elevations are not well represented in the US system of protected lands, and many of the inventoried roadless areas include these areas.


List of protected areas of Haiti

This is a list of protected areas of Haiti.
Classification.
Marine Reserves.
Marine protected areas in Haiti are largely created through the efforts of the Foundation for the Protection of Marine Biodiversity (FoProBiM) to help protect Haiti's coastal and marine ecosystems. In August 2013, the Port Salut/Aquin Protected Area (Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Gérées de Port Salut/Aquin), was created in Southwestern Haiti. The most recent marine protected area is the Three Bays Protected Area (Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Gérées des Trois Baies), located in Northeastern Haiti and created in December 2013.
Current list of marine protected areas in Haiti:


Anna Giordano

Anna Giordano (born in 1965) is an Italian conservationist. A trained ornithologist with a doctorate in natural sciences, Giordano is today a leader of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Sicily and a respected environmentalist across Europe, and she won the Goldman Prize in 1998. She's known because of her work for the protection of wild birds and against the damages that the bridge over the Strait of Messina would cause in the environment.
Biography.
She joined the Italian League for Bird Protection (LIPU) at the age of six. In 1981, after seeing 17 birds shot out of the sky by poachers shooting from cement bunkers, she committed herself to the fight against poachers. Challenging men in the Sicilian male-dominated society where there was a long tradition of hunting migrating raptors, created open hostility toward Giordano. When she began badgering police, forest rangers and local authorities to do something about the illegal killing, she was not taken seriously. But she persisted and, in 1984, began organizing camps of young people from all throughout the world who would gather each spring to observe the migrations and inform police when they saw poachers at work.
The hunters retaliated with threats and intimidation. In 1986 she narrowly escaped the firebombing of her car, and later poachers broke into her house and mailed her a dead falcon with a threatening note. After this and another incident where she and a group of young people monitoring the migration were shot at, local law enforcement officers began to aid Giordano in her efforts to stop rampant poaching.
She declared that in 1984, during the first camp, they counted about 3,100 raptors and storks, and 1,100 shots — and in 2000, just a little bit less than 35,000 raptors and storks, and 5 shots.
Between 1996 and 2003, Anna Giordano was the Director of the Natural Reserve Saline di Trapani and Paceco, established by the Sicilian Region and managed by WWF.
Nowadays, Giordano leads the WWF team involved with the review of environmental impact assessments for development proposals in the European Union and Italy. Between 2007 and 2008, she was involved with the "Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment" established by the Italian Ministry for the Environment.


Conservation reserves and community reserves of India

Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities, and community areas if part of the lands are privately owned. Administration of such reserves would be through local people and local agencies like the "gram panchayat", as in the case of communal forests. (See Communal forests of India)
Community reserves are the first instances of private land being accorded protection under the Indian legislature. It opens up the possibility of communally owned for-profit wildlife resorts, and also causes privately held areas under non-profit organizations like land trusts to be given protection. (See Private protected areas of India)
These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use. A case in point was the Melghat Tiger Reserve where a large area was left unprotected due to private ownership.
Amendments to the Wild life protection act in 2003, provided a mechanism for recognition and legal backing to the community initiated efforts in wildlife protection. It provides a flexible system to achieve wildlife conservation without compromising community needs. Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve, declared on February 14, 2005, is the First Conservation Reserve to be established in the country. It is an effort of a village community who wanted to protect the birds nesting in their village.
These categories roughly correspond to IUCN Category V (conservation reserves) and VI (community reserves) protected areas.
Tiruppadaimarathur conservation reserve near Thirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, declared in 2005, is the first Conservation Reserve in the country.
In 2012, Rajasthan government in India declared "Jawai Bandh forests" as a conservation reserve forest. Jawai Bandh forest is situated in Pali district and it is in close proximity of Kumbalgarh Sanctuary.keshopur chamb gurdaspur (Punjab) conservation reserve India's first community reserve. Recently, Gogabeel, an ox-bow lake in Bihar’s Katihar district, has been declared as the state’s first ‘Community Reserve’. In 2020 the Indian government created the world's first sea cucumber reserve in Lakshadweep-Dr KK Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve, the largest marine conservation reserve - Attakoya Thangal Marine Conservation Reserve and the first protected area for marine birds in India - PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve.


Bounty Islands

The Bounty Islands are a small group of 13 uninhabited granite islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of , in the South Pacific Ocean. Territorially part of New Zealand, they lie about east-south-east of New Zealand's South Island, south-west of the Chatham Islands, and north of the Antipodes Islands. The group is a World Heritage Site.
The islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead "Area Outside Territorial Authority", like all the other outlying islands except the Solander Islands.
History.
Captain William Bligh discovered the Bounty Islands en route from Spithead to Tahiti in 1788, and named them after his ship HMS "Bounty", just months before the famous mutiny. The location of the islands were only roughly marked on charts. In early 1866 Commander W. H. Norman of HMVS Victoria (1855) was tasked with determining more accurately their position. He reported them as being latitude 47ˈ50 South and longitude 179ˈ00 East. Captain George Palmer, during the search for the "Matoaka" placed the islands at 47ˈ46ˈ24 South 178ˈ56ˈ45 East. Palmer also annexed the islands for New Zealand.
During the 19th century the area was a popular hunting-ground for sealers. The islands were also searched from time to time for missing ships and crews, including those from the "General Grant" and the "Matoaka".
The "Hinemoa" visited the islands in March 1886 and erected a depot for marooned sailors on the largest island. Captain Fairchild noted that there was no fresh water available on these islands. The depot had been destroyed by the sea by the time the "Stella" visited the island in 1887. A new Admiralty chart 1022 was issued for the area in 1888, which took into account survey work undertaken by the "Hinemoa".
In November 1891 the "Hinemoa" returned to the islands and built a fresh provisions storage.
Flora and fauna.
Ecologically, the islands are part of the Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion. Plants include Cook's scurvy grass. The group is home to an endemic spider, endemic insects, and large numbers of seabirds.
Important Bird Area.
The Bounty group has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for erect-crested penguins, Salvin's albatrosses and Bounty shags.
Geography.
The whole chain is only across at its longest axis, and comprises three subgroups, the Main Group, the Centre Group, and the East Group. The total area is only . The islands are at the antipodes of Bouillé-Ménard, in France (Pays de la Loire).
The Main Group is the largest of the three groups, and is located in the northwest of the chain. It includes the group's largest island, Depot Island, which is around 700 metres in length and 400 metres across at its widest point. Proclamation and Tunnel Islands are separated from Depot Island by only a narrow cleft, and are joined to it at low tide. A small islet off the north coast of this group's Spider Island is the chain's northernmost point; the westernmost point is the western tip of Penguin Island.
The Centre Group is located some 1.5 to 2 kilometres to the southeast of the Main Group, and contains three main islands, arrayed in a north–south line. A smaller islet lies immediately to the west. The northernmost of the Centre Group, Funnel Island, contain's the chain's highest point, at above sea level. A further 1.5 kilometres to the east is the East Group, which is also arrayed roughly in a north–south line. The largest island in this group, Molly Cap, is the group's southernmost island, and contains the chain's second-highest point, above sea level. This group contains two large islets and one small islet, along with several reefs and stacks, one of which is the easternmost point in the chain.


