Had this response from CWT:
Thank you for your email.
The management work at Red Rocks Marsh, as agreed with and funded by, Natural England (the government’s official conservation body), is intended to enhance the features for which the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is designated. The citation for the site includes the sand dunes and their associated flora, and the amphibians, notably natterjack toads, in the open brackish slacks (small pools within the dune system). The breeding habitat for the toads should be considerably improved by this project. The site remains the only known location for natterjack toads in Cheshire & Wirral. The site is not notified for its nesting birds although the designation notes that it is important for migrants.
Along with natterjack toads, the reserve is also a key migration stopover point for birds arriving in the UK in spring and autumn, and boasts an impressive list of rarities, along with breeding species like skylarks and reed warblers.
Another key aspect to the changes will be limiting the impact of scrub and small trees which are encroaching into the reserve and have to potential to interfere with the natural processes that see dunes forming naturally.
One of the biggest problems facing the Wildlife Trust is the loss of the typical open sandy areas that demonstrate the dune habitat is in the most optimum condition for the species that usually thrive there.
To help maintain this, some areas of soil and vegetation will be removed to expose the sand below, with typical dune plants like marram grass being reinstated to help reduce wind speed and trap sand within the dunes as would naturally occur. Invasive non-native species such as willowherb and an aggressive form of ground rose will also be controlled to limit their impact on more delicate native dune flora.
The nature of the changes we’re making in conjunction with Natural England may look quite stark to begin with, however our aim is to achieve the right balance for these delicate dunes which has been lost in recent years.
Jacki Hulse
Head of Estates & Land Management
Mobile: 07968503747
[email protected]
I have responded. Bluntly.