Wildlife In North Lancashire 2011 30th Annual Newsletter of the North Lancashire Naturalists Group Price £2.50 North Lancashire Naturalists Group Contents page The Group is a local group of the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Chairman’s Report 2 Manchester & N.Merseyside, primarily for members living in Editorial 3 the Lancaster City Council District and immediately adjacent areas of Lancashire, South Cumbria and North Yorkshire. Conservation and planning 3 Meetings are open to all members of the Wildlife Trust. If Reserves Reports 4 you are not already a member, come along to a few meetings Recorders list and Reports 10 and, if you like what we do, join us. Field Meetings 28 The Committee coordinates all the work of the Group and, in Miscellany 37 particular, arranges meetings, field outings, recording sessions, working parties on local reserves and the production of the annual Newsletter. The Recorders receive and collate records to help conserve interesting sites, to Chairman`s Report monitor changing numbers and distribution of species and to Well, this has been a rather damp year, especially during the contribute to national recording schemes. summer but, nonetheless, it has made little difference to our Our events and meetings are listed in the Wildlife Trusts activities as we have all been as busy as ever. Putting it in brochure ‘Wildlife What`s On’ which can be obtained locally perspective, however, last year we were all shrouded in from Heysham Nature Reserve (01524 855030) or by Email - snow, in comparison to the current mild weather of [email protected]. December and January. I cannot ever remember seeing daffodils in flower before Christmas day, but they were well For further information contact the Chairman, Mike Moon, E- away just up the road this year. mail [email protected] or telephone him on 01524 701163. Sadly, once again, I have to report the loss of another of our stalwarts. Brian Carlyle was our Lichen recorder, but his knowledge extended far beyond that particular area. If it was green(ish), didn't move and grew on a rock or a tree, Brian knew what it was. He was also a keen caver and NLNG Committee 2011 climber. His loss is all the more reason for us to find new, younger and active members for the society, and new Chairman Mike Moon members for the committee. Secretary Stefan Hobbs Jim Thomas says he has given his last report on bugs and Programme Sec. Jennifer Newton beetles, so it looks like we may have a further vacancy for a recorder, and we still need a recorder for bees and wasps; so Treasurer Chris Workman plenty to do! Ruth resigned from the Committee at the Minutes Secretary Cis Brook beginning of the year. Both these members have served NLN very well over the years, and both will be missed. Librarian Tony Ball So we now wait to see what 2012 has to offer, and to see Newsletter Editor Barbara Crooks what effect these stringent financial times may have on our Members Linda Renshaw local environment. Ruth Pollock Perhaps all this global warming will at last deliver us a warm Martin Sherlock summer for once! Mike Moon Webmaster Martin Sherlock Look at our website! Front Cover - Lady’s Slipper Orchids at Gait Barrows by www.nlng.co.uk Laura Sivell 2 Editorial and encourage readers to participate in the 2012 programme. So I hope people will check our website and I hope you enjoy reading this 30th edition of the Newsletter; find out what is going on this summer. Some of you may in itself a notable (if not silver or gold) anniversary. even like to write a short account of an event for our The Newsletter highlights what has been a busier year than Newsletter! usual for Trust staff, with the Morecambe Bay Wealth of The Newsletter could not be produced without many other Wildlife and the Hay Meadows Projects to manage. These people. I must therefore thank all the hard working two additional projects have led to the Trust working in Recorders and Trust staff who have provided me with their partnership with other organizations; in developing training Reports, and members who have agreed to write accounts workshops and volunteering opportunities, organizing events of some of our field outings. Special thanks must go to and advising about land management. The article about the Laura Sivell who does such an excellent job with the desk setting up of FAUNA, the new Nature Reserve in Lancaster, top publishing and to Jennifer Newton for her expertise and demonstrates the importance of such partnership links and sound advice. Thanks also go to John Holding for his help the helpful advice and practical assistance which can be and to everyone who has provided articles and given. photographs. Lastly, but not least, we are very grateful to There have, indeed, been far more events held in our area the LWT for allowing us to use their printing resources at this year than could possibly be reported in this newsletter, Preston. but I hope