The wealth of wildlife in this area has resulted in numerous statutory designations covering various different areas and habitat types across the Two Dales, including:

• 22 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
• Pennine Dales ESA covers Swaledale and Arkengarthdale (see map)
• 1 Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserve (though not strictly a designation)
• European Sites of Nature Conservation Importance (SPA and cSAC see below).

A candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) covers a number of the unimproved, species-rich hay meadows in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale. These meadows are also designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Three large moorland SSSIs cover much of the heather moorland and blanket bog in the river catchment. These sites form part of the internationally important North Pennine Moorlands Special Protection Area (SPA) because of their importance to breeding upland birds including golden plover and merlin. The importance of the whole heathland and blanket bog ecosystems has more recently been underlined through the submission of the North Pennine Moorlands to the European Union as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) under the Habitats Directive. SPAs and SACs represent the highest level of designation for wildlife sites within the UK.

River Corridor Habitat Survey

Baseline surveys of the current status of the river Swale, a River Corridor Survey (RCS) and a River Habitat Survey (RHS) were commissioned for the upper reaches to provide baseline habitat data. Survey work was undertaken during the summer of 1999. Standard survey methods defined by the National Rivers Authority and Environment Agency were used.

Both surveys were based on defined 500 m sections of river. The outcome of the surveys was a set of 78 RCS base maps (reflecting a surveyed reach of 39 km) and a complementary set of completed RHS forms. Two scores, which quantify the habitat quality of a river and the extent of river modification, were calculated for all but five of the 78 sections. Statistical analysis was performed on the scores and on other data extracted from the RHS forms.

The results of the statistical analysis show that the River Swale has a lower habitat quality and more modifications to its channel than would be expected from a typical mountain valley river. Analysis of other data suggest that bankside erosion is linked to the land use type 'rough pasture'. This implies that erosion is compounded by the practise of allowing stock to graze to the edge of the river.

It is anticipated that the River Swale will be re-surveyed at five year intervals,to assess the effectiveness of the Regeneration Project. It will be particularly interesting to measure the impact of the 17.5 hectares tree planting undertaken through the project.

Trees are important along the river and streams because:
• their root systems help to stabilise the river bank and so help resist erosion,
• they reduce surface run-off relative to other vegetation types because their larger surface area, for example compared to grass or heather, means more evaporation,
• leaves and associated insects provide a source of organic matter into the river system,
• they provide shade which helps the fish population.
• riverside trees and woodlands are an important habitat in their own right, and provide food and cover for terrestrial wildlife.

Most of the tree planting undertaken by the project has been in the upland gills.



Typical Gill showing remnants of woodland



Tree planting in one of the Upland Gills