San Glorio

The valleys of this part of the Cantabrian Mountains include sites in the European Union's Natura 2000 network and Special Protection Areas for the conservation of wild birds.

According to a 2006 report published by the Ministry of the Environment,[2] the Picos de Europa has "conservation problems at local level" due mainly to the role tourism plays, but also because there are "...no planning regulations for this unequalled territory.

The regional government of Castilla and León has commenced construction of a ski resort (Esla 2000), near the San Glorio mountain pass.

[3] In a paper presented in February 1989 at the Eighth International Conference on Bear Research and Management, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Christopher Servheen of the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the continued reduction in habitat further isolates the two subpopulations in the Cantabrian Mountains, "making them more susceptible to the demographic and genetic consequences of small population size.

At the beginning of 2008, Spain's Defensor del Pueblo, with a direct mandate to initiate proceedings at Spain's Constitutional Court, submitted the following to Castilla and León's department of the environment: "Que esa Consejería realice las gestiones pertinentes para que se proceda a derogar el Decreto 13/2006, al ser contrario a la legalidad vigente en materia de Espacios Naturales y Evaluación Ambiental, por no haber sido evaluada previamente la modificación del PORN de Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina, que contiene tal Decreto".

The issue has been raised before the European Parliament, with Euro-MP David Hammerstein requesting the European Commission to look into the funding of the project, claiming that the regional government receives EU funding because of the park's required protection as a most seriously threatened habitat, while at the same time applying for subsidies for the jobs at the projected ski resort and hotel complex.