What is the digger doing on Blakeney Freshes?

Some of you may have spotted a digger on Blakeney Freshes working next to the four major breaches that remain in the northern wall following the tidal surge.

 Mike Page's photo shows Blakeney Freshes a couple of days after the tidal surge hit

Over the last 6 months we have been monitoring water and salt levels on the Freshes and we have noticed that seawater sometimes comes through these breaches if there are either high tides or northerly winds pushing the tide up.

We have seen spikes in salt levels in the ditches and you can see where the grass is brown in places where it has been sitting on the fields. This is not only having an impact on how quickly the freshwater wildlife can return to the affected areas but also poses a risk to how we manage the site through conservation grazing and to the livestock present.

We are undertaking a temporary solution which involves building a low bund on the inside edge of the scour pools and breaches to reduce the chances of the marsh being inundated.

We expect the digger to be on site for a week, completing the work ahead of the next set of high tides.

Today cattle returned to the marshes we look after and it is good to see them on site.

Victoria
Countryside Manager