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The New Forest LIFE Projects The New Forest is an ancient forest, first designated in 1079 for hunting by William the Conqueror. The New Forest National Park was created on 1 March 2005 following confirmation of the designation by Alun Michaels, Rural Affairs Minister. It is the first National Park in the South East of England and will cover a 571 square km area with an estimated population of approximately 34,400. The park is the smallest of the National Parks now in existence in the UK. more details>>

Presently the National Park covers 57,086 hectares, roughly half of which comprises the New Forest candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC). The New Forest cSAC is one of the most important sites for wildlife in the United Kingdom and is widely recognised as being of exceptional importance for nature conservation throughout Europe.	Images produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Images reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
The New Forest supports a complex mosaic of wildlife habitats, formerly common in lowland Western Europe but now rare and fragmented. Located in the South of England, it has always been an area of public interest and is currently subject to over 20 million tourist visits per year.In 1995 the UK Government proposed 29,000ha of the New Forest area as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.

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