Sanctuary 34
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Number 34 The Rt Hon John Reid MP Secretary of State for Defence arlier this year, the Government published Securing the Future, its strategy for Sustainable Development. The strategy commits all Government Departments to protect and enhance the environment and to consider the wider social and Eeconomic impacts of their activities in their policies, plans and projects. The Ministry of Defence has long been committed to achieving a sustainable estate. The maintenance of the UK’s defence capability relies on having continued access to an estate that supports military training. This training enables our servicemen and women to carry out operations to the standard of which we are all so rightly proud. The successful completion of the Defence mission is therefore totally dependent on having access to first class facilities that are sustainable into the future. For that reason, we are already making real progress in integrating military training and estate development with our responsibilities for natural and cultural heritage and for public access to the estate. But the Securing the Future strategy is helping us to redouble our efforts. We are building on our close relationship with the statutory nature conservation and heritage bodies, other government departments and a wide range of partners to ensure that our land management processes and procedures reflect the very best practice. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to record my thanks to the hundreds of volunteer members of Ministry of Defence Conservation Groups who support us in so many ways. Regular readers of Sanctuary will know the important contribution that these people make from their reports in Around the Regions. In this year, the ‘Year of the Volunteer’, their enthusiasm has not faltered and I am very grateful and impressed with their dedication and results. Front Cover: I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Sanctuary. King Penguins, Falkland Islands © Andy Rouse/Getty Images The King Penguin has its most northerly breeding colony on the Falkland Islands. Volunteer Point is home to between 200 and 300 birds which is a tiny fraction of the colony sizes found further south where they can be around 250,000 strong. They are arguably one of the most beautiful penguins, and their weatherproof and insulating plumage makes them The Rt Hon John Reid MP ideally suited to life on these rugged Secretary of State for Defence and beautiful islands. King Penguins remain in their rookeries year-round and MOD patrols regularly encounter them alongside the other three penguin species that call the islands their home. Welcome to elcome to Sanctuary 2005 and to the most varied and highly designated estate in the United Kingdom. Defence Estates is the Ministry of Defence’s land and property organisation, delivering construction and Wmaintenance services for the Armed Forces and associated Defence Agencies. The greater part of our £1.1bn annual budget is spent on maintaining and improving defence buildings and military structures on the estate. But, as the Secretary of State points out in his Foreword, a key task is to integrate the Government’s overarching objectives for sustainable development into our decision making and management - and at the same time ensure that we continue to deliver defence capability. The Secretary of State noted that this is the Year of the Volunteer and I want to acknowledge the work of the Conservation Groups with my thanks. Volunteering is dedication and I was particularly struck with the commitment shown by Major Nigel Lewis and the Imber Conservation Group with their Owl and Raptor Nestbox project. The results of 25 years of effort are outstanding, and I am pleased they have been recognised by the Sanctuary Award Board. On a sad note I have recently heard of the death of Bob Glover of the Foulness Conservation Group. His photographs of the birds of Foulness Island appeared in many copies of Sanctuary and his colleagues will miss him. Scientific and technical articles from our ecologists, members of Conservation Groups, staff in Universities and Museums, and colleagues in the statutory bodies and non-governmental organisations are a key component of Sanctuary. In this way we get fascinating reports on the unusual – the bugs of Castlemartin and insects on Lulworth, trees at Chicksands Priory, changes to the Samphire on the salt flats of the Wash and silt management at Bovington. Paul Toynton, Defence Estate’s first professional ecologist, retires this year but has found time to tell us about the re-introduction of the Great Bustard to Salisbury Plain. We wish Paul ‘all the best.’ And of course Andy Rouse’s contribution is wonderful – I can feel the climate of the Falklands from here! I value the relationships we have with external organisations and individuals and encourage my staff to foster them. The Sustainable Development in Government initiative is probably little known outside government circles. It includes a set of challenging targets for government departments covering the themes of energy, water, waste, travel, purchasing, estate management, biodiversity and social impacts (www.sustainable-development.gov.uk). So you will find articles on the Ministry of Defence Sites of Special Scientific Interest Condition Improvement Project, our response to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act and the Scottish Open Access Code, the potential impacts of climate change on biodiversity, and military heritage. Anyhow, I hope you like this new element – I am sure you will let the editor know if you don’t..!! My final thanks must go to the editor and to the designer for creating this edition. Caroline Frances-King picked up the task of finding material and editing articles for Sanctuary from April this year. Chris Roberts, the designer, works in the Ministry of Defence Public Relations Department. You have done a super job in bringing the estate to life in between these covers – dare I say it is the best yet? Vice Admiral Peter Dunt CB Chief Executive Defence Estates Sanctuary Magazine is printed on Greencoat Plus Velvet, which is 80% recycled fibre, 20% virgin pulp, and is totally chlorine free. THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE CONSERVATION MAGAZINE 1 The Ministry of Defence Conservation Magazine Number 34 - 2005 Editor Caroline Frances-King 30 32 ArtLandish Design for Defence Estates, Estate Strategy and Policy Designer Chris Roberts DGMC DPR (Publicity) Graphics 6 24 68 Printer Newgate Concise Bermondsey, London Editorial Board (Defence Estates) Alan Mayes - Chair Martin Coulson 12 14 Keith Maddison Julie Cannell Guy Hagg Editorial Address Sanctuary 4 80 81 Defence Estates Room 14, K Block MOD Foxhill Bath BA1 5AB e-mail: [email protected] 26 42 Sanctuary is a free publication. For further copies please write to: DSDC(L)3a Recurring Publications Mwrwg Road Llangennech 78 62 82 74 Llanelli SA14 8YP e-mail: [email protected] Sanctuary Magazine is an annual publication Submissions about conservation of the natural and historic Guidlines for contributors can be obtained by e-mailing the editor at: [email protected] environment on the Defence Estate. It illustrates Editorial proposals should be e-mailed to the editor. how the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is undertaking The opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Ministry of Defence. its responsibility for stewardship of the estate in Notwithstanding Section 48 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Ministry of the UK and overseas through its policies and Defence reserves the right to publish authors’ literary and photographic contributions to Sactuary their subsequent implementation. It is designed in further and similar publications owned by the Ministry of Defence. This is subject to contrary for a wide audience, from the general public agreement, which must be communicated to the editor in writing. Authors’ contributions will be to the people who work for us or volunteer as acknowledged with each and every publication. Maps in this publication are reproduced from the members of the MOD Conservation Groups. Ordnance Survey map, by Defence Estates, with the permission of the controller of Her Majesty’s It is produced for the MOD by Defence Estates, Stationary Offi ce, Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and the land and property agency of the MOD. may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence Number: GD3189G. Regulars 36 Dynamic dunes - bare sand and rare bugs 38 Marsh Fritillaries on the 1 Welcome to Sanctuary Castlemartin Ranges 4 The Sanctuary Awards 40 Salt marsh and sand fl ats a-wash with Samphire Features 41 Take nothing but photos 49 The Sandbowl Snail 6 The meaning of LIFE 54 Batty about old bunkers 18 Access opportunities on the 56 A surfeit of silt Defence Estate • Sediment on the move • Epynt Way - Haunt of the Horse • Public access at Warcop - a new approach 60 Woodbridge Airfi eld re-development works 26 Trafalgar - a mighty battle, a mighty outcome 62 Keeping the fairways green 42 For Queen and Countryside 64 Lakes - a pactical solution • The Drigg Coast SSSI at to a watery problem Eskmeals, Cumbria 67 Raptors and Owls on Salisbury Plain • Heathland restoration at Ash Ranges • SSSI Awards for MOD staff 68 Operation Kittiwake at Otterburn and Warcop 73 MOD Biodiversity Day 2005 50 The potential impact of climate change on biodiversity in the UK • Climate change and the MOD 70 The heritage of military aviation International Reports 74 The Falkland Islands 78 Expedition to the heart of Australia a unique perspective 80 The birds of Pera Marsh 81 Protecting the rare species of Cyprus On the Defence Estate 82 Eleonora’s Falcon breeding sites in Cyprus 12 Treasures of the ‘fi nely moulded downs’ 84 A ‘Green Machine’ in Germany 14 The return of the Great Bustard 24 Marvellous mini-beasties of the Dorset Heathlands 30 Martello Tower restoration Around the Regions 32 Chicksands - a haven for notable trees 86 Conservation Group Review 34 The Iron Age at Castlemartin 87 Conservation Group Reports The aim of the Sanctuary Awards is to encourage group and individual efforts that benefi t wildlife, archaeology, or community awareness of conservation on land that the MOD owns or uses, in the UK or overseas.