of protection than a national park. In 1991, Monfragüe was declared as a Special Protection Area for birds, During the following years, the conservationist mentality, the infrastructure in Villarreal and publication efforts about the riches of the Park were strengthened. Since 2003, it has been recognised by UNESCO as a Biosphere reserve. In May 2004, it was enlarged to the actual ZEPA "Monfragüe y Dehesas del entomo", which covers 116,160 hectares. After twenty-five years Monfragüe became a national park by law on March 2, 2007. At the end of 2016, the area also received recognition as a dark-sky preserve. Biodiversity Habitas in the park include extensive dense scrub, small oak woodlands, and numerous cliffs and rock faces. The land is mainly used for traditional, low-intensive farming. However, there were two major changes in the years 1960-70: the river Tagus was dammed, affecting its course through the park and in 1970 brutal reforestation with non-indigenous eucalyptus and pine began. For a planned but never built paper industry in Navalmoral de la Mata many hectares of the Park were desolated and irreversibly altered by terraces built with heavy machinery. The Sierra de Miravete and ravines of the streams Malvecino and Barbaón received a hard blow and important thickets of the Mediterranean forest disappeared. The non-indigenous species are being eradicated. Commercial forestry is prohibited in Spanish national parks. Birds In 1988 the European Union designated Monfrague a Special Protection Area (SPA) for bird-life. The SPA (or ZEPA, the equivalent acronym in Spanish) extends beyond the park, where the nesting sites are concentrated, into the surrounding dehesas, which provide food for the birds. Monfrague is an outstanding site for raptors, with more than 15 regular breeding species. including the world's largest colony of Eurasian black vulture (over 600 pairs), it has the world's highest concentration of imperial eagles (more than 10 pairs), a large population of [[griffon vulture]( over 600 pairs ), and several pairs of Spanish imperial eagle, golden eagle and Bonelli's eagle. The crags and cliffs on the north side of the river midway through the park draw photographers from all over Europe and the Americas. The government has built observation blinds throughout the course of the river. Other breeding birds for which the park is important are black stork and Eurasian eagle owl and there is a high density of azure-winged magpie. It is also one of the few locations in