Despite its natural beauty, the Yorkshire Dales contains some of the UK's most threatened woodland landscapes, with native woodland accounting for just over one per cent of the national park compared to a UK average of 12 per cent.
Ancient woodland is one of our richest wildlife habitats and a valuable landscape feature and historical record, yet even the few remaining pockets in the Yorkshire Dales are under threat. Much of what remains has been poorly managed in recent years and some woods have disappeared completely under the pressure of grazing animals and changing land management practices.
Thankfully, two Woodland Trust supporters, Sidney Clifford Webb and Anne Appleton, left generous legacies, enabling a groundbreaking new project to be launched in the Dales. This will help protect, link and extend these remaining fragments of ancient woodland.
The Trust is now working alongside farmers, landowners and local agencies to take practical action to protect what remains through the Yorkshire Dales Project. The Project can make a tremendous difference by:
- helping people to understand why ancient woodland is important
- providing positive incentives to encourage land managers to restore and conserve it
- buffering and protecting it from damaging external threats by planting new native trees and fencing out livestock
- encouraging others to take positive action and lead by example.
This project will also enable the Trust to ensure that schemes that provide financial incentives for the protection of ancient woodland are adequate.
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