Letter: Interfere for nature

Letter:

Interfere for nature

Sir: Your article about animals in danger of extinction ("Going before their time", 5 March) rightly focuses the blame on human intervention. But paradoxically the future of many threatened species depends upon our deliberate interference.

At English Nature we are concerned with not just the well-known animals at risk such as the otter, but also their "poor relations": a wide variety of obscure plants and insects which contribute to the wealth of wildlife in our country.

In the UK, one of the most important habitats is lowland heathland, 60 per cent of which has been lost since 1945. Lack of management is the biggest threat to heathland and the plants and animals which depend on it.

Direct management often involves activities not commonly associated with conservation. These include cutting down trees and controlled burning to recreate the traditional landscape, and fencing off land - not to keep people out, but to keep grazing animals in.

The English countryside cannot look after itself. The best hope for wildlife is to recognise this and for us all to do our bit in supporting local conservation activities.

BARBARA YOUNG

(Baroness Young of Old Scone)

Chairman

English Nature

Peterborough