that there will be something to interest everyone Barbara Crooks Conservation and Planning 2011 so pipeline and cable routes are fairly predictable in this area. Looking back, wind turbine developments have dominated the past year, in particular, the Claughton Community We are finally developing a Trust Windfarm Policy and Windfarm proposals. The developers withdrew from the 20 application checklist specific to our geographic area; thanks turbine Public Inquiry at a late stage and then appealed to the input of a volunteer - retired planner, Mike Collier against the subsequent 13 turbine application before it was MRTPI. even determined. They withdrew their latest appeal in Still on the energy theme, EDF Energy is no longer required September 2011. Just when we hoped they had really gone to sell Heysham Power Stations, which we hope makes our away for good, they were back in touch with newly Heysham operation slightly more secure. On the Fylde, gas appointed ecological consultants wanting to discuss the way storage and fracking continue to be huge issues. The gas forward. We have suggested that they review the last 3 storage company Halite (previously Canatxx) has just years comments for a start and also referred them to the submitted its plans to the Infrastructure Planning recently published Forest of Bowland AONB Renewable Commission (IPC) after extensive public consultation. If Energy Position Statement, which makes it plain that this accepted for examination by the IPC, we will have 28 days to scale of development is inappropriate within the AONB. register in order to participate in the examination process. We are also starting to see an increase in applications for This will be the first IPC-determined case in Lancashire and large, single turbines on farms within the Bowland AONB, so hot on its heels is expected to be the Heysham-M6 link road we wonder if they are being targeted in some way. Heysham application. Both would previously have been determined is also another current hotspot with the BT turbine, close to by the relevant Local Planning Authority (County Council) Heysham Moss SSSI, having been approved recently. but the scale of project requires that the IPC process be Proposals for Heysham Harbour and the area south of the used as it is designed to speed up decisions on Major bypass are yet to be determined. Middleton Nature Reserve Infrastructure Projects. is being affected by the offshore wind developers requiring a Hydraulic fracturing of the gas-bearing Bowland Shales connection to the National Grid. DONG Energy is currently (fracking) has been tested at 4 locations on the Fylde this consulting with us regarding route options through the site year, but was halted early following seismic activity. and it is likely that further offshore schemes in Morecambe Cuadrilla Resources’ test rig has now moved to Banks in Bay will seek similar routes. On the Fylde, the only realistic West Lancashire, close to the Ribble Estuary. Reports into landfall is at Rossall School, cutting across the undeveloped the seismic activity have concluded that it was caused by the bit of the Fleetwood peninsula to the sub-station at Stanah; test drilling. The report is now with Government which has 3 to decide whether fracking can proceed to commercial Looking forward, 2012 seems set to be a milestone year with exploitation and, if so, what safeguards are required. lots of celebratory events planned. It will be this Trust’s Because fracking is new to the UK, it has been very hard to fiftieth anniversary, the centenary of the Royal Society of comment objectively on the likely environmental impacts, Wildlife Trusts and the Preston Guild, held once every 20 and the applications for test sites were carefully sized (below years. Within North Lancashire, we will start work on the 1ha) to avoid the need for Environmental Impact recently acquired Winmarleigh Moss SSSI which Assessments. Friends of the Earth’s National Energy complements our existing landholding at Cockerham. campaigner (Tony Bosworth) has briefed the Trust’s Exciting but challenging times lie ahead and we are very Conservation Committee and we are working to develop grateful for your continued support. both our understanding and a Position Statement on Kim Wisdom fracking. If it does move to commercial extraction, the environmental implications are potentially huge. Conservation Officer for North Lancashire Reserves Reports Reserves Offiver’s Report agricultural land and other privately owned parts of the SSSI. That said, the Trust are currently in negotiations with the The beginning of the year saw work commence on Duchy regarding the purchase of a further part of the Cockerham Moss with the first phase of scrub removal work Winmarleigh SSSI and we are hoping that 2012 may see an undertaken, as well as work to start developing the extension to our reserve, and an exciting step towards restoration plan for the site.