£1.3m woodland project launched (From Free Press Series)

£1.3m woodland project launched

AN area of internationally important native woodland in the Wye Valley is to be restored as part of a £1.3 million conservation project.

Ravine Woodlife announced this week that they are to invest in some of the UK's most important native woodland habitats.

And the Wye Valley is one of only two areas to benefit from the investment, with 2,184 acres of woodland included in the major conservation project.

Over a period of three years £1.3 million will be targeted at ensuring the conservation of ravine woodland in the Wye Valley and 5,162 acres in the Peak District.

Ravine Woodlife will celebrate the start of the conservation project with a special launch in the heart of the Wye Valley on Thursday.

Eight partnership organisations and 100 guests have been invited to attend the Forestry Commission Youth Campsite at the Biblins, near Symonds Yat.

Andrew Blake, Wye Valley AONB Officer, said: "In the Wye Valley, the partner organisations will be working together to address the environmental, social and economic threats to the woodland on both sides of the English-Welsh boarder.

"We want to ensure the long term ecological viability of the woodlands, so our work will include archaeological and ecological surveys, coppicing and thinning, the removal of non-native species and deer management."

Mark Oram, Ravine Woodlife project manager, said it is not only management works on the ground that are being carried out through the project.

He said: 'we will also be working with local communities and businesses, to raise awareness of the importance of these spectacular woodlands and the opportunities, which may arise from their conservation management."

The native woodlands of the Lower Wye Valley, including as woods, have been identified as some of the best examples of ravine woodlands remaining throughout Europe.

Designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the European Community Habitats Directive, they also form part of the Europe wide network of high quality conservation sites called Nature 2000.