Salcombe Ecology Network

4: Management in Action: The Custodians of Salcombe Hill

Discover how the National Trust, SVA, and local councils manage the Salcombe Ecology Network. From GPS cattle grazing to ancient woodland protection.

This final section synthesizes the management plans for the individual sites within the Salcombe Ecology Network. It transitions from broad ecological theory to the "boots-on-the-ground" tactics used by various organisations to maintain this 11-site corridor.

Management in Action: The Custodians of Salcombe Hill

The Salcombe Ecology Network is a patchwork of ownership, but a shared vision of connectivity unites its managers. From ancient woodlands to "community labs," each site plays a specialised role in the regional Devon Nature Recovery Plan.

1. The National Trust: Landscape-Scale Recovery

The National Trust oversees the largest portion of the network, focusing on high-impact restoration and climate resilience.

Heaths to Sea Project (2025–2045): A 20-year initiative to create a "nature highway" from the Pebblebed Heaths to the Jurassic Coast, with Salcombe Hill serving as the coastal anchor.
Eco-Engineering: Using GPS-collared cattle for "virtual fencing," directing grazing to specific areas to prevent scrub encroachment without physical fences.
Successional "Wilding": At Page Wood, a "light touch" approach allows the woodland to naturally transition from scrub to mature forest, intentionally leaving "messy" structures for dormice and warblers.

2. The Sid Vale Association (SVA): Preservation & Indicators

The SVA focuses on protecting rare "indicator" species and maintaining the historic "green backdrop" of Sidmouth.

Bluebell Wood: Managed with a "minimal intervention" philosophy to protect native bluebells and delicate soil chemistry. Fallen deadwood is left in situ to support specialised fungi and beetles.
James Cornish Meadow: This "low-intervention" grassland uses a late-season hay cut to allow wildflowers like Knapweed and Bird's-foot Trefoil to complete their life cycles.

3. Community & Science: Alma Field & The Observatory

Smaller sites serve as vital "stepping stones" and laboratories for public engagement.

The Community Nature Lab (Alma Field): Managed by the Sidmouth Town Council to prove that community use—like beekeeping—can coexist with nature. It features "pollinator corridors" where perimeter grass is left uncut for overwintering insects.
The Heathland Anchor (Lockyer Observatory): The Norman Lockyer Observatory Society (NLOS) is restoring rare coastal lowland heath by systematically removing invasive Rhododendron ponticum.

Site Roles & Priorities (2026)

Site Primary Manager Key Management Objective

Salcombe Hill National Trust High-standard accessible trails & GPS-guided conservation grazing

Milltown Lane SVBG / Farmers Protecting "Ancient Lane" indicators and "Dark Corridors" for bats

Lockyer Obs. NLOS Reverting scrub back to traditional heathland mosaic

Alma Field Town Council Nectar bridges for community hives & citizen science audits

Soldier's Hill SVA Maintaining structural diversity and the "Soldier's Hill View"

Look at it another way!

Before you go

"The Management Matrix"

Objective: To understand how different management goals require different physical actions.

Tidy vs. Wild: Compare the management of Combe Head Wood and Page Wood. Why does the National Trust keep one "accessible" and the other "wild"?
The Dark Corridor: Milltown Lane is described as a "Dark Corridor". List two management policies mentioned in the text that help protect this status for nocturnal wildlife.
Conflict Resolution: At Alma Field, how does the council manage the land to ensure that human recreation (like walking) doesn't destroy the habitat for overwintering insects?