Witherslack Mosses

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Witherslack Mosses
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
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Location Cumbria, England
Coordinates 54°14′10″N2°50′22″W / 54.2362°N 2.8395°W / 54.2362; -2.8395 [1]
Area486 ha (1,200 acres)

Witherslack Mosses are a fragmented wetland west of the Kent estuary in Cumbria, England, within the Lake District National Park. They consist of three raised bogs, the remnants of a formerly extensive, estuarine bog, which have been protected under the Habitats Directive as a Special Area of Conservation. [1]

Contents

The site was designated an SAC in 2005. The bogs were already individually protected as nature reserves in the care of Cumbria Wildlife Trust and, under UK legislation, as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Restoration

All three bogs have retained some of the original dome structure, characteristic of raised bogs. However, each has been degraded by drainage and by peat-cutting around the edges. Restoration work has been carried out since the late 20th century. This has reversed afforestation and associated drainage work. [6]

In 2022 land adjacent to Nicholls Moss was bought in order to extend the reserve. [5]

Public access

Parking for Foulshaw Moss is just off the A590 (westbound).

Work to improve access to Foulshaw Moss Foulshaw Moss.jpg
Work to improve access to Foulshaw Moss

Raised water levels, as a result of bog restoration work, adversely affected public access to Meathop Moss and Foulshaw Moss around 2012, and the boardwalks had to be relaid.

Fauna

The mosses are known for their invertebrates. [7] The restoration of the wetland has seen species returning, notably:

Related Research Articles

National nature reserves in England were established by English Nature, now Natural England, which manages them either directly or through non-governmental organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or the National Trust.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cumbria, England. It runs more than 40 nature reserves, and aims to broaden the awareness and knowledge of the wildlife in the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burns Bog</span> Peat bog in Delta, British Columbia

Burns Bog is an ombrotrophic peat bog located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest raised peat bog and the largest undeveloped urban land mass on the West Coast of the Americas. Burns Bog was originally 4,000–4,900 hectares before development. Currently, only 3,500 hectares remain of the bog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve</span> Nature reserve in England and Wales

Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve (NNR) which straddles the border between England and Wales, near Whixall and Ellesmere in Shropshire, England and Bettisfield in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It comprises three peat bogs, Bettisfield Moss, Fenn's Moss and Whixall Moss. With Wem Moss and Cadney Moss, they are collectively a Site of Special Scientific Interest called The Fenn's, Whixall, Bettisfield, Wem & Cadney Moss Complex and form Britain's third-largest lowland raised bog, covering 2,388 acres (966 ha). The reserve is part of the Midland Meres and Mosses, an Important Plant Area which was declared a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1997. It is also a European Special Area of Conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkshire Wildlife Trust</span>

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charitable non-governmental organisation, one of the UK's 46 county-based Wildlife Trusts. Its focus is nature conservation and it works to achieve a nature-rich Yorkshire with healthy and resilient ecosystems that support both Yorkshire's wildlife and its people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Fen</span> Habitat restoration project in England

The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in England. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve (NNR), Holme Fen NNR and other nature reserves to create a larger site with conservation benefits for wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westhay Moor</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest

Westhay Moor is a 513.7-hectare (1,269-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) north-east of Westhay village and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Wedmore in Somerset, England, notified in 1971. Westhay Moor is also notified as part of the Somerset Levels and Moors Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive and as a Ramsar site, and a National Nature Reserve.

The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve located to the west of the town of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Like other mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subject to certain development and agricultural degradation pressures. For example, the Great Crested Newt was found here prior to the expansion of the town of Portlethen. Many acid loving vegetative species occur in Portlethen Moss, and the habitat is monitored by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cors Caron</span> Raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales

Cors Caron is a raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales. Cors is the Welsh word for "bog". Cors Caron covers an area of approximately 349 hectares. Cors Caron represents the most intact surviving example of a raised bog landscape in the United Kingdom. About 44 different species groups inhabit the area including various land and aquatic plants, fish, insects, crustaceans, lichen, fungi, terrestrial mammals and birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Bog</span>

Clara Bog is one of the largest relatively intact raised bogs remaining in Ireland. It lies southeast of the R436 regional road between the village of Ballycumber and the town of Clara, in County Offaly. Much of the bog is state-owned and managed as a nature reserve covering some 460 ha. A Special Area of Conservation covers 836 ha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flanders Moss</span> Area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Stirling, Scotland.

