This
mindmap is based on chapter 2.4 of the 1992 management plan.
The chapter, entitled 'Operational Objectives and Management
Options' describes the stategic framework for the management of the
reserve, it is arguably the most important section of the Plan and
is the most detailed.
The chapter
occupies 57 pages of the printed plan, of which 33 pages deal with
the physical and biological features under protection. The
remainder of the chapter deals with the management of the legal
obligations etc, the provision of facilities, and the responses to
emergencies. These have been listed but not described.
.
Subsection 2.4.1
Rationale
: Selection and Ranking
Introduction
Skomer is an
internationally important seabird reserve supporting a large
percentage of the worlds population of the Manx Shearwater and the
largest colonies of cliff nesting seabirds in southern Britain. It
has an important geology, a nationally important lichen flora, a
unique Bank Vole, a scarce cliff and maritime vegetation with an
area of coastal heathland ( a habitat that is becoming increasingly
scarce in lowland coastal Wales), a few rare plants, and an
invertebrate list which includes some rare species. It is scenically
spectacular along its coastline, particularly in the spring when
there are many plants in flower. It is therefore a diverse reserve
in that the range of features is large and they each have an
important component, at the very least on a local scale.
This diversity, its accessibility and the
presence of some unusual species (of birds particularly) attracts
large numbers of naturalists and other members of the public.
The management objectives, simply put, are to
protect and monitor the breeding seabirds, the Skomer Vole, the
seals and the other fauna and flora and to maintain and enhance the
diversity of the habitats within the reserve. Secondary objectives
are to provide an interpretative and educational facility to the
public and to encourage conservation based research.
Within this broad framework there lies a
considerable complexity of detail which is best introduced here as
detailed objectives.
Section 2.4.2 which follows provides the
prescriptive and practical management outline derived from this
section.
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