Farmers set to support Exmoor nature recovery through new fund

Farmers and land managers on Exmoor could receive new government funding to restore wildlife-rich habitats across the national park.

The Wildlife-Rich Habitat Fund, announced by the government this week, will provide £30 million in ring-fenced funding across England’s protected landscapes from 2026 to 2029.

The fund is designed to support practical projects that help farmers and land managers work with nature in some of England’s most distinctive landscapes.

On Exmoor, the money could help restore and connect habitats including species-rich grassland, wetlands, rivers, streams, floodplains, heathland and woodland.

The aim is to support nature recovery while strengthening the landscape’s resilience to climate change.

The work could also benefit threatened species that depend on healthy, connected habitats, including the marsh fritillary butterfly and water vole.

Restoring damp, flower-rich grasslands and improving wetland and riverbank habitats could help support both species.

The fund will support practical action across Exmoor over the next three years.

Exmoor National Park Authority will work with farmers, land managers, conservation partners and local communities to deliver projects based on local priorities.

The announcement builds on wider nature recovery work already under way on Exmoor.

This includes landscape-scale habitat restoration, improving the condition of rivers, streams and wetlands, and working with land managers to make space for wildlife alongside sustainable farming.

Clare Reid, head of nature and climate at Exmoor National Park Authority, said: “We welcome this investment and it’s a real opportunity for Exmoor.”

She said the funding could help the authority work with farmers, land managers and local communities to restore and reconnect important habitats across the national park.

Ms Reid said this could include habitats ranging from “species-rich grasslands and wetlands to rivers, streams and valley landscapes”.

She added that improving wet grassland for marsh fritillary butterflies and restoring healthier wetland and riverbank habitat for water voles would support species closely linked to Exmoor’s landscapes.

“Just as importantly, this fund could help strengthen the partnerships that are essential to delivering nature recovery on Exmoor in a way that benefits wildlife, people and place,” she said.

Nature Minister Mary Creagh said national parks and protected landscapes were home to some of the country’s most marginal species.

She said the government’s Wild Again funding was already helping to reverse species decline.

“It will mean more birdsong, flower meadows full of bees and butterflies, and new areas of native woodlands,” she said.

The Wildlife-Rich Habitat Fund forms part of Wild Again: Restoring England’s Wildlife, the government’s wider campaign to halt species decline by 2030.

The funding is also intended to support commitments to protect 30% of land for nature and restore more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042.

The fund is separate from, and does not affect, the farming budget or the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.

A total of 36 of England’s 44 protected landscapes are participating in the first year.

Projects will be delivered through the existing Farming in Protected Landscapes programme infrastructure and prioritised in line with protected landscape management plans and Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

Land managers interested in the funding can contact Exmoor National Park Authority’s Farming in Protected Landscapes team.

Projects will be rooted in local priorities, with farmers, land managers and conservation partners working together to restore connected habitats across Exmoor.