Opportunities Plan
The aim of the New Native Woodlands for Nidderdale AONB Opportunities Plan was to identify priorities for new native woodlands which would complement the AONB’s landscape and lead to an increase in native woodland cover. The objectives of the plan included:
- Promotion of the restoration of native woodland on ASNW
- Addressing the fragmentation of existing ASNW sites
- Enhancing the conservation value of moorland SAC/SPA by increasing gill woodland
- Reinforcing the landscape character of the AONB
- Enhancing the visual amenity of AONB landscapes
- Creating new opportunities for recreation
Through methodical research which included liaison with governmental and non-governmental agencies, corporate bodies, and other consultancies; a questionnaire targeting private landowners and a literature review, Rural Development Initiatives considered baseline information, the policy context of woodland management, landscape character, the ecological context, the criteria for native woodland establishment and funding opportunities in order to compile a plan which identified those factors which would most contribute to, or adversely affect, a strategy of native woodland creation. The report was supplemented by information from a GIS survey, thus mapping those areas where the focus of attention should be targeted to establish the range of woodland types in the most appropriate locations.
