Briefing note on progress – May 2009
The Exmoor Mire Restoration Project is working to re-wet dry and damaged peatlands in the uplands of Exmoor. The 4 year partnership project started work in 2006 and is managed by Project Officer Dr. David Smith with overall control via the Partnership Steering Group.
Progress- The continuing restoration has addressed moorland drainage within 11 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering 1096 ha. This includes areas owned by Exmoor National Park Authority and privately owned moorlands. Over 40 km of ditch has been blocked with 12,000 bales and 3,500 dams. As a result over 270 hectares of damaged mire has been re-wetted. The restoration costs of £160,000 so far have been met from the Mire Project budget and Natural England’s Exmoor Environmental Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme.
The need for action - Climate change is likely to increase the drying out of peatlands in the South West region resulting in:
- loss of SSSI wetland habitat and associated BAP species
- degradation of the peat and loss of carbon into the atmosphere
- drying out of archaeology and palaeo-ecology on the moors
- damage to moorland river hydrology and ecology with associated problems of erosion, drying out in summer, flooding and loss of key species and diversity.
What the project does –
- keeps rainwater on the moors for longer
- helps to keep rivers in good quality
- keeps local contractors busy with work
- provides summer drinking water for stock on the moors
- reduces the risk of devastating wildfires on the moors
What the project does not do –
- increase the risk of flooding down stream (the dams built all small and many and they reduce the risk of flooding by storing water on the moors).
- make the moors to wet to walk or ride on. The restoration work can actually make pathways dryer by diverting water away from them.
- make the moors too wet for stock and ungrazable. The restoration work can help to diversify moorlands and provide better grazing.
Award winning- The projects achievement in helping to devise a new way of reducing flooding has been recognised nationally by the Water Industry in a prestigious award for the best “Sustainable Urban Drainage & Flood Management Initiative of the Year -2009”.
The Future - A joint South West moorlands partnership funding bid has been made to The Water Regulator (OFWAT) under the Periodic Review 2009 (PR09). This will hopefully provide 5 more years of funding to carry on the restoration work on Exmoor, Dartmoor and other areas in the South West such as Bodmin moor.