Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I am happy to be in a position to provide more detail in relation to the sister-park arrangement between Glacier National Park in Montana and Killarney National Park. The agreement itself is initially of 5 year duration and will last until 2026, but there are provisions in place to extend it further with consent of both sides if desired.

Agreements between Parks in different jurisdictions allow learnings and expertise to be shared and built upon. While Glacier National Park and Killarney National Park have a range of differences in terms of size, climate and native species, there are also common challenges that Parks face.

In 2021 when Killarney National Park suffered extensive fire damage, the agreement provided access to the extensive expertise staff of Glacier National Park have in fire management. They worked closely with staff of the National Parks and Wildlife Service(NPWS) in Killarney National Park mapping the extent and the intensity of the fire. Their expertise and systematic approach to fire-management has helped form the approach to fire management planning in Killarney since that time.

Routine information sharing is ongoing between the Parks. As an example, staff from Glacier National Park with scientific expertise on biodiversity issues have been made available to support Killarney National Park's own work in the area.

The issue of the sustainability and the impact of human activity is of significant concern to both Parks. Killarney National Park is in the process of developing its own policies in relation to this and will be able to draw on Glacier National Park's experience.

It should be noted that the sister-park agreement was entered into in 2021 and thus collaboration was affected significantly by a number of external factors, including staff movements in both organisations and the global impacts of COVID-19.

In order to ensure the benefits from arrangements such as this one are maximised, it is intended that the performance of sister-park arrangements will be reviewed as part of the wider development of strategic management planning for our National Parks.