Beskydy Protected Landscape Area

Beskydy Protected Landscape Area (Czech: Chráněná krajinná oblast Beskydy, abbreviated as CHKO Beskydy) is the largest Landscape Protected Area in the Czech Republic. It lies in the south-eastern part of the Moravian Silesian and eastern part of Zlín regions, on the border with Slovakia. All its area belongs to the Outer Western Carpathians and comprises most of Moravian-Silesian Beskids Range, large part of the Vsetínské vrchy Range and the Moravian part of the Javorníky Range. In Slovakia, Kysuce Protected Landscape Area borders the area.

CHKO Beskydy was declared on 5 March 1973 to protect the unique natural features of the area, namely well-preserved primeval forests, species rich meadows and pastures and pseudo-karst elements but also the aesthetic value of the area which is typical for its diversity of habitats developed over the centuries of human settlement: ridge-top meadows and pastures and hamlets scatterd throughout the area. Many rare and protected plants and animals can be found in CHKO Beskydy: there has been a stable population of lynxes and bears and wolves regularly cross from Slovakia. As declared the area is 1,160 km² (448 sq mi), though more precised figure 1,196.96 km² (462.15 sq mi) was obtained using GIS resources.

The area is also an important recreational background for the industrial Ostrava region with large resorts in towns on the edges of CHKO Beskydy: Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm and other.