OUR SHARED FOREST Forest of Dean land management plan A consultation draft January 2019 Section name 1 2 Tel 0300 067 4800 www.forestry.gov.uk CONTENTS PAGE Our vision 4 Introduction 6 Trees and woodlands 10 Wildlife and wild spaces 16 Geology and soils 22 Water 28 Cultural heritage 34 Built heritage and archaeology 38 Community 42 Recreation 46 Photos courtesy of: The Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association - www.wyedeantourism.co.uk Section name 3 OUR VISION 4 Tel 0300 067 4800 www.forestry.gov.uk TO NURTURE A SHARED FOREST UNLIKE ANY OTHER By allowing the decisions we take to be guided by the potential of the land, as well as the varied influences of our ever-changing world, we will create a diverse and inclusive forest that is a global example of what can be achieved through forward-thinking forestry. Section name 5 INTRODUCTION 6 Tel 0300 067 4800 www.forestry.gov.uk OUR PAST AND PRESENT Th’varest is ower wum which is weshed by them there rivers and vur zum time the varester allus kips izzelf to izzelf. Varum th stwuns, oods and ‘ills of these yer varest the varester byunt afeared of workin vur therzelves. We bin proud to zarve our varest land which is zo zed part of thic country of long eared uns, we byunt welsh either, we be varesters. Forest Dialect - Derek Yemm The Forest of Dean is a historic forest with and the scrub has taken over following the its origins as a royal forest pre-dating the steady decline in sheep grazing. Norman Conquest of 1066. The Forest has been Commoning of sheep is one of the historically isolated and bypassed, sitting as it long-standing cultural traditions in the Forest does between the Rivers Severn and Wye, on that is in danger of collapse in the modern era the border of England and Wales. due to a lack of people taking up the tradition. The Forest has long been used for its timber Freemining is another tradition unique to the as well as its rich mineral resources of iron Forest, and although there are several active ore, sandstone and coal. While the industrial mines it is still at risk going forward. nature of the Forest was at its height during the late 19th and early 20th Century, quarrying of The Foresters’ stone and timber production are still important Forest programme aspects of the local economy today. The Forest The Forest is much loved and cherished is scattered with a rich legacy of built heritage, by the Foresters and the local community, ranging from scheduled monument remains of but what is important about the Forest is iron works and furnaces through to hundreds not well understood, nor its historic roots of mine entry points and miles of disused valued - and this – and this was a driving force tramways and railways. behind a Heritage Lottery Funded Landscape Partnership Programme for the Forest of Dean. The Forest was the first National Forest Park, designated in 1938. Tourism has slowly Foresters’ Forest is a community-led developed, but has only recently become programme of 38 different projects delivering economically important for the area, with activity in support of our built, natural and significant growth in employment in the cycling cultural heritage. and overnight accommodation sectors. While Foresters’ Forest is hosted and fully The Forest is also a stronghold for nature, supported by the Forestry Commission, its with large areas of woodland and open space scope is much wider than land management providing a mosaic of habitats for a range of and the public forest estate. species. Of particular note are the colonies of However, we are committed to taking the Greater and Lesser Horseshoe Bats, the largest learning from Foresters’ Forest and embedding colonies of these bats in Europe. The Forest is it, where appropriate, in Our Shared Forest. also well known for its woodland and heathland In that respect, Our Shared Forest will be birds and invertebrates. However, the richness very much part of the Foresters’ Forest of these habitats has been in decline as the enduring legacy. open spaces in the Forest have become less, Introduction 7 THE FUTURE The Forest has a scale, diversity and a continuity of management over time that supports a depth and breadth of habitats and species that is on a par with, or better than, many celebrated national nature reserves and protected landscapes. Our Shared Forest is a project to reshape and We want to seize the opportunity to shape redirect our land management – to set a new our future Forest together. We have – and you direction for the public forest estate here in have – the opportunity to think about what we the Dean. want the Forest to look like, feel like, be like in a 100 years time. The world is changing, it always has. The climate is changing, it always has. Society is We are searching