The aim of the project was to provide quality, permanent fencing to protect the refurbished Loch Gruinart sea wall and to allow efficient management of the wet grassland and salt marsh grazing all of which is important for the condition of the Gruinart Flats SSSI, SPA, RAMSAR site. The benefit of the fence was immediate and has maintained.
The fence protects the sea wall structure which in turn protects 300ha of wet grassland. The fence also enables the summer grazing of the salt marsh. The salt marsh and mud flats are an important roost site for the barnacle geese, the freshwater Floods on the landward side of the fence are an important roost site for white fronted geese and the grassland is important for both geese as a feeding site.
The maintenance of these habitats is enabled by hydrological management and the grazing and cutting regimes. This fence is crucial to the delivery of both and therefore delivery of management with the SSSI and SPA.
In 2021 SMEEF was able to provide a grant of £13,414 to support this work using resources from the Nature Restoration Fund.