Mizan Dam

Mizan Dam or Band-e-Mizan, () is a historic dam from the Sassanid era and a part of Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, located in the island city Shushtar, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Mizan Dam was registered on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 2009 and is Iran's 10th cultural heritage site to be registered on the United Nations' list together with the 12 other historical bridges, dams, canals, and buildings as Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System.
History.
As in its present form, it dates from the 3rd century CE, probably on older bases from the 5th century BC. The dam was built by Roman soldiers and engineers who were taken into captivity along with Valerian (emperor) (reign 253–260 CE) after his defeat by Shapur I (241-272 CE).<ref name="Tehran Times 45004">
Function.
Mizan Dam is located upstream of a manmade canal called Gargar which was dug in order to divert water from the Karun River. The dam regulates water for Gargar (a tributary stream branched from Karun) and this way, Mizan is considered a regulatory dam
Material.
The elemental materials of this site are stone, Saruj mortar and sandstone in foundation that all of them have maintained their authenticity, and there aren't any interventions. But there are differences in some part of site due to different restoration periods.
Threats.
Due to the location and nature of Mizan Dam, this dam is sometimes submerged. Severe flooding has occurred during previous decades which affected the dam.


Siysky Zakaznik

Siysky Zakaznik () is a federal zakaznik, a nature protected area, in the north of Russia, located in Kholmogorsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, north-west of the selo of Yemetsk. It was established in 1963 and transferred to the federal jurisdiction (thereby becoming a federal zakaznik) December 30, 1988. The zakaznik is created to protect flora and fauna (in particular, rare species) of the pine-tree forest environment.
Location and geography.
Siysky Zakaznik is located in the southern part of Kholmogorsky District, on the left bank of the Northern Dvina River. The northern part of the park is adjacent to the Northern Dvina, whereas the southern part is limited by the Yemtsa River, one of the biggest tributaries of the Northern Dvina. The northern part contains a number of lakes as well, the biggest of them being Lake Ploskoye and Lake Punanets. On the south, the zakaznik is crossed by the Vaymuga River, a tributary of the Yemtsa. The whole area of the zakaznik is crossed from north to south by the M8, which connects Moscow and Arkhangelsk. There are a number of villages in the limits of the zakaznik, as well as the Antonievo-Siysky Monastery.
The zakaznik is located on the plain. There are karst formations present, including karst lakes. In total, there are 52 lakes and 16 swamps in the zakaznik.
Flora.
The area of the zakaznik is covered by woods, of which 80% is coniferous forest (mostly pines and firs).
Fauna.
Mammals present in Siysky Zakaznik include moose, wild boar, brown bear, lynx, wolverine, badger, beaver, European mink, European otter and others.


Andrew Gray (zoologist)

Andrew Gray is a British zoologist, teacher and conservationist.
Biography.
Andrew Gray was appointed Curator of Herpetology at Manchester Museum in September 1995. Here he established ‘The Vivarium’, a free to the public purpose built facility dedicated to the conservation of tropical amphibians. Gray's interest in amphibians and reptiles began from a very early age. During his career as a professional herpetologist he has discovered new species and established conservation initiatives to save some of the rarest frogs in the world, for example the critically endangered lemur leaf frog. Gray is an authority on frogs of the Phyllomedusinae genus "Cruziohyla". In 2018 he described the new species "Cruziohyla sylviae", which is named after his first grandchild Sylvia Beatrice Gray.
Gray’s conservation efforts have mainly focused in Central America, where he has initiated multi-disciplined collaborative projects, developed international environmental education programmes, and jointly established student field courses for the University of Manchester. In 2006 Gray was a main scientific adviser for the BBC's landmark series Planet Earth and worked further with Sir David Attenborough on the BBC Natural World’s programme "Fabulous Frogs". Apart from wildlife conservation, Gray also has an keen interest in conserving English heritage and in 2004 completely restored the then derelict Euxton Hall Chapel, which was designed by E. W. Pugin in 1866.


Sagebrush Cooperative

The Sagebrush Cooperative is collaborative group based in southeastern Oregon and adjacent portions of Idaho and Nevada involving land managers, owners, and interest groups with the goal of improved management and conservation of shrub steppe systems.
Why protect sagebrush?
The sagebrush steppe ecosystem, an icon of the western United States, is being recognized by many to be threatened or degraded across much of its range. Habitat for sagebrush steppe dependent species is being eliminated by energy development, altered fire regimes and rapid conversion to exotic annual grasslands and juniper woodlands. In recent years, the sagebrush steppe has received increasing attention and there is a need for regional coordination and assessment of the opportunities for partnerships and projects to better manage, conserve and restore key habitats. One of the largest remaining blocks of high quality sagebrush steppe is in the High Desert, a portion of several ecoregions spanning southeastern Oregon, northern Nevada and southwestern Idaho (Figure 1). This area includes the higher elevation portions of the Columbia Plateau and northern Great Basin from just south of the Blue Mountains to the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and the Owyhee Uplands.
Despite the fact that the sagebrush steppe ecosystem is being increasingly recognized as important and threatened, there is remarkably little published data or references documenting current condition, trends, threats, or the effectiveness of recent management activities in sagebrush steppe for the region. Recent range-wide analyses spurred by the petitions to list the greater sage-grouse as an endangered species have documented broad trends across the west but do not include data or information at a scale useful for local prioritization and project planning.
Sagebrush steppe habitats emerged as priority habitats in the Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada state wildlife agency strategies (State Wildlife Plans) The Oregon Conservation Strategy identifies sagebrush steppe and shrublands as a Strategy Habitat and multiple sagebrush steppe dependent species as Strategy Species. The Idaho Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy identifies southern xeric shrubland and steppe, which includes multiple sagebrush steppe ecological systems, as a statewide Priority Habitat. The Idaho Strategy also identifies many associated Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The Nevada Wildlife Action Plan identifies sagebrush as a Key Habitat and eight sagebrush dependent species as Species of Conservation Priority. Each of the State Wildlife Plans identifies specific priority geographic areas for conservation of sagebrush steppe within the High Desert region (Appendix A).


