Post by Hoppy on May 8, 2006 18:13:06 GMT -1
Environment Agency works with farmers to tackle erosion on Bodmin Moor and save valuable wetland
One of Cornwall’s best salmon and sea trout rivers, the Fowey, is to benefit from a pioneering partnership between the Environment Agency and a group of farmers on Bodmin Moor.
Traditional farming on Bodmin Moor has included the drainage of wetlands and ditches to improve grazing for livestock. The opening up of ditches in some areas has resulted in hundreds of tonnes of fine sediment being washed into the River Fowey, smothering valuable fish spawning grounds.
Environment Agency officers have worked with local farmers to come up with a solution to the erosion problem caused by ditching work.
A major breakthrough came when one landowner agreed to donate 50-acres of wetland, bog and marsh bordering the headwaters of the River Fowey. Previously trampled by livestock, overgrazed and drained, the land was of low agricultural value. There was the added problem of livestock getting stuck in moorland bogs.
Using £20,000 of funding from the European Cycleau Project, the area has been fenced off to totally exclude all livestock and create a valuable wetland habitat. The farmer has agreed to maintain the 2.5 km fence following negotiations with the Agency. In return his livestock will be safe from boggy ground and he will no longer need to drain ditches.
The major benefit from the project is habitat improvement. As the area is no longer grazed, it can develop into a healthy wetland, safeguarding in-river flows into the River Fowey – a nationally important salmon and sea trout river.
‘We are delighted with the outcome. The farmer has generously donated a significant slice of land that was never really good grazing, but which has tremendous value as a wetland as well as protecting the ecology of the river. In return, he no longer has to retrieve dead sheep from bogs or spend money dredging ditches. It’s a win win situation,’ said Mark Pilcher for the Environment Agency.
One of Cornwall’s best salmon and sea trout rivers, the Fowey, is to benefit from a pioneering partnership between the Environment Agency and a group of farmers on Bodmin Moor.
Traditional farming on Bodmin Moor has included the drainage of wetlands and ditches to improve grazing for livestock. The opening up of ditches in some areas has resulted in hundreds of tonnes of fine sediment being washed into the River Fowey, smothering valuable fish spawning grounds.
Environment Agency officers have worked with local farmers to come up with a solution to the erosion problem caused by ditching work.
A major breakthrough came when one landowner agreed to donate 50-acres of wetland, bog and marsh bordering the headwaters of the River Fowey. Previously trampled by livestock, overgrazed and drained, the land was of low agricultural value. There was the added problem of livestock getting stuck in moorland bogs.
Using £20,000 of funding from the European Cycleau Project, the area has been fenced off to totally exclude all livestock and create a valuable wetland habitat. The farmer has agreed to maintain the 2.5 km fence following negotiations with the Agency. In return his livestock will be safe from boggy ground and he will no longer need to drain ditches.
The major benefit from the project is habitat improvement. As the area is no longer grazed, it can develop into a healthy wetland, safeguarding in-river flows into the River Fowey – a nationally important salmon and sea trout river.
‘We are delighted with the outcome. The farmer has generously donated a significant slice of land that was never really good grazing, but which has tremendous value as a wetland as well as protecting the ecology of the river. In return, he no longer has to retrieve dead sheep from bogs or spend money dredging ditches. It’s a win win situation,’ said Mark Pilcher for the Environment Agency.