Natural England, in collaboration with Clinton Devon Estates, has announced today (Thursday 13 May), a new National Nature Reserve (NNR) for the vitally important East Devon Pebblebed Heaths near Exeter.
East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, stretching between the village of Woodbury towards Budleigh Salterton on the Jurassic Coast, is the latest site in the county to join the UK’s list of nationally and internationally important landscapes.
The management partners are the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust and the RSPB. A new board, under the chairmanship of Chris Woodruff, the manager of the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership, will guide and advise the partners in the management of the new NNR.
Recognition of the 1,160 hectare site as a NNR both protects and establishes East Devon Pebblebed Heaths’ important habitats, species and geology, and provides an ‘outdoor laboratory’ for research.
The new NNR will make up a part of the wider Nature Recovery Network to significantly expand and connect wildlife rich places to benefit people and nature. At the heart of the heaths is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and the site is also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA).
A biodiversity audit in 2016 documented more than 3,000 species across the range of habitats on the heaths – and more than 10% of these have been shown to have high conservation value. Among the key species which benefit from the habitats the heaths provide are Dartford warblers, nightjars and the southern damselfly.
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Posted On: 14/05/2021