Thale Ban National Park

Thale Ban National Park () is a forested area south of the Banthat Mountains in southern Thailand, in the south of Satun Province bordering Malaysia; it borders Taman Negeri Perlis park. The park was established on 27 October 1980. It covers an area of of Khuan Don and Mueang Satun districts.
The nearest town to the park is Satun, west of the park and approximately southwest of park headquarters.
Geography.
The park is located around a valley which formed the historic link between Thailand and Malaysia. According to local lore, 300 years ago an earthquake formed the lake in the valley, probably due to a landslide which created a natural dam. Submerged trees found in the lake seem to confirm this story.
The limestone hills contain several caves. Tham Ton Din is a river cave near park headquarters. The highest elevation within the park is Chin Mountain with an elevation of .
Flora and fauna.
The park features forest types including tropical rain forest, mixed deciduous forest and coastal mangrove forests. The rain forest is home to species of "Dipterocarpus", "Hopea", "Shorea", "Parashorea", "Alstonia", "Caryota" and "Calamus". The deciduous forest, unusual in southern Thailand, has species of "Caryota", "Lagerstroemia", "Pterocymbium", "Vitex", "Schima" and "Dillenia". The coastal forest is home to mangrove species such as "Rhizophora mucronata", "R. apiculata", "Bruguiera cylindrica" and species of "Avicennia".
The park is known to contain 64 mammal species, 282 bird species (including 8 hornbill species), 40 reptile species and 20 amphibian species.
Mammals include the endangered Malayan tapir, threatened Sumatran serow and protected marbled cat. Other mammals include tiger, leopard cat and sun bear. Birds in the park include chestnut-bellied malkoha, orange-breasted trogon, Gould's frogmouth, blue-winged pitta, blue-crowned hanging parrot, white-crowned hornbill, oriental pied hornbill, brown boobook, black-and-red broadbill, Asian green broadbill, banded broadbill and hill myna. Reptiles include the common house gecko, large forest gecko, reticulated python, king cobra, soft-shelled turtle and the endangered sunburst turtle.


List of World Heritage Sites in Madagascar

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The sites of natural and cultural heritage in Madagascar became eligible for inclusion on the list when that state ratified the convention on July 19, 1983.
The first site in Madagascar, the Strict Nature Reserve of the Tsingy of Bemaraha, was inscribed on the list as a site of natural importance at the 14th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Banff, Canada in 1990. This was followed by the 2001 inscription of the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a historic village and royal palace compound of cultural importance featuring well-preserved 19th-century palaces and numerous other natural and architectural features of historic, political and spiritual significance to the Malagasy people. Most recently, in 2007 the natural site of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana was added to the list, comprising a cluster of six national parks distinguished by their highly endemic biodiversity. A fourth site, the capital of the 19th century Merina sovereigns of Madagascar at the Rova of Antananarivo, had originally been slated to become the nation's first cultural World Heritage Site in 1995 but was destroyed by a fire shortly before the inscription was finalized.
In addition to Madagascar's three established sites, a further seven sites are listed as tentative and are under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for elevation to official status. Five initial sites were inscribed on the tentative list in 1997: the Betafo Riziculture and Hydraulic Landscape, the Royal Compound of Tsinjoarivo), the Mahafaly Country of Southwestern Madagascar, the Cliff and Caves of Isandra, and Antongona. In 2008, two additional sites were added to the list: Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve (an extension of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana) and the Dry Forests of the Andrefana.
UNESCO placed the Rainforests of the Atsinanana on the list of World Heritage in Danger on July 30, 2010 following an increase in illegal logging in the parks since 2009 as a consequence of the 2009-2013 political crisis in Madagascar.
World Heritage Sites.
In the following table, the UNESCO data includes the site's reference number and the criteria it was listed under: criteria i through vi are cultural, whereas vii through x are natural.
Tentative list.
In addition to the sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. As of 2017, Madagascar recorded eight sites on its tentative list.


Gloucester Civic Trust

Gloucester Civic Trust Limited is a registered charity (number 264719) which exists to promote the appreciate and conservation of Gloucester's heritage. Founded in 1972, the Trust is based in St. Michael's Tower, The Cross, Gloucester GL1 1PA.
Legal status.
The Trust is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, number 01078805.
Governance.
The Trust is run by volunteers who sit on different committees who all report to an overall "Council of Management".
Finances.
In the year ended 31 December 2010 the Trust had gross income of £38,342, compared with £134,974 in 2009 which included a large grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration of St. Michael's Tower which cost over £300,000. Net assets of the trust at 31 December 2010 were £86245 (2009 £94416).
Activities.
Past achievements of the Trust include:


Sengan-en

 is a Japanese garden attached to a former Shimazu clan residence in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Designated a Place of Scenic Beauty, together with the adjacent Shōko Shūseikan it forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "". Sengan-en is managed by Shimadzu Ltd.
History.
The Sengan-en residence was built by in 1658. The name is derived from a supposed resemblance to an eponymous feature on Long Hu Shan. In 1736 added a water feature and moso bamboo, obtained from China via the Ryūkyū Kingdom. During the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods, the residence housed visiting dignitaries including Katsu Kaishū, Willem Huyssen van Kattendijke, and Pompe van Meerdervoort in 1858, Harry Smith Parkes in 1866, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich and Prince George of Greece in 1891, and the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn in 1906, and Edward VIII in 1922.
Gardens.
The gardens incorporate the view of Sakurajima across Kagoshima Bay as borrowed scenery.


List of World Heritage Sites in Greece

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Greece ratified the convention on 17 July 1981, making its natural and cultural sites eligible for inclusion on the list.
, there are 18 properties in Greece inscribed on the World Heritage List, 16 of which are cultural sites and two (Meteora and Mount Athos) are mixed, listed for both their natural and cultural significance. The first site added to the list was the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, in 1986. The next two sites listed were the Archeological site of Delphi and the Acropolis of Athens, in the following year. Five sites were added in 1988, two in 1989 and 1990 each, one in 1992, one in 1996, two in 1999, and one in 2007. The most recent site added was the Archaeological Site of Philippi, in 2016. There are no transnational sites in Greece. In addition, there are 14 sites on the tentative list, all of which were nominated in 2014.
World Heritage Sites.
UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, whereas vii through x are natural.
Tentative list.
In addition to the sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site has previously been listed on the tentative list. , Greece had 14 such sites on its tentative list.


