unique nesting ground in Portugal, while the red-backed shrike and yellowhammer are limited to Castro Laboreiro plateau and northern corners of the park. Also important to highlight is the gold-striped salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica) a species endemic to the northwest Iberian peninsula, typically associated with mountainous areas with elevated precipitation. The waters of the park teem with various species, often called "Rios truteiros" (Trout Rivers) for the abundance of trout. Although stocks have diminished, the salmon populations still spawns in the rivers of the park. Species well represented in the biotopes of Peneda-Gerês include: Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus), commonly restricted to northern portions of the Iberian Peninsula and French Pyrenees; European otter (Lutra lutra), a carnivore well adapted to waters of the park, but in decline throughout Europe, it inhabits the watercourses and uses the banks for shelter; Iberian emerald lizard (Lacerta schreiberi), endemic to the western portions of the Iberian peninsula, it inhabits mountainous river valleys, where it is protected by vegetation; Iberian frog (Rana iberica), common to Portugal, northwestern Iberia, and mountainous lands Ecoregions, zoning and management plan The 1971 classification of Peneda-Gerês as a national park came from a group of rules/requirements established to allow: the prudent use of the park's resources, preservation of existing flora and fauna species, allowing for the continued cohabitation, while providing an environment for scientific, educational and touristic investigation. These specified: Areas of Natural Environments (), these were defined in 1991 into three zones: Integrated reserves: to preserve habitats and natural elements that were unique, vulnerable, rare, threatened or representative; Partial reserves: to allow conservation and environmental interpretation; Complementary areas: a transition zones between natural and rural environments. Freshwater Environments (): to provide means of management and conservation that would allow the constant preservation of existing water-based environments. The park is located within mountainous granite geomorphology, characterized by narrow watercourses, irregular inclines and unmineralized, highly oxygenated, semi-acidic, cold waters, which are the base of the ecosystem. Its importance, therefore, resulted in three-level classification of freshwater environments characterized by the natural resources that existed, and those activities which were permitted in each environment. Sites of Ornithological Interest (): areas identified for avian species conservation were prepared by Neves et al. In 2011 a new management plan was published for Peneda-Gerês NP defining 5 levels of protection: total protection area, partial protection areas (levels I and II) and complementary protection areas (levels I and II).