From the conservation office
Conservation news
This is my first newsletter as Senior
Conservation Officer, a role I took on
as from 1st July 1996. My remit is to
manage and develop all activities in the
conservation section. I'm looking
forward to identifying new priorities as
well as making sure we fulfil all our
existing obligations.
The exciting developments with the
Cornwall Local Biodiversity Initiative,
which the Trust is leading, will have an
important influence on our work.
With all the political support for
"biodiversity action'; there has never
been a more opportune time to make
Cornwall a better place for wildlife,
and I'm looking forward to working
with Trust staff branches and
volunteers to implement more
conservation action on land and sea!
Regional Biodiversity Initiative
The Regional Biodiversity Audit has
been reissued with amendments. It was
produced by a partnership of the seven
Wildlife Trusts in the region, together
with the Regional Planning Conference.
It lists all the important mammals, birds,
reptiles amphibians, fish, insects and
plants in the official South West region,
and the counties in which they occur . It
identifies II species which are found
nowhere else in the world - of these, 10
occur in Cornwall. The report also lists
25 globally threatened species, 10 of
which occur in Cornwall. There are also
descriptions of all the major wildlife
habitats and their distribution across the
seven counties.
Copies of the audit are available from
the RSPB office at 10 Richmond Road,
Exeter, Devon, EX4 4JA - (01392)
432691 - for £15.00 each including
p&p. Cheques payable to RSPB.
Twenty regional biodiversity action
plans are now being drawn up by the
partnership, which has been expanded to
include MAFF, English Nature, the
Forestry Commission, Plantlife and
Butterfly Conservation. Plans are being
produced for species such as the marsh
fritillary butterfly, early gentian, great
crested newt, sand lizard and nightjar,
and habitats such as lowland heathland,
species-rich hedgerows, reedbeds and
sea-grass beds. These regional plans will
provide valuable inputs to the local
biodiversity plan process as well as
allowing agencies that act at a regional
level - such as MAFF and the Forestry
Commission - to take regional action.
Wildlife Trusts' Conservation
Policy and Technical Advisory
Group
The second meeting of the Conservation
PTAG took place on 27th and 28th June.
Many agenda items were discussed,
including: national policies and
positions for the Wildlife Trusts; a
national marine programme; national
spokespersons for the Trusts; and a
review of the work of the national sub-
groups covering squirrels, otters, local
biodiversity plan guidance, national plan
for The Wildlife Trusts, local records
centres (Millennium bid) and
agriculture. The aim of the PTAG and
the sub-groups is to refine and form
national policy and action for The
Wildlife Trusts as a whole.
Cornwall Biodiversity Initiative
The first meeting of the Cornwall
Riodiversity Initiative took place at New
County Hall on 2nd June 1996. Over 50
organisations or individuals took part,
with the meeting being chaired by the
Chief Executive of the County Council.
The meeting asked the Wildlife Trust to
lead the biodiversity planning process in
Cornwall, and a small working group
was set up. Members include English
Nature, CBRU, the Environment
Agency, ECC International and
Cornwall County Council. The
secretariat is provided by North
Cornwall District Council. Any
representations about issues, actions,
habitats or species that people feel
should be included in action plans for
Cornwall, or information about the
group and its membership, may be made
to either Chris Howe at the Cornwall
Wildlife Trust or David Brown at North
Cornwall District Council, Higher
Trenant Road, Wadebridge, Cornwall,
PL27 6TW.
The aim of the initiative is to establish
the biodiversity planning process in
Cornwall, which means auditing the
resource, identifying priorities - which
can be habitats, species, issues or
actions - and producing action plans for
those priorities, and then monitoring the
implementation of those plans.
Countryside advice
The Trust is currently providing advice
to landowners around Cornish heath and
Dorset heath sites as part of a European
Commission LIFE-funded project with
the RSPB. We also respond to requests
for assistance with Countryside
Stewardship applications.
This area of work is a priority for the
Trust and will be developed in the near
future if funding can be secured. An
application has been made for European
funding under the ~5b" banner, and we
are still awaiting a decision.
The newest member of the Trust's professional
conservation staff is former BTCV organiser
Angela Howard. Photo: Paul Horak
The woodlands of wild Cornwall |
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Conservation office & fund raising