Tatra National Park, Poland

Tatra National Park (; abbr. TPN) is a National Park located in the Tatra Mountains in Tatra County, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship—Małopolska region, in central-southern Poland. The Park has its headquarters in the town of Zakopane.
The Tatra Mountains form a natural border between Poland to the north and Slovakia to the south, and the two countries have cooperated since the early 20th century on efforts to protect the area. Slovakia created an adjoining national park, and UNESCO later designated the combined effort a transboundary biosphere reserve.
Park history.
The first calls for protection of the Tatras came at the end of the 19th century. In 1925 the first efforts to create a national park, in cooperation with Slovakia, took place. Formally the park was created in 1937, on an area that belonged to the state forests authority. In 1947, a separate administrative unit, Tatra Park, was created.
In 1954, by decision of the Polish Government, Tatra National Park was created. It was established originally with an area of , but it is currently slightly smaller, at . Of this, is forest and the remainder mainly meadows. Strictly protected zones account for , of which are forest ecosystems.
In 1992, the Polish and Slovakian national parks in the Tatras were jointly designated a transboundary biosphere reserve by UNESCO, under its Man and the Biosphere Programme.
Geography.
The National Park covers one of the two Alpine mountain ranges in Poland. The Polish Tatra range, which is a part of the Western Carpathian Mountains, is divided into two sections: the High Tatras ("Tatry Wysokie") and the Western Tatras ("Tatry Zachodnie"). The landscape consists of sharp-edged peaks and hollows with numerous rock formations. The highest peak in Poland, Rysy ( AMSL), is located here.
There are around 650 caves in the park, of which the Wielka Sniezna cave system is the longest (), and the deepest (maximum depth ). Six caves of this system are open to public.
There are several streams, the longest stream reaching . Waterfalls, such as "Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza" are popular with tourists. The highest waterfall is "Wielka Siklawa" at ).
The park has over 30 mountain lakes, called "staw" (Polish: pond). These water bodies are an important part of the High Tatra landscape. The largest lakes are: Morskie Oko with an area of 349,000 m² and maximum depth of ); and Wielki Staw with an area of 344,000 m² and maximum depth of ).
Biology and ecology.
Flora.
Up to there are mainly Silver fir ("Abies alba") and European beech ("Fagus sylvatica") forests. Higher levels, up to , are covered with European spruce ("Picea abies") forests, which turn into meadows and grasslands at higher elevations up to . The highest elevations, above , have alpine flora habitats.
Other typical species include Swiss pine ("Pinus cembra"), Edelweiss ("Leontopodium alpinum"), and Stemless carline thistle ("Carlina acaulis"). Spring in the Kościeliska Valley is notable for the fields of Giant crocus ("Crocus vernus", syn: "Crocus scepusiensis").
Fauna.
The National Park contains several endemic fauna species, and many endangered and protected ones. Animals include: the Tatra chamois and marmot, both protected since the mid-19th century; brown bear, Eurasian lynx, gray wolf, European otter, lesser spotted eagle, and falcon.
Culture.
The Górale.
The Podhale region of the Tatras is home to the "Górales" or the Goral (highland) people. Distinctive elements of their culture include the Podhale dialect (language), music, and traditional artisan customs such as clothes, wooden vernacular architecture, cheesemaking, and craft works. The historic Górale culture was traditionally passed on in oral stories.
Environment.
The area of the Tatra mountains was exploited by human activities in the past. During summer numerous herds of animals (such as goats, sheep, and cows) pastured on the meadows and these practices caused erosion processes. In the 18th and 19th centuries several mines and ironworks were built here, industries that used substantial harvests of local timber.
Current environmental threats include: the proximity of the fast-developing town of Zakopane; and air pollution from the industrial zones in Kraków, Ostrava, and Orava. Fauna is threatened by poachers and habitat loss.
The high number of tourists is the largest threat to Park’s ecosystem currently. Also, the infrastructure, such as hotels and car parks, is not sufficient for the current volume of visitors.
Tourism.
Tourism was first developed in the Tatras in the late 19th century, and continues in the 21st. It is the most visited of the national parks in Poland.
There are more than of hiking trails in Tatra National Park.


Grevillea flexuosa

Grevillea flexuosa, commonly known as zigzag grevillea or tangled grevillea, is an endangered shrub endemic to Western Australia.
Description.
It grows as an irregular shrub up to two metres high, with few branches and no lignotuber. Flowers are cream or yellow and occur in inflorescences typical of "Grevillea".
Taxonomy.
This species was first published as "Anadenia flexuosa" by John Lindley in his 1839 "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", based on unspecified material. Lindley referred to it there as "a singular species, allied to "A. pulchella", with most curious zigzag leaves". In 1845, "Anadenia" was demoted to a section of "Grevillea" by Carl Meissner, and this species was thus transferred to "Grevillea" as "Grevillea flexuosa" (Lindl.) Meisn.. It has since had a fairly uncomplicated taxonomic history, the only incident being the publication by George Bentham in 1870 of a variety, "G. flexuosa" var. "pauciloba", which was subsequently found to be a taxonomic synonym of "G. synapheae".
Distribution and habitat.
It occurs only within a small area east of Perth, in the Jarrah Forest biogeographic region. The soil of area is red-brown sand over laterite or granite.
Ecology.
It has been gazetted as "rare" under Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, and "vulnerable" under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.


Rubi Tele Hunting Reserve

The Rubi-Tele Hunting Zone is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1930. This site is 9080 km.


