Our Senior Conservation Officer writes ...

Rather than try to cover all of the work going on in the conservation section, I have included this month just a few of the major elements that we are tackling. As ever, demands on Trust staff seem to increase all the time, but we hope that we manage to keep abreast of most issues and make sure that the Trust's voice is heard whenever wildlife is threatened.

Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall
and the Isles of Scilly

Following the establishment of a "service-level agreement" between the Trust and the County Council, the structure is now in place to set up the centre's advisory board formally. We hope to be able to report on the first meeting of the board in the next newsletter.

Development of the records centre operations manual continues, addressing such issues as validation of records, conditions on access to data and participation in the National Biodiversity Network. The centre continues to be indebted to the volunteers who carry out invaluable work on the library, species, and subject-and site-based records.

Cornwall Heathlands Project

The RSPB and the Société pour l'Étude et la Protection de la Nature en Bretagne are our partners in this project, now in its final year. With the aim of improving the "conservation status" of heathlands with Dorset heath and Cornish heath, the project has been very successful. The main elements are:

• Good management of existing heathland sites. We are promoting Countryside Stewardship and have targeted nearly 50 sites for visits.
  
• Restoring heathland. We are promoting Countryside Stewardship. In Dorset the RSPB has removed 110 hectares of conifers from heathland sites, and in Brittany the SEPNB is trialling restoration methods including removing topsoil and re-seeding.
  
• Promoting methods and practices. The partners have developed a bilingual glossary of terms and a bibliography of heathland research. An international seminar on heathland management and restoration will be held in Morlaix in Brittany from 28th to 30th October 1998. Contact the Trust for details.

Cornwall Biodiversity Initiative

The commitment shown to the Initiative is immense. Individuals and small groups have worked hard to produce species research proposals and Species Action Plans, and the focus groups for other recommendations identified in the audit have also produced detailed Action Plans. These will all be published in June 1998, but some of the actions have already attracted funding and are being implemented.

We hope to continue the post of Project Officer, which acts as a focal point for the Initiative, until at least 2001. This will allow annual reviews of Action Plan implementation in 1999 and 2000, and a review of the Biodiversity Audit in 2000/2001.

Planning and development control

A few key cases have dominated the Trust's work in the last four months:

A major success was the withdrawal of the applicant in the Newlyn Downs waste transfer and recycling case. This was due to go to public inquiry on 10th March, after the Trust and others lobbied for the Secretary of State to intervene after planning permission was all but granted. The development would have caused the loss of nearly three hectares of rare Dorset heath - the same habitat that the Trust is receiving European funds to help conserve. The site is so important that it is now proposed as part of "Natura 2000" - the Europe-wide network of important conservation sites. Chris Howe, Paul McCartney and Sue Hocking were all involved with this case, with external consultant David Holyoak doing the majority of the detailed botanical survey work.

The Eden Project access road took up a substantial amount of time, mainly that of Conservation Officer Tania Percy-Bell. The Trust maintained its objection to the road, which will result in the loss of heathland. We liaised closely with English Nature and made sure that if the application was approved, as indeed it was, substantial mitigation (including heathland creation) formed part of the planning conditions.

We have worked with local residents in the Gwithian area to highlight the importance of an area of dune grassland - recognised on the European Habitats Directive - which is not protected and is subject to an existing minerals permission. The Trust hopes that conditions will be set that mean that the dune cannot be removed, and has the support of a wide range of organisations in its campaign.

Culm grassland inventory

One of the first actions to be implemented as a result of the Biodiversity Initiative is an inventory of key Culm grassland sites, giving special emphasis on potential reinstatement sites. Culm grassland is a special wildlife habitat, identified nationally as a conservation priority. It hosts rare species such as the marsh fritillary butterfly and wavy-leaved St John's-wort, and occurs over the carboniferous deposits in North Cornwall, Devon and parts of Wales. Less than 130 hectares remain in Cornwall. The Trust is carrying out this project with support from the Environment Agency.

European habitats and species study

The Trust often finds itself defending sites that host habitats or species listed on the European Habitats Directive. The Directive came into force in May 1992, and states that habitats and species listed on its annexes must be kept at "favourable conservation status". The UK Government's response has been to designate the very best Sites of Special Scientific Interest as "Special Areas of Conservation" (SACs). This means that while Carrine Common and Newlyn Downs are now proposed SACs, the other 25 sites around Truro hosting priority heathland are not. Similarly, Perranporth Dunes is a proposed SAC, but the Hayle to Gwithian dune system is not, despite the fact that they both host large areas of priority habitat.

The Trust has consulted widely, including the statutory agencies and local government, as well as national conservation organisations. We believe that an atlas showing the Cornish distribution of habitats and species of European importance will aid recognition of Cornwall's unique and important role in Europe, and we hope to complete the work by mid-1998.

Christopher Howe

Countryside Advisory Service

Between 1st November 1997 and 28th February 1998, 21 site visits were undertaken, including 13 farms, 4 churches, 3 community projects, 2 orchards and a caravan park. Several enquiries regarding conservation management were received and replied to over the phone and by sending out advisory information sheets.

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Countryside Advisory Service is available to all landowners and provides advice at all levels regarding wildlife and nature conservation management. Each advisory visit and subsequent written report is tailored to suit the individual landowner's requirements and circumstances. If appropriate, the Countryside Advisory Service can then prepare a full site management plan, provide species-specific recommendations, carry out more detailed surveys or assist with grant applications. To find out more, contact the Trust.

Siôn Brackenbury