Group begin study to restore Ilkley Tarn

[Photo: FoIM]

The Friends of Ilkley Moor (FoIM) have launched an ambitious programme to restore Ilkley Tarn as a thriving, nature-rich wildlife pond.

Once an important breeding site for amphibians, the Tarn is now heavily affected by pollution and a large duck population, with much of its former aquatic wildlife apparently lost.

As the first step towards restoration, FoIM has commissioned a detailed scientific evaluation under the supervision of Professor Rick Battarbee FRS, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Change at University College London.

[Photo: FoIM]

Working with Dr John Boyle of Liverpool University and Goldsmith Ecology, the project includes surveys of the Tarn’s depth and sediment, water quality, hydrology, vegetation and invertebrate life. Sediment cores are also being analysed for evidence of the Tarn’s ecological history over the past 150 years.

A preliminary survey of the Upper Tarn has also been undertaken, providing a useful comparison because it has few or no ducks.

FoIM hopes the findings will provide the scientific basis for a comprehensive plan to restore Ilkley Tarn and its wildlife.

Owen Wells, Chair of Friends of Ilkley Moor, said: “Ilkley Moor is now the largest part of the new Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve and it is only right that Ilkley Tarn should be an example of how nature can be restored and take pride of place in the new Nature Reserve."

Follow the FoIM on Facebook for updates on this project.