Golden Stream Corridor Preserve

The Golden Stream Corridor Preserve is a nature preserve in Belize with a unique diversity of habitat types and ecosystems. The preserve is owned and managed by Ya'axche' Conservation Trust. The preserve protects the Golden Stream watershed.
Location.
The Golden Stream Corridor preserve is located in the southern part of Belize and is estimated to be approximately . The nature reserve is located near the Nim Li Punit archaeological site.
Ecosystem.
The nature preserve is made up of many different ecosystems which includes both forest and marine ecosystems. Its forest ecosystem includes a pristine forest consisting of many mahogany and Santa Maria trees and a riverine forest. The marine ecosystem includes an estuarine environment which is home to many marine organisms. The area is also important because of the watershed it contains, which runs southeast from the southern highway and pours into the Port of Honduras Marine Reserve. These diverse ecosystems are primarily the reason that the nature preserve is considered to be a biological corridor with a large variety of animals.
Flora and fauna.
The Golden Stream Corridor Preserve is a forest and marine environment that contains diverse flora and fauna.
Plants within the preserve include the mahogany, giant fig, ceiba, Santa Maria, and many other trees and flowering plants.
The ecosystems attract and provides home for many organisms. The preserve is home to 270 birds, 19 amphibian, 20 fish, 59 mammals and 57 reptiles. Some of the animals inhabiting the preserve are the jaguar, puma, ocelot, paca, kinkajou, margay and iguana. Many threatened and endangered wildlife also inhabits this area. An example of a threatened species is the Baird's tapir. Examples of endangered species are the Central American spider monkey, keel-billed toucan and the West Indian manatee.


Edward M. Barrows

Edward M. Barrows (born August 8, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan) is a biologist who earned his BS in Botany and Zoology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1968, and his PhD in entomology, mentored by Charles Duncan Michener, at the University of Kansas, Lawrence in 1975. Further, he is a retired U.S. Army officer. He has had a lifetime interest in nature, science, and art. He performed research on bee nesting, predation, and reproductive behavior, for example, finding that female "Lasioglossum zephyrus" sweat bees have individual odors perceived by conspecific males. This was evidently the first discovery of invertebrate individual odors, as opposed to group or nest odors. He later found that males of the "Xylocopa virginica virginica" (large carpenter bee) have highly complex mate searching and mate-acquisition behaviors, perhaps more complicated that any other bee species and many other animal species. Students and he studied feeding behavior and recovery from injuries in "Mimus polyglottos" (northern mockingbirds). With students and established scientists, he studied or is studying arthropod community structure in a rare, freshwater, tidal, marsh, and associated habitats, evolution of floral display in "Asclepias syriaca" (common milkweed), parasitization and reproductive behavior of chalcidoid wasps, floral associates of rare plants, and other topics. His research in scientific communication led to the book "Animal Desk Reference, A Dictionary of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution" (3rd edition). His current research laboratory, the Laboratory of Entomology and Biodiversity, is in the Heyden Observatory of Georgetown University.
He has written popular-style nature articles, for example, for "The Kansas City Star" and "The Washington Star" and "The Echo" (the Glen Echo, Maryland, town newsletter). In his popular-style book "Nature, Gardens, and Georgetown" (2006), he described biodiversity and changes in the natural environment at Georgetown University and nearby places.
At the college level, he taught animal behavior, botany, entomology, earth stewardship, forest ecology, history of life, and sociobiology at Georgetown University, University of Kansas, and University of Michigan. He has been a professor in the Department of Biology at Georgetown, since 1975, where he mentored many undergraduate senior-thesis students, MS, and PhD students.
His honors include being an honorary life-member of a premier conservation organization Friends of Dyke Marsh, a long-term research associate of the Smithsonian Institution, an Engelhard Teaching Fellow, a National Defense Education Act Fellow, an elected president of the Entomological Society of Washington, elected officer of the Glen Echo Heights Citizens' Association, an elected member of the Washington Biologists’ Field Club (WBFC), and appointment as a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences Council, and the Director of the Center for the Environment and the Director of Environmental Education at Georgetown University. He has been a biological consultant for the Air National Guard and the National Geographic Society. His students' and his research have been supported by the Friends of Dyke Marsh, Georgetown University, the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, Sigma Xi, and the WBFC.


Parsa National Park

Parsa National Park is a protected area in the Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal. It covers an area of in the Parsa, Makwanpur and Bara districts and ranges in altitude from to in the Siwalik Hills. It was established as a wildlife reserve in 1984. A bufferzone declared in 2005 comprises . In 2015, the protected area has been extended by . Since 2017, it has the status of a National Park.
In the north of the protected area the Rapti River and Siwalik Hills form a natural boundary to human settlements. In the east it extends up to the Hetauda – Birgunj highway. In the south, a forest roads demarcates the boundary. Adjacent to the west is Chitawan National Park. Together with the Indian Tiger Reserve Valmiki National Park, the coherent protected area of represents the "Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki", which covers a block of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.
Before being converted to a protected area, the region used to be a hunting ground of the ruling class.
Vegetation.
The typical vegetation of the park is tropical and subtropical forest types with sal forest constituting about 90% of the vegetation. Chir pine grows in the Churia Hills. Khair, sissoo and silk cotton trees occur along watercourses. Sabai grass grows well on the southern face of the Churia Hills.
An estimated 919 species of flora have been recorded including 298 vascular plants, 234 dicots, 58 monocots, five pteridophytes, and one gymnosperm.
Fauna.
In May 2008, a census conducted in the reserve confirmed the presence of 37 gaurs. Gaur survey 2016 conductedby the Park shows that the number has been increased to 105. A survey combined with extensive camera-trapping conducted in 2008 estimated four adult Bengal tigers resident in the reserve.
A camera-trapping survey conducted in February 2017 for three months revealed the presence of 19 Bengal tigers. This indicates the rise in tiger population by three times in three years.


