Mouse to help save Wales’ woodland?
Following the appointment of Elin Jones AM as the Minister responsible for forestry in Wales, Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust) is calling on members and supporters in Wales to get clicking with their mouse to welcome her to her new position, and also to point out the urgency of restoring the thousands of acres of ancient woodland in Wales that have been planted with conifers.
Ancient woods are our richest, most important sites for a vast range of insects, birds, animals, flowers and trees and are home to more threatened species than any other UK habitat. Ancient woodlands are one of the glories of our natural heritage; they are places of inordinate beauty, reservoirs of evidence for environmental change, archaeology and economic history. We simply cannot afford to lose them.
But as a result of government policy, around 24,000 hectares of Wales’ ancient woodland was planted with non-native trees, mostly conifers, between the 1930s and the 1980s. Research shows that in the next ten years most of the conifers planted on ancient woodland sites will reach maturity. If they are felled and replaced with more conifers then the wildlife dependent on ancient woodland will not survive.
Elin Jones, the Plaid Cymru AM for Ceredigion, assumed ministerial responsibility for forestry at the beginning of October, as a result of the partnership agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru in the Welsh Assembly. Now Coed Cadw is urging supporters to email or write to her to welcome her to her new brief and to urge her use of her new position to make a real difference ancient woodland in Wales by introducing a policy of restoring those ancient woodland sites which have been planted with non-native trees. (As forestry is a devolved issue, it is best if supporters from outside Wales don’t contact Elin about this, but instead support one of our all-UK campaigns.)
Get clicking with your mouse (and keyboard) to help save Wales’ ancient woodland!
