The management there
(Solway/Wigtown) is the tide...we are trying to turn back the tide of natural progression. Which in simple terms...would turn a marsh land( reedbed) into a oak woodland in 30 years . We are constantly working with and sometimes against nature. If the Trust wanted a scrubby damp woodland then we could leave the Moors alone. The Flashes can manage itself in one sense, ie the salt will kill off the non salt tolerant plant species. Unfortunately to maximise the habitat for waders, we have to manipulate the water levels. We also now have to ensure that the natural succession of the encroaching reeds doesn't encircle the whole of the open shoreline. The islands which are above the salt line will be choked by dominant species such as docks and teazel. This will in a short time curtail any breeding by waders.
So all in all we could leave it to nature and within 3 years there would be no breeding waders, terns or ducks but we would probably have more reed warblers. But you wouldn't see anything on the Flashes and wader passage would be a thing of the past. Blue tits and corvids would proliferate in the new Moors woodland and coot and moorhens would also increase in the few remaining areas of wetland.
Most of our work goes on just keeping the status quo, This last couple of years have seen a lot of woodland management and its this that causes most of the consternation at present. In simple terms when you coppice or pollard a tree you are prolonging its life and at the same time you are opening up the surrounding area. This in turn allows the flora to become more diverse which in turn increase the insect life and ultimately provides more food for more nesting birds. The structural diversity of the resultant scrub and woodland provides more diverse nesting opportunities for a wide range of species.and also increase butterfly populations.
I have gone on a bit, but I feel very passionate about the whole reserve and I cannot understand how there can be so much opposition to what we are trying to and in most cases achieving from our endeavours.
Suffice to say that if we stopped the work parties for just one year a great deal would be lost.
Its not for me to say how other people feel but a personal sense of making that difference is enough for me to continue until I am physically unable to do so. I could go on but even after 28 yerars there is always something new to learn about Upton.
B
John