New strategy aims to reverse decline of North York Moors National Park natural habitats

Danby Park Wood, on the North York Moors.

The loss of natural habitats across North Yorkshire, including the North York Moors National Park, is to be countered by a new strategy drawn up as part of a national government programme to help to improve the environment and tackle climate change.

The strategy will focus not only on supporting wildlife and their habitats but also consider wider environmental and health goals, including managing flooding, helping with carbon emissions and access to nature.

North Yorkshire Council has been charged with overseeing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) which could see the creation of more wildflower meadows, tree planting, peatland restoration and wetland creation as well as opportunities for people to monitor species.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for climate change, Cllr Greg White, said: “We expect our strategy to be a powerful new tool that will help the public, private and voluntary sectors work more effectively together, and enable collective effort to be focussed where it will have the most benefit.

“Key to achieving this will be creating genuine local collaboration with a partnership of organisations and individuals so we will be working with our national park authorities, AONB partnerships, town and parish councils, community groups, local landowners and farmers to ensure we create a thorough plan for our county and address its needs to direct our future policies and ambitions.

“We will also consult our residents in the autumn – they know our landscapes better than anyone.

“We will not only concentrate on wildlife species but address the wider environmental goals of managing flooding, carbon dioxide emissions and improving our health and well-being.”