A SCHEME to return wetlands to their natural state by adding bends and curves to streams and watercourses has made significant changes to New Forest waterways this year.

More than four miles of artificially-straightened channels have been restored to their natural condition this year, protecting the area’s nationally precious wetland habitats.

Stream and mire restoration is part of the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme which involves conducting work specifically to care for or encourage important aspects of forest life.

Over the last eight years the scheme has returned miles of drainage channels, first artificially straightened by the Victorians, to a more natural state. This helps support the unique biodiversity of the New Forest and also slows water flow, helping to prevent flash floods racing downstream.

The restoration programme is also crucial to ensuring the survival of the New Forest’s internationally-important mires. Permanently waterlogged soils along many of the valley sides and bottoms lead to the formation of extensive mire systems that support rare plants and animals. The National Park has 75 per cent of the remaining valley mires in north-western Europe.

This year extensive work was undertaken on streams at Wootton, near Burley and Pondhead near Lyndhurst. There were also smaller restorations of streams and mires from Deadman Bottom in the north of the Forest to Ferny Crofts in the south.

HLS Contract Manager at the Forestry Commission, Nick Wardlaw, said: "We have been able to deliver a large amount of work which is essential for helping to protect and enhance the outstanding biodiversity that we have in the Forest’s wetlands.

"A lot of effort has gone into large scale works such as the re-meandering of the Avon Water downstream of Wootton Bridge, and smaller restorations such as restoration of at-risk mires to the east of Ringwood. "