Cows on the moo-ve to Barlaston and Rough Close Nature Reserve - Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Barlaston and Rough Close Common is located on the northern edge of Stafford Borough. It is a Registered Common, which is owned and managed by Stafford Borough Council. The site was declared as a Local Nature Reserve in 2000. 

'The site comprises of two areas of lowland heathland, which are divided by a minor road that runs approximately north-south through the site. 
The vegetation is relatively diverse, with distinct variations between the separate parts of the site.
Dry heath and dry acid grassland with locally abundant heather, bilberry and bell heather dominate the eastern section of the site.  The western part comprises mainly acidic marshy grassland, containing purple moor-grass, wavy hair grass, soft rush and heath rush, with patches of wet heath where cross-leaved heath is present. 
Areas of woodland and scrub fringe the site. On the northern edge of the common is a pool with open water and emergent vegetation.'
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Barlaston Common Grazing Project
For centuries, livestock grazing helped to maintain the character of some of our familiar landscapes, such as heathland.  On Barlaston and Rough Close Common Local Nature Reserve, the principal habitat is wet heathland.  Left unmanaged, wet heath becomes dominated by closely packed tussocks of grass and suffers from scrub invasion.  Eventually, this process will result in the loss of the heath as the habitat reverts to woodland.  Reinstatement of grazing should gradually reverse this situation.
In 2008 cattle were first welcomed on to the site. Red Poll, a hardy breed of cow, are present on the site every April until the autumn. 

A report about this was published in The Sentinel newspaper on 16th April 2017. The headline read; 'Cows on the moo-ve to Barlaston and Rough Close Nature Reserve to help save taxpayers' money' - The herd of cows are saving the council hundreds of pounds as the cows help to maintain the site and the council does not have to pay for machinery to do the job.'
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Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 04/16/2017 Publication: The Sentinel Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: local News Category: Business/Finance

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