Istana Kampong Glam

Istana Kampong Glam (Malay for "Kampong Glam Palace"; Jawi: ايستان کامڤوڠ ڬلم), also Istana Kampong Gelam, is a former Malay palace in Singapore. It is located near Masjid Sultan in Kampong Glam. The palace and compounds were refurbished into the Malay Heritage Centre in 2004. The palace is gazetted as a national monument on the eve of Singapore's Golden Jubilee, on 6 August 2015.
History.
Early days.
The original Istana Kampong Glam was built by Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor in 1819 on land of about in Kampong Glam that had been given to him by the British East India Company. It is believed to have been a wooden structure in the area to the east of Beach Road. When it was completed, it occupied an area twice the size of the present compound, which was reduced in 1824 for the construction of North Bridge Road. The Sultan lived there till shortly before his death in Malacca in 1835.
Rebuilding.
The concrete structure that exists today was commissioned by Sultan Hussein's eldest son, Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah of the Johor Riau–Lingga Empire in 1835. It was built on the site of the original building between 1836 and 1843. The new two-storey palace is believed to have been designed by colonial architect George Drumgoole Coleman as some of its architectural features are similar to those of other buildings Coleman designed, although there is no definitive evidence that it was designed by him. Its design is a combination of the Palladian style, which was then popular in England, with traditional Malay motifs. The extensive compound of the Istana was enclosed by a perimeter wall, and small kampung-style houses were built around it for the Sultan's kin, servants and artisans.
After the completion of the Istana in 1843, Tengku Alam, Sultan Ali's eldest son, lived in it until his death in 1891. Leases of portions of the land on which the palace stood had been granted by Sultan Ali, and Tengku Alam continued to collect rents and supported the members of his father's family according to Malay custom. After his death he was buried in the royal grave at the nearby Sultan Mosque.
Succession dispute.
In 1896, there was a succession dispute in Sultan Hussein's family over rights to the Kampong Glam estate, and the matter went to court. In 1897, the court ruled that no one could rightfully claim to be the successor of the Sultan and that the estate belonged to the Crown. The estate became state land when Singapore gained independence.
In 1904, the Sultan Hussein Ordinance was enacted to provide the descendants of Sultan Hussein with income derived from the Kampong Glam estate. The amount was capped at S$250,000 in 1991, revised by the government in 1999. Under the new scheme, the beneficiaries could opt either for a share of S$350,000 a year for 30 years or for a lump sum payment.
Residents still living in the Istana were resettled, as the building was to undergo conservation works. Until that time, the Istana had been the private residence for the Sultan's descendants.
Restoration.
The Istana Kampong Glam and compounds were refurbished as part of the development of the Malay Heritage Centre in 2004. The Istana has been faithfully restored according to Coleman's design with special emphasis on its setting, retaining the compound, its walled enclosure and the road leading to the building. Timber and cement were used to replicate the interior flooring of the former building.
National Monument.
The Istana Kampong Gelam was gazetted on 6 August 2015, the eve of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee weekend, as a national monument.


Tolipir

Tolipir () is a hilltop area situated in Tehsil Rawalakot in the Poonch District of Azad Kashmir. Its approximate elevation is about 8800 ft above sea level. It is about 30 km, or a 120-minute drive, from Rawalakot in Azad Kashmir. Abbaspur, Bagh and Poonch River can be viewed from Toli Pir.
Tolipir is the highest mountainous location in the northeastern area of Rawalakot; it is the point of origin of three different mountain ridges. The tourist rest house on the way to Toli Pir is also situated in a scenic location. There are some remains of an old "mazar" on the highest hilltop.
Tolipir is most accessible during the summer months; the weather generally becomes colder from October through March.


Mu Ko Lanta National Park

Mu Ko Lanta National Park () is a national park in the southern part of Krabi Province, Thailand, consisting of several islands. The two largest islands are Ko Lanta Noi and Ko Lanta Yai. Although both are inhabited, Ko Lanta Yai is the primary tourist destination. The park was established in 15 August 1990
A clan of Chao Ley, or "sea gypsies" lives on Ko Lanta Yai. The clan still practices many of their ancient customs and ceremonies, such as the setting of ceremonial boats adrift to bring good luck and prosperity on the full moon nights of the sixth and eleventh months.
Etymology.
Ko Lanta was once known by its Malay name, "Pulao Satak", which means "Long Beach Island". Later, many Thais, both Buddhist and Muslim, moved to the island making the island known as the island of "a million eyes" ("lan ta" in Thai). The name may also be derived from the Javanese "lan-tas", or fish grill (built of wood with a square grill on top where the fish are placed in a circle).
Topography.
The area of Mu Ko Lanta National Park is 134 km2 (83,750 rai. It includes Mu Ko Rok, Ko Mai Ngam, Ko Talabeng, Ko Lanta Yai, Ko Ngai, Mu Ko Rokk, Ko Rok Nai, Mu Ko Maa, Ko Hin Dang and the nearby islands of Ko Klang, Ko Lanta Noi, and Ko Lanta Yai sub-district, Amphoe Ko Lanta, Krabi Province.
The terrain is mountainous, especially near the southern tip. Plains are found only in beach areas in the southern portion of the park. Most areas have more than a 35 degree slope, except only the middle part of island where the slope is more than 50 degrees. Elevations range from sea level to 488 meters at the tallest peak.
Climate.
Highest rainfall is in September, 391.4 mm, and lowest in January at 6.5 mm. September has the most rainy days with 21.6 days and February the fewest, about 1.6 days. During the rainy season, 16 May-31 October, some smaller islands are closed to visitors.
Fauna.
The animals that live on the islands are divided into six categories.
1. Mammals: bats (deer, tigers and barking deer used to live on the islands).
2. Birds: brahminy kite, bridled tern, and emerald dove.
3. Reptiles: asian water monitor, reticulated python, and cobras.
4. Amphibians: giant mountain frogs, ornate froglets, and common tree frog.
5. Freshwater fish and marine fish: blue danio fish, coral reef fish, and lizard fish.
6. Coral reef animals: staghorn coral, "Fungia fungites", and anemone coral.
Flora.
The plants in Mu Ko Lanta National Park can be categorized into three groups.
1. Rainforest: The total area of rainforest at Mu Ko Lanta Yai is about 19.42 km2. The average height of trees is 15–25 meters. The important plants are "Hopea ferrea", "Dipterocarpus turbinatus" and "Lagerstroemia floribunda".
2. Mangrove forest: On Ko Ngu, Ko Mai Ngam, and Ko Mai Ngam Tai. The average height of trees is five meters. There are many plants in the mangrove forest, such as "Avicennia alba", "Rhizophora apiculata", and "Rhizophora mucronata".
3. Beach forest: Found on Ko Ngai between the beach and rainforest. Significant plants are bengal almond, "Millettia pinnata", and beach morning glory.
See also.
List of national parks of Thailand


Tiwai Point

Tiwai Point lies at the entrance to Bluff Harbour on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A spit which extends from the western end of the Awarua Plain, it lies between Awarua Bay to the north and Foveaux Strait to the south. It is known for the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, one of the largest industrial facilities in New Zealand. However, in July 2020 it was announced by Rio Tinto that the aluminium smelter would close in August 2021.
Tiwai Rocks Important Bird Area.
The rocks at the tip of Tiwai Point have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because they are home to a breeding colony of Foveaux shags.
Foveaux looper moth.
Tiwai Point is one of the two remaining locations where the critically endangered Foveaux looper moth lives. "A. frivola" is at high risk of extinction, and has already disappeared from one of its three known localities. Its main population exists on an area at Tiwai Point of less than 25 m² of coastal vegetation.
Causeway accident.
In 1980, a vehicle with 10 people failed to take a turn on the Tiwai Point causeway, crashing through a barrier and falling into the water. Seven people died, including five who were never recovered.


Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park is the collective name for areas of countryside set aside for conservation and recreation on the South Clyde estuary in Scotland.
The park covers an area of of Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, stretching from Greenock in the north, down the coast to Largs and West Kilbride and inland to Dalry and Lochwinnoch.
It consists of Castle Semple Loch and Collegiate Church, The Greenock Cut Centre (formerly Cornalees Bridge), Muirshiel Country Park, Barnbrock Farm, Lunderston Bay, Locherwood, Haylie Brae and Knockendon.
"Muirshiel", a Scots language name, translates to "moorhut" in English.
Origins.
Originally a grouse shooting estate, based around Muirshiel House - a shooting lodge among Duchal Moor and Queenside Moor. The estate passed through a number of owners including Lord Howard of Glossop, the Marquess Conyngham. Lord Howard of Glossop sold part of the estate to the county council and to a mining company in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The remainder was sold to Renfrewshire County Council in 1952.
A Regional Park designation for the area was first proposed in 1947. However it was 20 years later that Renfrewshire County Council proposed the Renfrewshire Regional Park and implemented a programme to manage an area of including the creation of Muirshiel Country Park in June 1970. Castle Semple Water Park followed in 1971 and the Cornalees Bridge Visitor Centre opened in 1973. Responsibility for the parks was taken over by Strathclyde Regional Council in 1975 before the Clyde Muirshiel Park Authority came into existence in 1990. Today the Authority's committee comprises councillors from the three local authorities as well as NatureScot.
Facilities within the park.
Two Country Parks with visitors centres are located within the regional park at Castle Semple Loch and Muirshiel, together with a separate visitors centre, the Greenock Cut Centre, at Cornalees Bridge, Loch Thom, to explain the Greenock Cut.
An outdoor activity centre and boat and bike hire facilities are based at Castle Semple.
Barnbrock hosts a campsite, and community woodlands are to be found at Locherwoods and Outerwards. The sandy beach at Lunderston Bay is connected by a shore walk along the coast to Inverkip. Loch Thom and the Greenock cut provide easy walks in a context of industrial history, and the Collegiate church and Castle Semple are of interest to historians of an earlier era. There are numerous other sites, such as the Haylie Brae, with car parking for visitors to enjoy picnics, good views, wildlife, walks and cycles, and wide opportunities for hillwalking, with Hill of Stake the highest point of the park at .
Activities.
Clyde Muirshiel offers year-round instructor led activities include sailing, kayaking, canoeing and raft building on the shallow inland Castle Semple Loch as well as land activities such as archery, mountain biking, hill walking, orienteering, navigation and first aid.
Popular walking routes in the park include the "Johnshill Loop" and the "Semple Trail" from the visitor centre of Castle Semple, the Greenock Cut route at or the shorter "Shielhill Glen Nature Trail", both from the Greenock Cut visitor centre.
Hill walking routes from the visitor centre at Muirshiel include a trail up to Windy Hill, and a more challenging circular route past the Barytes Mine to Hill of Stake, the highest hill in the Regional Park. Routes from the Greenock Cut visitor centre include a strenuous walk up Dunrod Hill, and a walk over Corlick Hill.
The Sustrans Cycle track.
The Sustrans Lochwinnoch Loop Line cycle track runs through the Castle Semple Loch visitors centre. It is long and is part of the Lochs and Glens Route. It follows the National Cycle Route 75 from Paisley Canal Railway Station to Johnstone and then heads southwest to Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie passing Castle Semple, Barr and Kilbirnie Lochs. Being mainly built on an old railway line it has easy gradients and is mostly traffic free.
National Cycle Route 753 branches south off Route 75 in Gourock to Lunderston Bay, where it passes the toilets and picnic areas within the park, before it continues along the coast of the bay to terminate at Inverkip War Memorial. Short sections of the route are on public roads (Albert Road, Gourock & Harbourside, Inverkip). A separate stretch of Route 753 runs from Seamill to Ardrossan, near the southern extremity of the park.
Sports Clubs at the Loch.
The Loch is the home of the following clubs; Castle Semple Sailing Club (founded 1966), Castle Semple Rowing Club and Clyde Windsurfing Club.
Historic sites.
The Castle Semple Collegiate church.
This Church was founded and endowed ; it stands near where the original Castle Semple once stood. Castle Semple was a Collegiate church, which means that it was administered and served by a college of canons or prebendaries, presided over by a dean or provost. Collegiate churches were often supported by lands held by the church, endowed here in 1504 by John, 1st Lord Sempill. The church is built in a late Gothic style with a rectangular body and square tower at the west end and a three sided apse at the east end. The Church is in the care of Historic Scotland.
The Castle Semple Temple.
The small temple building or folly on the Kenmure Hill knoll to the northern end of Castle Semple loch is one of the few remains of the Castle Semple estate. Col. William MacDowell was responsible for the 'Temple' and also for building of Castle Semple House, which was destroyed by fire in 1935. All that remains of this estate is the folly, a walled garden and a pair of gate arches.
Loch Thom and the Greenock cut.
A freshwater loch known as Shaws Water used to exist at a level high above Greenock until the civil engineer Robert Thom prepared a scheme to turn this into a reservoir, subsequently named after him as Loch Thom. He also created the aqueduct which became known as "The Cut", the whole scheme officially opening on 16 April 1827. The aqueduct supplied both a dependable flow and a good quality of water to the town for both domestic and business purposes.
Leaving Loch Thom at Cornalees, "The Cut", with its footpath, runs westward and then turns northward as it follows the contour of Dunrod Hill which it follows round until running directly above the town of Greenock at Overton, having come a distance of . It collects some of the water from streams that cross its path, and a series of sluice gates incorporate an ingenious automatic way of releasing surplus water.
Muirshiel Barytes Mine.
Seams of Baryte minerals were found in three gullies about north of Hill of Stake, cut into the slope by tributaries of the River Calder, Renfrewshire. Small-scale open cast mining of the baryte began around the mid 18th century, with horizontal tunnels or adits cut to follow the seams of the mineral. Between 1859 and 1920, production was . A track was formed running around downhill to a grinding mill sited on the River Calder, where the mineral was dressed or processed. Stables and houses for the workers were built adjacent to the mill, and a bridge crossing the river connected by a lane down to Lochwinnoch. By about 1918 the mine was run by the Muirshiels Mineral Co. of Lochwinnoch, but production ceased in 1920.
Keir and Cawder Ltd. and James Millar Son and Co. Ltd. reopened the mine in 1942. They formed the Muirshiel Barytes Co. in 1947, and constructed new shafts to depths between and . This gave access to veins of baryte of a finer quality, which was taken directly to a dressing plant in Glasgow. Production was in 1944, rising to in 1949. Up to this stage there was no electricity at the mine, and minerals were transported in wagons on rails, moved to the surface by human or horse power. The workforce came from Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie. In 1960 the mine was taken over by Anglo Austral Mines Ltd., and electrical power was introduced to power winding gear for the wagons and lift them to the surface, where the barytes was loaded into lorries. In 1962 Rio Tinto Zinc became the operator. A new dressing plant was constructed just downhill from the mine, to process output from a lower quality vein. At this time up to 48 people from Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie worked at the mine, including 11 skilled miners, each with an assistant, as well as maintenance and surface workers. Annual production reached a peak of in 1964. Production ended on 5 September 1969.
When the country park was formed, the Muirshiel Visitor Centre was built a short distance downhill from the pre-1920 site of the mine. The original workings and bridge over the river have fallen into ruin, the track over a new bridge constructed nearby in the 1960s gives access for walkers. Part of the site is used for off-road vehicle driving instruction. At the mine itself, a seismometer transmits measurements by radio to the British Geological Survey
References.


