Conservation works at Fanore Dunes were planned and implemented in conjunction with the County Council’s Environment Section, Local Area Office and Heritage Office and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to balance the visitor demands on this very popular amenity with the conservation needs of an important and protected Dunes complex.
Fanore is within the Blackhead-Poulsallagh Complex cSAC (site code no. 000020) and supports the priority Annex I habitat ‘fixed coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation (“grey dunes”)’ (2130), as well as the other Annex I habitats ‘Embryonic shifting dunes’(2110), and ‘Shifting dunes along the shoreline with Ammophila arenaria (“white dunes”) (2120). Visit http://www.npws.ie for more information on conservation areas.
The beach is a blue flag beach and is popular throughout the summer season. It is one of only two sandy and safe swimming beaches (Bishops Quarter is the other) along the north Clare coast.
Protective fencing and replanting of marram had already been initiated by the County Council’s Local Area Office in 2005. The current programme included the replacement and reinforcement of this protective fencing and the installation of sand matting to encourage the re-colonisation of marram grass. A new parking area was developed to compensate for the closure of a relief car park, which was encouraging access to the beach through breaches in the protective fencing. A viewing platform was installed for who can not access the beach, and the sand ladder, which gives pedestrian access only, to the beach, was repaired and extended. A shower unit was installed at the edge of the car park to facilitate swimmers and surfers.
An attractive and informative signage system was developed to explain the need for the conservation project and to highlight the extensive biodiversity value of the site.
Monitoring and education programmes have been set up to assess the impact of the above interventions, to engage local schools in the conservation of the Dunes and to collate species and environmental data. The species data will be submitted to the Clare Biological Records Centre (www.clarebiodiversity.ie). The findings of the monitoring programme will inform future management and monitoring plans for the area.
A Schools Conservation Project has been developed in partnership with Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna and Fanore National School and the Heritage office of Clare County Council. Workshops and a site visit will be organised in the autumn for the local community to provide information on the Dunes habitat, and the conservation and monitoring programmes that are currently taking place. See the Community section of this web site, under Education, for details of the programme.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
For more information on Fanore wildlife please download 'Wildlife at Fanore Sand Dunes'.