for an agreed, understood, changing, it always has. But the pace of change and supported direction from which we, the is speeding up, and the impacts on our Forest Forestry Commission, will create the more over the next generation of trees and people detailed Forest Plans that will direct the will be profound. operational activity in the decades ahead. At the heart of the plan will be an agreed vision: TO NURTURE A SHARED FOREST UNLIKE ANY OTHER. By allowing the decisions we take to be guided by the potential of the land, as well as the varied influences of our ever-changing world, we will create a diverse and inclusive forest that is a global example of what can be achieved through forward-thinking forestry. That vision will be supported by six primary ‘Principles of Land Management’ covering: • Trees and woodlands We also recognise that how people use the Forest is of fundamental importance, so the • Wildlife and wild spaces plan has two secondary ‘Principles of Land • Geology and soils Management’ for: • Water • Community • Cultural heritage • Recreation • Built heritage and archaeology 8 TelIntroduction 0300 067 4800 www.forestry.gov.uk YOUR VIEWS We would like to hear your views on the vision, and the eight ‘Principles of Land Management’, which are all Each of these principles of land management sets out the important characteristics of ‘what included within this document. have we got now’, identify the key targets or the future, ‘where do we want to get to’, This plan has been developed and then set out key commitments for through a series of workshops ‘what we are going to do’. with key groups such as our staff, There are also a number of key national delivery partners and stakeholders principles and strategies which have helped such as councilors and community set the context: representatives. • Principles of the European Landscape This is your opportunity to be Convention regarding local culture, quality of life, social well-being and transformation involved in the development of of landscapes. an ambitious long-term vision for the Forest’s future and set • Sir John Lawton’s ‘Making Space for Nature’ report recommending ‘more, bigger, better out new approaches to forestry and joined up’. and land management. • The DEFRA 25 Year plan which sets a plan to What do you value that you ‘leave our environment in a better state than want to maintain or enhance? when we found it’. • Forest Enterprise England’s strategy to What don’t you like? ‘connect everyone everywhere with the What do you want to change nation’s forest’. in the future? • Gloucestershire’s Local Nature Partnerships recognition of the Forest of Dean as a ‘Nature Improvement Area’. • Concerns identified in the Forest of Dean and GET Lower Wye Valley National Character Area INVOLVED Profile around climate change and reduction of open space habitat. AND HAVE • Forest of Dean Landscape YOUR SAY Character Assessment. www.forestryengland.uk/ oursharedforest Introduction 9 TREES AND WOODLANDS WHERE ARE WE NOW? The Forest of Dean is one of England’s largest areas of woodland. Its scale, coupled with its long and intricate history, and the complexity of the underlying geology and diversity of soils, gives a uniquely varied and important woodland resource. The Dean is not all ancient woodland, as many Subsequently, the 1808 Dean Forest (Timber) areas have been cleared of trees for industry Act was passed. Accompanied by a renewed or agriculture since 1600. Nor is it all natural administrative vigour so the Forest was woodland as many thousands of trees have systematically inclosed and planted up. The been planted over many hundreds of years; trees planted were primarily oak, but other nor is it all native woodland, as many exotic species including conifers were also used and species have been planted over the last 200 the Forest became a test bed for new methods years. But those contradictions are largely and approaches. The 19th century plantations irrelevant, as the longevity of woodland in were accompanied by drainage and fencing on a this landscape has given rise to a diverse and scale not seen before. intimate mix of trees and related species of plants, insects and animals that has national In the 20th century, the Forestry Commission importance in its own right. came into being with the task of establishing the strategic reserve of timber, and a renewed The Dean is, and always has been, a productive energy was brought to planting and tending landscape, a working Forest. Timber has always tree crops. Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, been prominent, finding use as firewood, different eras saw fast growing conifers charcoal and construction timbers for ships, favoured over the oak stands, until that too was houses and furniture.