Fen Management
Fens are dynamic systems that have been maintained through centuries of human intervention. Some form of management is therefore needed to continue to maintain fens in an open condition.
Fen management methods include mowing, reintroducing grazing by large herbivores (such as cattle and ponies), and periodic scrub clearance.
Fen Strategy
For centuries, the fens were a source of peat, providing fuel for local people. Fens were also a source of reed and sedge for thatching, litter for animal bedding and marsh hay for livestock. Dykes were dug to connect the fens with rivers and the crops were transported by flat-bottomed boats called reed lighters
The regular mowing of fens for crops and the maintenance of dykes as transport routes employed many marshmen before the First and Second World Wars. But many of these men left to fight in the wars, never to return to work on the land. This left much fen unmanaged, resulting in an ultimate loss of open fen to scrub and woodland and associated losses of characteristic and valued fen species.
Working in partnership with English Nature, landowners and managers, we are committed to halting the decline of the fens and restoring those that have been recently lost to scrub. To this end, the Broads Authority and English Nature prepared a Fen Management Strategy in 1997, to coordinate the restoration and management of the fens.
In 2004, a Supplement to the Fen Management Strategy was produced, providing updated discussion regarding the various techniques of fen restoration and management. This latter document also includes a practical assessment of the management options available to each fen site, the Fen Audit.
(Please note- unfortunately there are no maps available electronically in either document.)
For further information see our Conservation Reports.