Flanders Moss is an area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Forth in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. The villages of Thornhill and Port of Menteith lie to the north with the villages of Kippen and Buchlyvie lying to the south. The moss is a National Nature Reserve, managed by NatureScot. Formed on the Carse of Stirling over 8000 years ago, it is an internationally important habitat currently undergoing active restoration. The eastern part of Flanders Moss is the largest raised bog in Europe to remain in a predominantly near-natural state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meathop and Ulpha</span> Human settlement in England

Meathop and Ulpha is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha, in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. Historically in Westmorland, it is located 3.6 miles (5.8 km) north east of Grange-over-Sands, 10.6 miles (17.1 km) south west of Kendal and 64.0 miles (103.0 km) south of Carlisle, between the confluence of the River Kent estuary and the River Winster. In 2001 it had a population of 143, increasing slightly to 154 at the Census 2011. It included the village of Meathop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witherslack</span> Human settlement in England

Witherslack is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha, in the Westmorland and Furness district, in the south of Cumbria, England. It lies on the north eastern side of Morecambe Bay, England. The eastern side of the village borders Whitbarrow Scar with Yewbarrow, which is a small limestone hill, located in the centre of the village.

Gwent Wildlife Trust (GWT) is a wildlife trust covering the area between the lower Wye and Rhymney rivers which forms the vice county of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. It is a registered charity and a member of the Wildlife Trusts Partnership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meathop Moss</span>

Meathop Moss is a raised bog located north of Meathop in Cumbria, England. Protected as a nature reserve by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Meathop Moss is notable for its insect life. In 1965 it was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Along with two other raised bogs near the Kent estuary, it has been included in the Witherslack Mosses Special Area of Conservation which was designated in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foulshaw Moss</span>

Foulshaw Moss is a raised bog in Cumbria, England. In 1998 it was bought by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, which has worked to reverse damage caused to the bog by drainage and afforestation. It is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and as part of the Witherslack Mosses Special Area of Conservation along with two smaller bogs Meathop Moss and Nichols Moss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blawhorn Moss</span>

Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog located to the northwest of the village of Blackridge, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of Armadale in the council area of West Lothian in central Scotland. It is the largest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians, and has been a National Nature Reserve since 1980. It is owned and managed by NatureScot, the public body responsible for Scotland's natural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve</span> National nature reserve in northern Scotland

Forsinard Flows is a national nature reserve (NNR) covering much of the area surrounding Forsinard in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies at the heart of the Flow Country, a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland area of Caithness and Sutherland that makes up almost 5% of the world's blanket bog. The reserve is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and is designated a Category II protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Much of the NNR overlaps with the designated area of the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moine Mhòr</span> Area of raised bog in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Moine Mhòr encompasses a large area of raised bog in the Kilmartin Glen area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. As well as raised bog there are areas of saltmarsh, brackish grassland, alder carr, fen and woodland, and the variety of habitats at Moine Mhòr provide important habitats for a variety of animal and plant species. The area was declared a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1987, and is now owned and managed by NatureScot. According to NatureScot lowland raised bogs like Moine Mhòr are some of the rarest and most threatened natural wildlife habitats in Europe, due to removal of peat, afforestation and reclamation of farmland.

References

  1. 1 2 "Witherslack Mosses (Site UK0030302)". European Environment Agency . Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  2. Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Retrieved November 2013
  3. "Meathop Moss". Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  4. Nichols Moss, Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Retrieved November 2013
  5. 1 2 Hodges, M. "Help and support to local farmers who are looking to undertake environmental work comes as Cumbria Wildlife Trust given funds to widen peat restoration in the county". The Mail.
  6. Amodeo, Christian. "Cumbria's largest peatbog restored.(Foulshaw Moss)(Brief Article)." Geographical (UK). Circle Publishing Ltd. 2004. Accessed via HighBeam Research. 27 Dec. 2012.
  7. "Meathop Moss" (PDF). English Nature . Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  8. "Rare dragonflies hatch at reserve following reintroduction". The Guardian . 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  9. Murphy (May 2014). "Ospreys seen at new site". Westmorland Gazette . Retrieved 6 July 2014.