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24
Sept
Nature recovery strategy for North Yorkshire to be drawn up
People in North Yorkshire are set to be consulted on ways to help nature recover in the county.
The government announced plans last year to create 48 Local Nature Recovery Strategies across all of England.
North Yorkshire Council was appointed as the responsible authority for the development of a strategy for North Yorkshire and York.
The council is expected to put forward proposals aimed at safeguarding and improving local nature by March 2025.
The strategy, which will go out to public consultation before being formally adopted, will identify the most vulnerable areas and come up with specific proposals to improve habitats to meet wider environmental goals.
North Yorkshire is home to five protected landscapes: Nidderdale National Landscape, Yorkshire Dales National Park, North York Moors National Park, Forest of Bowland National Landscape and Howardian Hills National Landscape.
The council has created a four-person team led by Tim Johns to develop its strategy.
Councillors are expected to receive a progress update at a meeting of the council's Local Access Forum tomorrow (September 25).
The 48 national strategies will be funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs but the sums allocated to each responsible authority have not yet been revealed.
We've witnessed a significant decline in the health of North Yorkshire and York’s natural environment. Despite some successes, the populations of most of our species have been in continuous decline for decades, mainly linked to the loss of the habitats they rely upon. These declines are due to complex factors, including pollution, pesticide use, disease, development, loss of traditional land management practices and climate change.
The Local Nature Recovery Strategy for North Yorkshire and York will help us reverse this nature loss by setting out where and how to manage land and water to create a network of nature-rich sites that are bigger, better managed and more joined-up across the county and across the country.
Finalised strategies next year are expected to propose actions such as the creation of wetlands, restoration of peatlands, planting of trees and hedgerows and more sustainable management of existing woodlands and other habitats, such as grasslands.
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