Cheshire Lapwing Special Project
Seven farms throughout Cheshire entered a Special project in 2003 and together will create 43ha of spring cereal and 57ha of damp pasture for lapwing.
The project consists of two options, extensively grazed damp pasture and spring-sown cereals to replace intensive grass or maize silage. The farmers had to be able to create both habitats and have recent lapwing nesting records within 2 km. £300/ha is payable for each option plus £60/ha for re-wetting the grassland.
The Special Project was developed by Defra and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to address two problems:
- Between 1987 and 1998, the population of Lapwings in England and Wales declined by 49%. In the same time scale, the decline in Cheshire was 63%.
- The options available for dairy and intensive grass farmers in the Countryside Stewardship scheme can be limited, they often fail to meet the threshold score for acceptance to the scheme.
The projects will be monitored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Page last modified:
19 May, 2005
Page published: 11 February, 2004