Cheshire’s ancient peatland to be restored

The Forestry Commission will 'rewet' the dried out meres and bogs of Delamere Forest.

Delamere's lost wetlands set for a big splash

January 2010. A new project has been launched to restore the lost meres and mosses on the Forestry Commission estate at Delamere Forest, near Northwich in Cheshire, which have been dry for up to 80 years.

The Forestry Commission and Natural England are spearheading plans for the re-wetting of Delamere in a bid to conserve the rare natural landscape and benefit important wildlife and plant species in the region.

Key wetland site
Made up of more than 100 peatland basins of different sizes, Delamere forms one of the key wetland sites in the UK and is internationally renowned for its unusual quaking bog sites, known as ‘schwingmoor'.

Unusual glacial origins
As result of the area's unusual glacial origins, it features a dense concentration of basins including Linmer Moss, Hatch Mere and Flaxmere Moss Ramsar and Abbots Moss and Oakmere Special Areas of Conservation. But these watery havens have been hidden beneath soil and trees for decades.

2000 hectares of wetland recovery
The work to re-wet them is all part of Natural England's £4 million Wetland Vision which will fund almost 2,000 hectares of wetland recovery projects in the next two years.

Forestry Commission Wildlife Ranger at Delamere Forest, Oliver Thompson, says: "We're enhancing the environment by returning the land to its natural former state. It used to be much wetter here and by restoring the meres and mosses, rare plants and other associated wildlife will be able to thrive once more.

"Visitors will be able to see the work as it happens and we'll be putting up four special interpretative boards explaining exactly what is going on. We want people to know it's not just a boggy area - it's an important conservation site that without this important work would be lost forever."

Natural England Wetland vision monies will be matched by funding from the Forestry Commission, Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Cheshire BAP Partnership to restore a total of 33 hectares of basin fen in four key sites by raising water levels.

Delamere Forest
Delamere Forest, which is managed by the Forestry Commission lies at the heart of the area. Drained and completely afforested in the early 1900s many of the basin peat lands in Delamere Forest were forgotten about.

Blakemere Moss
However their conservation value was recognised following a successful flagship project involving the restoration of Blakemere Moss in the late 1990s. Blakemere has since become an excellent habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and is particularly popular with ornithologists.

Butterflies and newts to benefit
Work has now begun to remove conifers from these basins and install dams to re-wet them. A wide range of rare species will benefit from the project. Over time it's hoped the new habitats will provide homes for species such as diving beetles, white faced darter butterflies, the locally scare green hairstreak butterfly and great crested newt.
Wetlands can also benefit the public by providing a natural water store to help prevent flooding. The first part of the Delamere project will be finished by March 2011, but the work will be ongoing. A working group will oversee the programme and explore opportunities for further wetland landscape restoration in the Delamere area.

Other wetland projects to receive funding during the next two years include the East Anglian fens, Humberhead Levels, Morecambe Bay Wetlands, the Somerset Levels and the River Till in Northumberland.