GS10: Management of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the management of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl option.

From:
Rural Payments Agency and Natural England
Published
2 April 2015
Last updated
4 January 2024 — See all updates
Grant type:
Option
Land use:
Biodiversity, Grassland, Uplands
Tiers or standalone items:
Higher Tier, Mid Tier
Funding (per unit per year):
More than £500

How much will be paid

£547 per hectare (ha).

Where to use this option

It’s available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier on whole or part parcels, on permanent grassland that is one of the following.

  • Coastal or floodplain grazing marsh identified as priority habitat
  • Other grassland identified as habitat for wintering waders and wildfowl

The grassland must already support wintering wildfowl and waders or have high potential for being enhanced to support them. You must also meet one of the following conditions.

  • You are currently using a recommended fertiliser management system to plan nutrient inputs across the farm
  • You will adopt a recommended fertiliser management system within 18 months of the start of the agreement
  • You qualify as a low intensity farmer

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

Features that can be included in this option

You can include the following features if they are part of the land, even if they are not eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

  • Ditches, dykes, drains, rivers or streams that are less than 4 metres (m) wide for the majority of their length in the parcel
  • Permanent water less than or equal to 0.1ha (larger areas may be eligible at the discretion of Natural England)
  • Temporary water
  • Natural unsurfaced roads, tracks, paths and bridleways (as long as you are still able to carry out the requirements of the option)
  • Small areas of other types of habitat, such as reedbeds and scrub (at the discretion of Natural England)

You can locate the following options and supplements on the same area as this option.

You can also use the following supplements with this option, but only in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of Natural England.

How this option will benefit the environment

It will provide habitat in wet grassland for wintering wildfowl and wading birds. Fields will have wet areas throughout the winter, attracting wading birds and wildfowl, which will be able to feed and roost undisturbed.

Aims

If you’re selected for a site visit, we will check that delivery of the aims is being met and the prohibited activities have not been carried out. This will ensure the environmental benefits are being delivered.

During the summer, the grassland will be managed by grazing (ideally) or cutting, to remove the year’s grass growth by autumn (leaving some grass tussocks).

During the autumn and winter, there will be areas of standing water and wet features. Wintering wildfowl and waders will be able to feed and roost undisturbed.

Management will ensure that cover of soft and hard rush is no more than 20% and cover of trees, scrub and other undesirable species (listed in the recommended management) is low.

Any archaeological or historic features will be protected under a grass cover, with a low cover of bare ground, no increase in scrub cover and no damage incurred as a result of machinery use.

Prohibited activities

To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities:

  • undertake any mechanical operations (including hay/silage cutting) between 15 March and 30 June, or allow activities outside these dates that disturb breeding birds, including ground nesting birds and their chicks
  • cut rushes between 15 March and 31 July
  • plough, cultivate or reseed the grassland, unless agreed in writing with the RPA
  • use pesticides, except for herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe to control nettles, bracken, soft and hard rush, injurious weeds or invasive non-native species (weed wiping may not be allowed on some sites – this will be specified in your agreement)
  • harrow or roll, supplementary feed or allow additional scrub to encroach on historic or archaeological features
  • carry out activities which may disturb non-breeding birds from November to March
  • carry out drainage works, including modifying existing drainage, without the RPA’s written permission before work starts.
  • apply inorganic fertiliser when this option is used in Mid Tier
  • apply more than 12 tonnes per ha of farmyard manure, or increase the application rate of manure (or fertiliser) if it is currently less than this
  • apply farmyard manure (or fertilisers, if permitted in Higher Tier) in years when the field is not cut for hay/haylage
  • work on ditches between 1 April and 31 August
  • use supplementary feed except for mineral blocks

On your annual claim you will be asked to declare that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from RPA. Additional aims and prohibited activities may be added to refine the standard requirements, as part of the approval process.

To assist you in achieving the aims and deliver the environmental benefits for this option, we recommend that you employ best practice.

We recommend that you:

  • manage the land by grazing, and possibly cutting
  • provide areas of standing water and wet features (such as footdrains, gutters and scrapes) to attract waders and wildfowl through the winter months (ditch water levels may need to be held high to achieve this)
  • maintain wet features every 2 to 4 years to provide muddy areas for waders and wildfowl to feed
  • keep the vegetation around wet features short by grazing or rotational cutting
  • control and manage trees, scrub, soft and hard rushes and undesirable species, which may include injurious weeds, nettles, bracken and invasive, non-native species
  • if present, maintain hedges so they are shorter than 2 metres (m)
  • where spring grazing of hay meadows is a traditional practice, exclude livestock for at least 7 weeks before cutting and by 7 May at the latest
  • check for breeding birds before operating machinery or carrying out other activities which may disturb breeding birds or damage their nests. The breeding season tends to run from mid-March until mid-July, but it can start earlier and finish later, depending on the species and the weather.

You should not:

  • top more than 50% of the total area in any one year
  • supplementary feed on historic features, areas of species-rich grassland or within 5m of ditches or wet features, or on any other areas specified in your agreement

Keeping records

Where there’s uncertainty about whether or not the aims of the options have been delivered, we will take into account any records or evidence you may have kept to demonstrate delivery of the aims of the option. This will include any steps you’ve taken to follow the recommended management set out above. It’s your responsibility to keep such records if you want to rely on these to support your claim.

  • Receipted invoices, consents or permissions connected with the work
  • Field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices
  • A grazing activity record for any sites grazed
  • Evidence that you are following a recommended fertiliser management system or that you qualify as a low intensity farmer
  • Photographs of the management undertaken

On your annual payment claim you must declare that you have not carried out any activities prohibited by the option requirements.

Additional guidance and advice

The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.

For best results:

  • use this option as part of a suite of wet grassland and target features options, over a wide area, potentially linking with other landowners
  • use this option within, next to or linking Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that have wintering waders and wildfowl as interest features
  • use this option within, next to or linking non-designated areas with good wader and wildfowl populations
  • make sure this option does not conflict with Environment Agency, internal drainage board or local authority policies on flood storage, ditch and river management, water resources and fish migration
  • apply for land drainage consent if necessary
  • discuss the location of capital works with the Environment Agency, internal drainage boards and local authorities
  • discuss the location of capital works with Historic England (designated sites) / local authority historic environmental officer (non-designated sites) if historic and archaeological features are present

Sites which may be unsuitable for this option include:

  • sites with an unreliable water supply
  • improved, intensively managed grassland for geese, which is cut for silage and receives more than 50 kilograms (kg) per ha of inorganic nitrogen fertiliser
  • sites with botanical interest, where hydrological changes could damage plant communities

Biodiversity

This option has been identified as being beneficial for biodiversity. All Countryside Stewardship habitat creation, restoration and management options are of great significance for biodiversity recovery, as are the wide range of arable options in the scheme. Capital items and supplements can support this habitat work depending on the holding’s situation and potential.

The connectivity of habitats is also very important and habitat options should be linked wherever possible. Better connectivity will allow wildlife to move/colonise freely to access water, food, shelter and breeding habitat, and will allow natural communities of both animals and plants to adapt in response to environmental and climate change.

Further information

Read Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage to find out more information about Mid Tier and Higher Tier including how to apply.

Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 4 January 2024 + show all updates

  1. Update to How Much Is Paid

  2. New payment rate from 1 January 2022.

  3. Option updated for agreements starting 1 January 2022

  4. The Keeping records section of this page has been updated

  5. The Keeping records section of this page has been updated

  6. Updated for 2017 applications.

  7. Information updated for applications in 2016.

  8. First published.

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