Cornwall's Biodiversity Action Plan - Cornwall Wildlife Trust

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Wild Penwith The Wild Penwith project started in 2009 and is led by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the project aims to create a coast to coast ‘Living Landscape’, with healthy, well connected wildlife habitats. Granite moors dominate the centre, and to the north a series of short, relatively steep river valleys pass through medieval field systems to the coast. The landscape to the south comprises a large number of gently sloping river-valley systems, supporting nationally significant wetland and heathland habitats. Penwith has an exceptionally rich historical landscape, with many field systems of Bronze Age origin and a large concentration of prehistoric ritual monuments. The Wild Penwith project will achieve its goals by: • Assessing the condition of BAP habitats, including heathland and wetland habitats, and providing advice to landowners for their positive management, restoration and reconnection. • Securing long term management of BAP habitats through working with Natural England and FWAG to encourage uptake of agri-environment schemes. The majority of Environmentally Sensitive Area schemes are due to expire in 2012. The need to ensure the good work undertaken during the ESA scheme is continued and built upon is one of the key drivers for this project. • Creating a system of healthy wetlands and watercourses for wildlife and people. The project area includes Drift Reservoir which is known to be affected by diffuse agricultural pollution. Cornwall Wildlife Trust is working with the Environment Agency and South West Water to monitor water quality, and with FWAG to advise farmers on soil and nutrient management. The project is also working with partners to deliver training workshops, on issues such as soil and water management, to enhance water quality throughout the catchment. • Programme of community events and a weekly volunteer group which carries out practical conservation tasks on both farmland and nature reserves. • Helping deliver recommendations for water quality and habitat management through a small capital grant scheme. • Working with conservation partners to deliver these goals with a coordinated approach, avoiding any duplication of effort. Lead organisations in this project are Cornwall Wildlife Trust, FWAG, Natural England and the Environment Agency. The Wild Penwith project is currently ongoing and is supported through grant funding from the Tubney Charitable Trust, Countdown 2010 and South West Water. BAP habitats: • Wet Woodland • Lowland Heathland • Rivers • Lowland Fen Key BAP species: • European nightjar • Linnet • Reed bunting • Otter • Brown/sea trout • Purple ramping-fumitory • Three-lobed water crowfoot • Noctule bat • Soprano pipistrelle bat • Brown long-eared bat • Greater horseshoe bat Wild Penwith. Photo by Liz Cox Page 21
Cetacean BAP species This Cetacean Project will look at management measures and activities to help protect the 15 cetacean species (dolphins, porpoises and whales) on the current BAP list for Cornwall. The seas around the south west are amongst the richest areas for spectacular animals including whales and dolphins. There are current projects which aim to monitor these species, such as Seaquest Southwest 13 a marine recording project run jointly by Cornwall and Devon Wildlife Trusts. Another ongoing project run by Cornwall Wildlife Trust is the Seaquest Netsafe Project, this gathers data on cetaceans which will help develop strategies to protect them. Cornwall sadly receives the highest numbers of dead dolphin strandings each year, in response to this the Marine Strandings Network was set up to record these animals and retrieve them for post mortem examination. This BAP project aims to combine all the hard work which is currently ongoing and will seek to combine all information gathered. This will to help develop and implement management measures and/or activities to conserve these cetaceans and the ecosystem through working closely with the fisheries industry and consumers. Key areas to focus on are summarised below: • Inshore cetacean populations and cetacean bycatch around Cornwall, through effort based sightings and underwater acoustic monitoring at specific sites • Data from stranded animals through the Marine Strandings Network. • Testing of bycatch mitigation measures with inshore netters and promoting responsible fishing practices. Lead organisations include Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Marine Management Organisation, Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, and the commercial fishing industry. Key BAP species: • Minke whale • Sei whale • Fin whale • Common dolphin • Long-finned pilot whale • Risso's dolphin • Atlantic white-sided dolphin • White-beaked dolphin • Sowerby`s beaked whale • True`s beaked whale • Killer whale • Harbour porpoise • Sperm whale • Bottlenosed dolphin • Cuvier's beaked whale Dolphin watching. Photo by Joana Doyle 13 www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/conservation/living seas/Seaquest_southwest Page 22
Page 1 and 2: Cornwall’s Biodiversity Action Pl
Page 3 and 4: Contents Introduction 2 Background
Page 5 and 6: Introduction It is perhaps fitting
Page 7 and 8: Landscape Scale/Ecosystem approach
Page 9 and 10: Habitat targets Broad Habitat Acid
Page 11 and 12: BAP Volume 4: Priority Project List
Page 13 and 14: Cornwall Biodiversity Action Plan P
Page 15 and 16: Bodmin Moor Mires and Headwaters Bo
Page 17 and 18: China Clay Area The aim of this are
Page 19 and 20: Cornwall’s Super Green Spine (SGS
Page 21 and 22: Linking The Lizard The Lizard Penin
Page 23: Truro Development - Growth Point Tr
Page 27 and 28: Connectivity Landscapes are, by def
Page 29 and 30: Marine Atlas This broad project wil
Page 31 and 32: Orchards The county once boasted ex
Page 33 and 34: References BRERC (2006) Review of S
Page 35 and 36: SPECIES LIST TERRESTRIAL SPECIES Fu
Page 37 and 38: Chamaemelum nobile Cicendia filifor
Page 39 and 40: Pyrgus malvae Satyrium w-album Thec
Page 41 and 42: Bird Acrocephalus paludicola Aquati
Page 43 and 44: Lamna nasus Prionace glauca Raja un
Page 45 and 46: APPENDIX 3 Geographical Priority pr

Cornwall's Biodiversity Action Plan - Cornwall Wildlife Trust

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