Our Managment and Biodiversity Action Plan and our Business and Enterprise Plan are now online. However they are currently only available in Acrobat PDF format.

The need for conservation woodland management

There is evidence that virtually all of Dartmoor was once covered in oak/birch forest. Only a few small areas of ancient woodland survive. Today the main areas of broadleaf woodland are in the valleys on the edge of the moor. The valley woodlands are mainly oak, and most were once managed as coppice for bark tanning, fuel and timber. Sadly these woods are now poorly managed and suffering from the pressure of grazing. They are no longer naturally regenerating and many trees are old and dying.

The traditional upland oakwoods of Dartmoor are normally dominated by oak with occasional hazel and rowan. They are important for insect eating birds such as the pied flycatcher, wood warbler and redstart, and for woodland mammals including woodmice, dormice, grey squirrels and badgers.

The broadleaf woodlands of Dartmoor once played a central part in the lives of locals. The woods provided timber, food and fuel and were therefore carefully managed. Traditional woodland management is no longer practiced on a large scale and it is now recognised that many woods, and their characteristic species of animals and plants, are threatened by neglect or by the introduction of invasive species. The National Park Authority is now actively encouraging conservation management of Dartmoors remaining woodland.

Having been planted as a conifer plantation, Steward Community Woodland currently bears little resemblance to the neighbouring oak woodland owned by the National Park Authority. While plantations provide habitat for birds not found commonly on the moor, such as Crossbill, Nightjar and Redpoll, little light penetrates the canopy. Therefore there are few ground layer plants and little habitat for native wildlife.

Steward Community Woodland has been heavily thinned of conifers by the previous owners and now provides habitat for a wide variety of insects, animals, flowers, ferns, mosses and lichens. With the canopy opened up there is now a great potential for conversion to broadleaf woodland. We aim to encourage natural regeneration, create new wildlife habitat and bring under control the invasive species.

For more information about our management plans or to get involved, please contact us.