National nature reserves in Wales

National nature reserves in Wales are selected and designated by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) (formerly the Countryside Council for Wales). There are 76 reserves all of which are also SSSIs, they cover 26,536 hectares (265.36 km2), or less than 1.5% of the land area of Wales. They range in size from Dan yr Ogof at 0.5 ha to Berwyn which covers 7,920 ha.^[1] A national nature reserve is designated because of its special biological, geological, habitat or landscape value and most in Wales are open to the public. They include upland and lowland areas, several offshore islands and in some cases estuarine and intertidal zones.^[2]

Management

Although the majority of sites are managed by NRW, a number are managed by other bodies, mainly in the public and wildlife charity sectors, including:

List of national nature reserves in Wales