Meirionnydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites

On 5th July 2010, the Welsh Ministers re-designated the Coedydd Derw a Safleoedd Ystlumod Meirion / Meirionnydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites Special Area of Conservation (SAC), and we have recently written to landowners and others about this.

The SAC was originally designated in 2004 but has now been extended to include additional areas supporting habitats and species of European importance.

SACs in Wales form part of a Europe-wide network of sites called Natura 2000, which aims to protect Europe's rich biodioversity. The SAC is a network of areas of woodlands, heaths, wetlands and other open areas stretching from Dolgellau north into Eryri. It contains a great diversity of habitat types and species of European importance.

As the name suggests, most of the SAC consists of oak woodlands, but there is a great variety of other habitats, including bog and floodplain woodlands, ravines and gorges, complex mosaics of wooded and open areas and even buildings. The range of conditions supports many different species including greater and lesser horseshoe bats which forage throughout the area, often roosting in buildings and caves, and a number of rare species of lichens and mosses.