Central Karakoram National Park

Central Karakoram National Park () is a national park located in Skardu district of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. It encompasses some of the world’s highest peaks and largest glaciers. Internationally renowned for mountaineering, rock climbing and trekking opportunities, it covers an area of about 10,000 sq. km and contains the greatest concentration of high mountains on earth. It has four peaks over 8,000 m including K2 (8611 m), Gasherbrum-I (8068 m), Gasherbrum-II (8035 m) and Broad Peak (8051 m), and sixty peaks higher than 7,000 m. The park was placed on the World Heritage Site Tentative List in 2016.
Features.
The Central Karakoram National Park is the highest national park in the world and the largest protected area in Pakistan. It covers about in the Central Karakoram mountain range. It varies in altitude from above sea level to the summit of chogori K2, the world's second highest mountain at . There are three other mountains over , Gasherbrum I (), Gasherbrum II () and phalchanri Broad Peak (), and sixty mountains over . The park also includes the Baltoro, Panmah, Biafo and Hispar glaciers and their tributary glaciers and is considered to be one of the most beautiful national parks in Pakistan. In 2013 it was stated that the exact boundaries of the park were unclear because, twenty years after its formation, the park still lacked a management plan. At the time of its creation in 1993, four coordinates were provided to delineate the boundaries of the park. The International Union for Conservation of Nature put forward a proposed management plan in 1994, but that was not approved at the time. A management plan should cover all aspects of the park including such things as forestry, mining, other natural resources, tourism, grazing land and waste management, and without an appropriate plan, the park could not be properly administered.
In February 2015, a management plan for the park was finally established, following a year-long consultation period with stakeholders and local communities. The plan covers ten sectors: wildlife, vegetation, aromatic/medicinal plants and non-wood forest products, pastures and livestock, agriculture, mining, water, tourism, local communities involvement and research. The park is divided into two zones; the core zone, occupying about , comprises the mountain peaks, glaciers and high level mountain areas, and their fragile ecosystem; the buffer zone comprises around of mainly lower-lying areas around human settlements where unsustainable activities take place, and corridors providing access to different parts of the core zone.
A study of the size of the glaciers in the park, made using Landsat images over the decade 2001 to 2010, shows that the ice cover is substantially unchanged. This demonstrates the fact that the Karakoram region is bucking the trend for glaciers to retreat that is happening elsewhere; this is known as the "Karakoram anomaly".
Ecological zones.
The park has several distinct ecological zones, each with its own natural vegetation which is closely related to the climate and topography; in general, the area has low precipitation and experiences humid westerly winds. The villages are in the valley bottoms where wheat, maize and potatoes are grown, and pomegranate and apricot trees thrive. The lower slopes consist of "alpine dry steppes". They have gravel and moraine soils and support sparse grass and scrub. The "sub-alpine scrub zone" is found beside rivers and streams, in gullies and ravines. It consists of bushes and small deciduous trees and provides browsing for livestock and wild ungulates. Higher up there is the "alpine meadows and alpine scrub zone" which has high pasture and open coniferous forest and is only available for grazing in summer. Above this are permanent snowfields and cold desert areas which occupy the zone, and here there are isolated patches of stunted grass and hardy, low vegetation.
Flora and fauna.
Some valleys are dominated by communities of "West Himalayan spruce", "Himalayan white pine" and "Pashtun juniper", including some pure stands of "P. smithiana". Smaller shrubs and plants associated with these communities include "sea wormwood", "Astragalus gilgitensis", "Fragaria nubicola", "Geranium nepalensis", "Kashmir balsam", "Thymus linearis", "white clover", "Rubus irritans", "Taraxacum karakorium" and "Taraxacum affinis". On some east and south-facing slopes, "common sea buckthorn" is the dominant shrub, often associated with "Berberis lyceum", and on some east-facing slopes at higher altitudes there are communities dominated by "Rosa webbiana" and "Ribes orientale". Other herbaceous plants growing on the sparse grassland, especially in gullies and ravines, are "Salix denticulata", "Mertensia tibetica", "Potentilla desertorum", "Juniperus polycarpus", "alpine bistort", "Berberis pachyacantha" and "Spiraea lycioides".
Larger mammals found in this region include:
There are only a few birds described from this region some of them are:
Only two lizards and no amphibians are found:
Climbing.
Expeditions come each year to this area of the Karakorum to ascend the massive peaks, climb rocky crags and big sheer rock walls, and trek. Most expeditions visit the region in July and August, but some come as early as May and June, and September can be good for lower altitude climbing. One celebrated climbing area is Trango Towers, a group of some of the world tallest rock towers, situated in the park close to the route used to trek to the K2 base camp. Every year, a number of expeditions from all parts of the world visit the area to climb these most challenging granite towers.


Fort Clonque

Fort Clonque is a 19th-century coastal fortress in Alderney, in the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It was constructed at a time when French naval power was becoming an increasing concern to the British. It is built on a rocky outcrop of land joined to the island by a causeway that can be submerged at high tide. It was manned by fifty men and fortified with up to ten guns, mostly 68-pounders; however, none was ever fired in anger.
Scenes from the film "Seagulls Over Sorrento" were shot at Fort Clonque in 1953.
The fort fell into disuse before being rescued by the Landmark Trust in 1966; it now provides comfortable self-catering accommodation for up to thirteen people.