A wildfire on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Fen Bog nature reserve in north Yorkshire last week has seen half of its nationally-important valley mire damaged.
The reserve provides an important nesting site for curlews, whinchats and meadow pipits, and any nesting in the area will have lost their eggs or young. Caterpillars of rare butterflies including large heath have likely been wiped out, along with other rare insects like bog bush-cricket.
Lying alongside the North York Moors Steam Railway, Fen Bog is protected as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) because the valley mire has some of the most unusual species of the sphagnum moss in the region, which have survived and flourished largely due to consistent management by the Trust. Thankfully due to a wet spring and a rapid response by the Malton and Whitby Fire Crews, the fire did not take hold in the peat soil which would have caused far more damage. We will be working with Natural England to examine the extent of the damage and potentially implement some preventative measures for the future, but we are optimistic that plant life on the reserve will recover.
There is no indication of how the fire started but Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is extremely grateful to the members of the public who raised the alarm. The Trust also praises and thanks North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for their quick response, and will continue to work with them pending any investigation.
Jono Leadley, North Regional Manager for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, says, “The recent wildfire on Fen Bog nature reserve shows how vulnerable wildlife habitats are to fire, and how damaging they are at this time of year when birds are nesting.
As we move into the summer, the Trust is asking the public to be mindful when spending time on nature reserves. Our wild habitats are extremely vulnerable to fire, particularly as increased effects of climate change are leading to hotter and drier summers. If out and about, please do not bring barbeques onto our reserves and be mindful of anything that could start a fire.
Jono added;
As our weather turns warmer and drier, this is an important reminder of the dangers of wildfire, how easily they can happen - one spark from a cigarette or barbeque can be disastrous for many habitats.”
Last year as temperatures soared above 40C in Yorkshire, wildfires broke out across the nation. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reported wildfires at Garbutt Wood nature reserve in the North York Moors and Potteric Carr nature reserve near Doncaster, with the blaze at Potteric Carr burning just over 6 acres of reedbed with nesting ducks and chicks. Other Wildlife Trusts in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and Birmingham and the Black Country reported wildfires on or near their reserves during the heatwave, as did the RSPB.
