A RESTORATION project to save peatland on Dartmoor from erosion has been classed as a ‘necessity’.

The Times ran a story last month on the Three Moors project and how it had caused concern with local farmers.

But, the Dartmoor National Park Authority project officer for the peatland restoration has said that the three-year project was desperately needed.

The wetland habitats are ‘complex eco-systems’ and their demise across the moors has resulted in changes in the moorland ecology, including the loss of iconic species. The £2-million project aims to address and restore 1,680 hectares of damaged peatland on Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor — 300 of which are on Dartmoor.

Project officer David Leach said: ‘When peat dries you lose a lot of the vegetation and the animals from the site, including wading birds. These birds have been declining to near extinction on Dartmoor.

‘A healthy peat bog will store and release water and the water quality is good, but an unhealthy bog will have dissolved carbon and it will make the water brown and this then has a knock-on effect with nature.’

Researchers from the University of Exeter spent three years mapping out peat depths across the whole of Dartmoor, focusing on erosion features and they modelled, for the DNPA, where the problems were and where the good peat still exists.

Mr Leach added: ‘The researchers announced that there is only one per cent of Dartmoor peat still forming and healthy.

‘They looked at where restoration will have the best outcome. We have considered where the best places are to do this and one of the sites we are restoring will have monitoring equipment in place.’

One Dartmoor farmer said that he would be directly affected by the project as his animals grazed on a particular area planned for the restoration of peatland.

‘The proposal is to “re-wet” the ground by building hundreds of dams across gullies allowing the rain water to be retained and not drained. This is to protect the peat there from erosion and to encourage its regeneration.

‘If it were to go ahead, the ground would become approximately ten hectares of complete mire. It would be mostly impassable and be a danger to both moor users and animals alike.

‘This, together with the irreversible scarring which the project would cause to our beautiful, rugged landscape makes the whole idea totally ludicrous and a complete waste of money.’

Mr Leach added: ‘We are working on 300 hectares on Dartmoor and there is 31,500 hectares of peatland on Dartmoor — we are really only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

‘Peatland is a priority of the Government and that’s why DEFRA is funding this work, this will not go away and we are trying to do something about this before it gets worse.

‘This benefits the farmers, this benefits the DNPA and this benefits the wider community.’

Restoration work on Dartmoor is due to begin in October.