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Winter 1995 Life in the Sand Dunes You will be hearing quite a lot over the next few years about the Life project on the Sefton Coast. Life is the acronym for the European Community's main source of funding for environmental projects. It is closely linked to the European Habitats Directive which was prepared in 1992 and came into force in the UK in 1994. Earlier this year the sand dunes of the Sefton Coast were put forward by the UK Government as a possible European Special Area of Conservation and their future management may now be as much linked to European legislation as national legislation. The Habitats Directive brings with it a number of responsibilities. Much of it is euro-speak, but essentially where there are populations of important species or internationally important habitats there are obligations on land managers to 'achieve a favourable conservation status'. This is a difficult task in itself even without the threat of being taken to the European Court for failure. Land managers along the Sefton Coast are becoming acutely aware of their responsibilities. One way of bringing in extra funds far nature conservation was to apply to the EC4~e fund As reported in the last edition of Coastlines an application was made in February 1995 and there followed all the tension of a hurdle race as the project was vetted by the UK Government and the European Commission. In July the news came through that Sefton Council, English Nature and the National Trust had been awarded 500,000 ECUs (that's about £440,000) to promote dune conservation and management on the Sefton Coast. It sounds a lot of money for a three year project but the reality is that much of it will go on essential work which has not been progressed due to a lock of resources. However, the European grant will give the Sefton partners o unique chance to get it right for the future and we con only do it with the support of local people, because, after all, the Sefton Coast is your coast. The Life project is port of the Sefton Coast Management Scheme and its aims are to purchase land at risk, to support the work of the nature reserve managers, to work with others, such as golf course managers, to encourage action for nature conservation, to produce public information, to encourage research and to set up a permanent computerised database. The whole project is tied into European legislation and Sefton Council will sign a formal contract with the European Commission to ensure that the works are carried out. Its a daunting task hut one which we all look forward to with great enthusiasm. So why is the Sefton Coast so important? When you think of the huge land area of Europe and how few and far between are the large dune systems (our nearest sizeable neighbour is on Anglesey) it is apparent that sand dunes are really a very rare habitat supporting many highly specialised animals and plants. The Sefton Dunes are the largest area of dune land in England and this year the UK Government included them in a list of European nature conservation sites. The Sefton Coast is therefore a European Coast. What are the rarest habitats and species? The European Habitats Directive distinguishes between priority habitats and species and others of Community importance. Our famous natterjack toads and sand lizards are important at the European level but not so important as a small, inconspicuous and rather slimy looking plant a bryophyte known as Petalwort (Petallophylum ralfsii). Petalwort was unknown to coastal staff until this year when it was resurveyed and found to be alive and well in Ainsdale and Birkdale. It is perhaps difficult to get over-enthusiastic about Petalwort (with apologies to bryologists) but it is an extremely useful indicator of the health of the dune system since it requires recently formed habitats for its survival, and its presence means that the dunes are still dynamic. The rarest and most important habitats are the wet slacks, the fixed dunes and the dune heath. Management effort will focus on these habitats with the aims of restoring and recreating the habitats where they have been lost selling up sustainable management operations, such as grazing, and helping visitors enjoy the special nature of the dunes. How will the Life project work? The Life project needs extra staff to carry out its ambitious work programme. A project team will be appointed in early 1996 for a three year period to work with the land managers to help them achieve their aims. The work will be partly office based, to prepare management plans and set up a database, and partly field orientated, to carry out management work and set up nature reserves. At the end of the project there will be a permanent information base for the dunes and an overall strategy for conservation. How will I find out more about it? The Life project will publish a lot of information work. News will be given in the Coastlines Magazine and a display and leaflets on the importance of dune management will be produced. The ranger service are a major partner in the project and the guided walks and events programme will provide plenty of opportunities to learn more about the special nature of the dunes. Home Page - Top www.seftoncoast.org.uk

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