Rather
than produce a separate plan for each of 18
priority habitats found in Herefordshire, a functional
approach has been adopted and plans produced for areas,
many of which include a number of priority habitats.
The main reasons for taking this approach were:
- To keep the total number of plans
to minimum to enable their production within a limited
timescale and avoid placing unreasonable demands on
participants who are involved with a number of habitats
and species.
Most species are found only within one or two functional
areas and can therefore be taken account of through habitat
action plans, so the number of species action plans needed
is also reduced by this approach.
- To adopt a functional approach, bearing
in mind the main mechanisms for implementation of the
action plans. Many of these, such as agricultural,
forestry and planning policy, areas of responsibility
of the statutory agencies, the approach taken by advisors
and ownership and management of land, fit together
within ‘functional areas’, but do not divide
neatly into habitats.
For example the Environment Agency
acts with regard to whole river and floodplain catchments,
the Forestry Commission to all woodland and MAFF all
farmed land. Advice to farmers is provided on a whole
farm basis. Changes to agricultural policy or funding
affect the whole farmed area. Issues affecting rivers
also affect habitats throughout the floodplain, as
will many actions.
- To avoid repetition of common issues
and actions across numerous, similar but separate habitat
action plans. (While acknowledging that some repetition,
as some priority habitats occur across a number of
functional areas, is thereby unavoidable).
.
- To allow consideration of generic
actions to improve for wildlife the less valuable,
but far larger ‘broad habitats’ which lie
between the priority habitats and which, in total,
cover the whole land area of the county.
For example hedges which are not
species-rich can be improved through sympathetic management,
all orchards managed to attract more species and quarries,
though not a priority habitat, cover a significant
area and have great potential to be improved as wildlife
habitat.
In most cases this approach led to ‘clumping’ of
habitats into functional areas, such as Farmland, Rivers
and Floodplains and Upland and Commons. One national
priority habitat, lowland wood pasture and parkland,
was divided, into Parkland and Traditional Orchards,
as the ownership, management and issues affecting these
areas are quite different.
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Habitat
Maps
A map
is included with each plan, except orchards,
for which details of locations are not available,
to illustrate the area covered by that plan. Please
note that these maps are not to scale and that in
some cases they show only distribution, not size,
of the sites concerned.
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Additional
Notes
A copy
of the woodlands plan with references and
footnotes is available on request. References for
the hedge section of the boundary features plan are
also available.
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