Yesterday I posted a blog on what looks like potentially damaging woodland management operations in Denton Wood, Northants.
Here is the link to what the FC say managers should do to avoid breaking the law with regard to Great Crested Newts, and here are some of the things it says:
3 Forest operations and great crested newts – avoiding committing an offence
A systematic approach will be required in order to minimise the risk of committing an offence. This guidance is structured around the following five stages:
- Are great crested newts present in the wood? – we know, and so do FC, that there is a large Great Crested Newt population on the adjacent and contiguous MoD land so the expectation is ‘yes’. What surveys were undertaken in this wood? What are their results?
- Could proposed activities and operations potentially cause damage, disturbance or harm to the species? – yes, particularly at this time of year. That’s why May is shaded orange in this document and June is shaded red. The FC document states ‘Carrying out any operations that do not comply with the good practice guidance carry a significant risk of committing an offence
if your woodland supports great crested newts. Operations that have the potential to cause damage, disturbance or harm to newts include: Felling/thinning carried out mechanically by a harvesting machine in newt habitat.‘.
- Are operations in habitats this species uses and when the species uses them? – yes, right up to a pond. The FC document states ‘Once breeding ponds and potential resting places have been identified these will need to be mapped and incorporated in to both your operational plans as well as your long-term woodland management plan. You may choose to avoid the areas identified, or alternatively proceed with management in these areas in accordance with the good practice described in this document.’. Has FC done this?
- Are other parts of the woodland being managed using good practice for great crested newts? – yes, other bodies working in this area check their work with Natural England, did FC do this?
- When and how should I seek a licence? – did FC seek a licence?
The FC document states, ‘Thinning/felling – phase any work near a pond used by great crested newts over several years, so that within key areas of habitat only 25% of the area is affected in any one year. The undisturbed areas will act as reserves of ‘refugia’ from which newts can colonise any worked areas as they become more suitable.‘ – is this being done?
The FC manage woodland elsewhere in the Yardley Chase SSSI and are well aware of the richness of this area (generally) for Great Crested Newts.
The FC receive the annual conservation report for Yardley Chase which includes Denton Wood.
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