www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi there all
I have decided to open this thread to ask UKB'ers to report to me on this forum, or via PM, their experiences of the destruction of habitats, by local or other authorities, in their area.

I have listened to so many incidents reported on this forum, I have decided to compile a list of places and areas that have received such treatment.
So, I invite members to send details of the places and times that they have witnessed this destruction, together with the names of any plants, animals or insects on that site that have been destroyed by mowing or cutting-down of their habitats. Photographs of the destruction or species would also be appreciated.

Once we start to have a body of occurrences as evidence, I intend to campaign for such actions to be stopped and for the authorities concerned to acknowledge that our wildlife is of more value to the Public than a sterile lawn or mowed grass.

It may take a bit of time - but we have to start somewhere and make a stand on this issue, not least because our money is wasted in destroying what we pay to preserve elsewhere!

Thanks
Nick

hi Nick, i appreciate where you are coming from but from other standpoints some of the fantastic work that conservation bodies including butterfly conservation do for a particular species could be classed as that. it's a tough one to call. what if you are a short grass invertebrate species? they are creating nervana, if you're a pine hawkmoth or blairs shoulder knot or even some of our native ladybirds getting rid of conifer plantations is catastrophic. so how do you judge vandalism? every weekend i see and hear it in action with lawnmowers and strimmers in action in gardens all across the country occasionally in my very own (can i just add here that a manual push me pull you lawnmower that doesn't pick up clippings seems better for grasshoppers than alot of electric ones you are looking at the grass rather than where the darn cable is. but like i say i appreciate what you are trying to do and more power to your elbow as the saying goes.

Chris

Hi
I have never said that different areas can not be maintained within the Cemetery. Such as mowing a perimeter of 15m and leaving the central space to grow; or leaving just one or two, rotated areas, to grow-up leaving 2 of the 4 mown at any one time each year; just not mowing under all the trees to help the moths as well as the butterflies; etc, etc...I can go on with more options I have put-forward if you want... .
However, I am met with such intransigence to alter any management regime, despite years of discussion and meetings, that I feel I have to make a stand before anything other than mowing all growth every 2 weeks for half the year will be seriously considered.

....... It is not rocket science - the idea of managing to maximise biodiversity is exactly that. I know of one Nature Reserve that is managed sensitively in this way; not for one species or taxonomy but for as many species and taxons as possible. Mosaic management and fallow rotation are at the heart of this methodology....

I think people can do what they want in their garden; I am talking about a piece of consecrated ground in the City Centre, where one might expect some Christian compassion to be extended to the creatures living there!

N