8-May-2006 - One of Cornwall’s
best salmon and sea trout rivers, the Fowey, is
to benefit from a pioneering partnership between
the Environment Agency and a group of farmers
on Bodmin Moor.
Traditional farming on Bodmin
Moor has included the drainage of wetlands and
ditches to improve grazing for livestock. The
opening up of ditches in some areas has resulted
in hundreds of tonnes of fine sediment being washed
into the River Fowey, smothering valuable fish
spawning grounds.
Environment Agency officers
have worked with local farmers to come up with
a solution to the erosion problem caused by ditching
work.
A major breakthrough came when
one landowner agreed to donate 50-acres of wetland,
bog and marsh bordering the headwaters of the
River Fowey. Previously trampled by livestock,
overgrazed and drained, the land was of low agricultural
value. There was the added problem of livestock
getting stuck in moorland bogs.
Using £20,000 of funding
from the European Cycleau Project, the area has
been fenced off to totally exclude all livestock
and create a valuable wetland habitat. The farmer
has agreed to maintain the 2.5 km fence following
negotiations with the Agency. In return his livestock
will be safe from boggy ground and he will no
longer need to drain ditches.
The major benefit from the project
is habitat improvement. As the area is no longer
grazed, it can develop into a healthy wetland,
safeguarding in-river flows into the River Fowey
– a nationally important salmon and sea trout
river.
‘We are delighted with the outcome.
The farmer has generously donated a significant
slice of land that was never really good grazing,
but which has tremendous value as a wetland as
well as protecting the ecology of the river. In
return, he no longer has to retrieve dead sheep
from bogs or spend money dredging ditches. It’s
a win win situation,’ said Mark Pilcher for the
Environment Agency.
