What the action involves
This action’s aim is that there’s wet grassland with:
- in-field wet areas, including standing water and bare and muddy areas during the autumn and winter months
- the year’s grass growth removed by autumn, leaving some tussocky grass to develop, so there are suitable sward heights and structure for wintering waders and wildfowl
- appropriate rush cover for the wintering waders and wildfowl
- any historic or archaeological features protected from damage
- a good cover and range of flowering grass and wildflowers from late spring and during the summer months if your land is priority habitat species-rich grassland
The purpose of this is to:
- provide suitable wet grassland feeding and roosting habitat for wintering waders and wildfowl
- support other features such as historic or archaeological features, ditches of high environmental value and areas of species-rich wet grassland
You can use this action to manage:
- existing grassland
- grassland that’s being restored or created for wintering waders and wildfowl
What you must do
Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- maintain or restore the appropriate hydrology and provide wet conditions for wintering waders and wildfowl to feed and roost
- make sure there are areas of standing water and wet features during autumn and winter
- manage the grassland by grazing, cutting or a combination of both to provide the right vegetation height and structure for the target birds
- keep boundary hedges short
- protect historic and archaeological features
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- manage ditch water levels so they are high enough to provide standing water and muddy areas during the autumn and winter – you can apply for CWT3: Manage ditches of high environmental value to pay for this
- maintain wet features, including gutters and scrapes, to provide muddy areas for waders and wildfowl to feed – you can apply for CSP11: Manage scrapes and gutters supplement to pay for this
- keep scrapes and gutters wet using water control structures
- keep vegetation around scrapes and gutters short with some taller tussocks
- remove livestock at certain times of the year
- restrict topping to areas and time periods set out in your agreement
- control scrub, rushes and other tall or competitive plant species to achieve the right vegetation conditions for target birds
- maintain or restore a mix of high value indicator plants if the grassland is a species-rich priority habitat – some indicator species will be frequent or occasional across the site, (as set out in your agreement)
- establish additional plant species if agreed with your Natural England adviser
- follow an agreed wildfowling strategy and record bag returns
You must not:
- apply fertilisers or farmyard manure (unless agreed with your Natural England adviser)
- apply any other manures, digestate or any other industrial by-product including paper waste
- apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
- supplementary feed except for the use of mineral blocks or other forms of feed agreed by your Natural England adviser
- carry out mechanical operations or other activities that may cause significant disturbance to birds during the breeding season or the autumn and winter (this does not include ditch maintenance)
- work on ditches between April and August – this may also apply to surface water features
- harrow, roll, supplementary feed or allow bare soil on archaeological or historic features
- allow additional scrub to encroach on archaeological or historic features
- plough, cultivate or reseed, unless this is part of an agreed sward creation and enhancement plan
- carry out drainage works without written permission from your Natural England adviser
- carry out land management activities in a way that causes poaching or overgrazing
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if they ask for it.
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land located below the moorland line that’s one of the following:
- priority habitat coastal or floodplain grazing marsh which supports wintering waders and wildfowl – it does not need to be mapped on the Priority Habitat Inventory (PHI) layer on MAGIC
- other wet grassland which already supports wintering waders and wildfowl
- has high potential for the restoration of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl
You can also do this action on arable or temporary grassland located below the moorland line which has high potential for creation of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl.
If you’re restoring or creating grassland, you must provide your Natural England adviser with:
- a map showing where restoration (from permanent grassland to grassland habitat) or creation (from arable or temporary grassland to grassland habitat) will take place
- soil analysis results including the soil available phosphorus (Olsen P method) and the soil potassium status – this is only required if you’re intending to reintroduce wildflowers. Soil analysis must have been carried out within the last year, or within the last 5 years if there have been no fertiliser applications or increase in stocking levels since the last soil analysis.
Eligible land
You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area
Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- obtain necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) before starting any work
- get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants that support it
If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
