There is no part of the Sussex land surface which has not in some way been affected by the hand of Man, and in most cases it has been altered substantially and maintained in that changed state for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. This is not necessarily to the detriment of wildlife, indeed heathlands, downlands, and created wetlands are havens of some of the greatest diversity of wildlife in the county, as it has evolved with the management that created it. The problem comes when that management changes suddenly, or as so often happens, simply stops. For this reason, when we acquire a new nature reserve, it is necessary to continue, or resume, that management. There may be a restoration phase to 'turn back the clock', such as removing scrub that has developed on heathland and downland, or dredging wetland ditches that have become blocked, before the maintenance phase can begin. Coppicing is re-introduced to traditionally coppiced woodlands, but we may also open up grassy rides and glades within woods to create the right conditions for a range of birds and butterflies.

Wetlands change very quickly. Here it may be necessary to halt the 'natural succession' that causes one habitat to change to another by cutting the vegetation or removing the build-up of decaying matter. However, we often prefer to start the process off by creating a new wetland feature by digging a hole or flooding an area, so that all stages of 'succession' can occur.

In many instances, grazing with livestock is an appropriate and traditional technique for most habitats. We are re-introducing grazing to many of our reserves. For example Pevensey Marshes is grazed by cattle which produce organic drinking yogurt (click here for more infomation). However, with the comparatively small size of most nature reserves and restrictions on the availability and easy movement of animals, this is becoming increasingly difficult.

One way forward is to encourage the natural processes that were prevalent before the land was highly managed. This might include the use of large free-roaming animals like wild cattle, wild ponies or even beavers, or allowing rivers to break their banks within floodplains to form new wetland areas. This can only succeed in really large areas, outside the scope of our present nature reserves, but it is something that we hope to see in the future. At present it is only in some ancient woodlands that have not been managed for many decades, where a policy of 'non-intervention' may be applied.