Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI)

Valuable wildlife areas exist in many parts of Dorset outside of the protected Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

These, sometimes small and isolated pockets of undisturbed habitat, which are often found on farms and private land, form a valuable reservoir of wildlife which can provide links to the fragmented SSSIs.

The SNCI Project identifies these important sites as 'Sites of Nature Conservation Interest', collects data about the plants and animals surviving there and helps to protect them in a number of ways:

• We provide information to the local authorities so that they can take account of the wildlife importance of these sites in drawing up and implementing local plans, and when planning applications for individual developments arise.
• We inform the landowners about the important species and habitats on their sites, and encourage them to manage these sites in a way which is sympathetic to their particular wildlife interest. We offer free advice about the best management techniques for the different habitats, such as appropriate cutting or grazing regimes for grassland, coppice rotations and provision of dead wood in woodlands, management of hedgerows and field margins, restoration of ponds etc
• We try to help farmers to obtain grant aid for such environment-friendly land management by putting them in touch with the grant agencies and helping them to fill in the forms.

The main source of grant-aid over the last few years has been Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The system of agri-environment grants under which they have made payments to farmers has changed in the last two years. One of the challenges for the project has been to keep abreast of these changes and to help the farmers to understand the new system of Environmental Stewardship, which is fairly complex, and to assist them with the production of the necessary 'Farm Environment Plans' and with the application process.

We also organise workshops and practical demonstrations on ways in which landowners and managers can incorporate measures to encourage wildlife into their farming activities. Past events have been on field margins, hedgerow management, arable options under Environmental Stewardship, pasture management with horses, orchard management and flower-rich grassland management

Because we can't visit all our site owners very frequently, we also produce an annual newsletter which provides answers to particular management problems and gives information on various species and habitats, and useful contacts for other organisations.

Finally we use the information for campaigning and lobbying at local and national level for changes to farming practices and subsidies away from the 'agri-business' ethic of the last 20-30 years towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly system which will help to maintain the biodiversity of the county.

It is important to keep the information we hold on the wildlife interest of these sites as relevant and up to date as possible. To do this, we undertake a rolling programme of monitoring surveys, with the landowners' permission. There are approximately 1250 SNCIs in the county and the aim is to resurvey grassland sites about once every 5 years and woodland sites about once every 10 years, although in practice we don't quite manage this. A small number of new sites are also recognised each year, usually where farmers and landowners have approached us and asked us to survey areas of their land in order to help with possible grant applications

Note: SNCI recognition confers no rights of access whatever on a site beyond existing Public Rights of Way. 

Read the Green Linnet Online

Read the Green Linnet, our SNCI newsletter. Click on the image below to enlarge to full screen.

Flower Rich Meadow
on SNCI land

Management Problem
bracken encroaching on a hillside in West Dorset

Liaison Officer providing
on-site advice to a farmer

 Download the latest issue of the Green Linnet, the SNCI newsletter.