Management Plans

Much time is spent by the present brood of conservation office workers on compiling and updating management plans, writing reports and conducting surveys all of questionable value. Yet management plans can achieve a biblical status. If you question what is being done you may be referred to these documents and told that you should have raised any concerns when they were being compiled.

Well, much good it would have done you. And anyway there is a strong sense that nobody is going to scrutinise the implementation of the plans despite much time and public money having gone into their production. An example presents itself at the far north west end of Blacka near the small Stony Ridge car park. Here there is a fascinating piece of woodland with some excellent wildly characterful trees, the woodland known in maps as Strawberry Lee Plantation. Here you will find pine and birch and alder all uniquely attractive to groups of mammals and birds and humans because it is surrounded by the dreaded rhododendron. For once this shrub does a valuable job sheltering the woodland from cruel and persistent winds. In SWT's current management plan this is acknowledged partly perhaps as a response to some of us reminding them of this. The plan says that any removal of rhododendron will be limited in order to maintain this value and will be on the inside of the wood, as visitors do quite like the flowers when they come in May. But a few weeks ago SWT came along, presumably with some time to spare and not much idea of how to spend it, and hacked away at the outside of the rhododendron belt leaving a much reduced opportunity for the flowers to be viewed, but, even worse, a generally scarred appearance that is at odds with the balanced words written in the management plan

As the management plans says:

For the period of this plan therefore, efforts should concentrate on the control of spreading rhododendron on the heathland from the woodland; the removal, and clearance adjacent to the footpath running parallel to Hathersage Road, so as to retain good sightlines and a wide route; the control of rhododendron in Strawberry Lee Plantation by removing from the inside of the woodland to prevent further encroachment; and the removal of isolated patches of rhododendron (present in Blacka Plantation and within the heathland compartment)

No wonder our fingers are crossed when they turn up with their trucks and volunteers in the mornings.

In the Woods

Spring this year has brought a profusion of wood sorrel. It's everywhere, in carpets on the wood floor, and in little niches in among stones and fallen branches. But along by the stream through the woodland there are other delights . Some of these are at their best when not quite fully open.

In-Between Times

Spring is the most dynamic in-between time. Blink and a phase has passed. There is no point when you can look at the landscape and say this is what spring is like. Two days on and there's a difference.

New leaves at certain stages allow just enough light through to persuade you that it's neither one thing nor another. Early morning light is best when birch leaves and catkins are transformed into natural jewellery.

The new hawthorn leaves don't quite conceal the lichens which were the feature of the previous month.

Lining Up

I know they don't last long but by the time they spread into the general milkiness of the sky some more come along. The sky is a priceless asset for those who look at natural beauty. But the sky belongs to no one owner. Would I be allowed to paint all over the outside of St Paul's Cathedral if the paint wore off in a couple of hours?

Residents

You treat a place with respect for those who live there. Some days you may see them and some days not. It's not just the animals themselves. They are so large that they leave obvious marks of their presence. Deer tracks through bracken and through the woods and across streams are particularly clear at this time of year. Being shy creatures they prefer their own routes to those made by us.

In this they are a complete contrast to the cattle that SWT are again bringing on site soon. That's a great pity and utterly indefensible when so many deer are present. The operation is a tasteless reduction of one of the few places with a sense of wildness into another farmed and managed property. What an opportunity here to let wild animals and wild landscapes have their head. Bringing farm animals and farm regimes onto this land compromises the true value of Blacka represented by deer and other wild mammals in the interest of centrally provided grants usually aimed at satisfying the extreme and prescriptive wing of the bird lobby. What a disappointing and unimaginative grazing project implemented by timid people who can't look beyond the off-the-peg 'solution'. Here today the place is uniquely home to animals that would have been here a thousand years ago making their own impact on the landscape and its vegetation, but because they are not part of their sterile management plan the conservation bureaucracy are stuck with their inflexible policy. So much for wildlife trusts. Perhaps they should be called tamelife trusts.

On another subject relating to the deer, the hinds seen today look in really good condition with smart red coats while the stags in two other places have still a scruffy air about them. I assume the moult is now well ahead but much energy is going into new antler growth. Meanwhile some at least of the hinds will be feeding two, though hormones contribute to the healthy appearance..

Blackthorn

There's something special about the white blossom of Blackthorn. It would be less noticeable when the Rowan and Hawthorn dominate but it's bold enough to get in early when rough winds and colder nights are still the rule. And the shapeliness of the individual flowers is no less impressive than the overall magic of large spreads of blossom in the hedgerow. Truly a class act.

Woodland Opportunists

The white flowers of spring on the floor of the woods take their chance before deep shade takes over. Soon the heavy foliage will dominate but this is one of those special in between times when some species come into their own. Near the stream by Shorts Lane you can see both the Wood Anemone (above) with its more feathery leaves and the Wood Sorrel with its habit of folding wings.

Planted daffodils are becoming more common and must not be allowed to dominate. Wild daffodils are one thing but it's becoming more of a thing for those with a few spare bulbs to put them in any patch of land. This changes the character of our wilder places so that when you do see genuine wild plants it's no longer a special sight.