Off-road tracks in the Windermere catchment area
GREEN LANES and WINDERMERE POLLUTION -
WHY WE NEED ACTION
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There is solid scientific evidence that off-road vehicles on unsealed roads produce
• erosion
• persistent loss of vegetation cover
• increased sediment delivery, altering downstream water quality and aquatic habitats
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So silt and sediment are likely to end up in the becks and rivers, and ultimately in Windermere.
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National Park ecologists should urgently monitor this environmental risk. As a precautionary measure, these green lanes should not be used by recreational off-road vehicles.
Below a runoff channel from U5001 into Little Langdale Tarn.
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"We need to restore and revitalise the natural environment at a landscape-scale across the Windermere catchment; putting back habitats and wildlife from the top of the Langdale Pikes to Fell Foot in the South Basin."
Stephen Trotter, CEO, Cumbria Wildlife Trust