1. The Taw Torridge Estuary Forum commissioned this Management Study for Braunton Marsh
The collection of separate pastures, collectively known as the Braunton Marshes, represents a unique microcosm of traditional rural life in North Devon. The enclosure of the Marsh in 1811 for cattle grazing, and its continued management by the Braunton Marsh Inspectors and by the Braunton Marsh Internal Drainage Board, have created an invaluable example of traditional farming practices and methods of land drainage. Braunton Marsh is one of the few remaining marshes to be managed by an independent Internal Drainage Board. The Taw Torridge Estuary Forum has commissioned this Management Study to document and to raise awareness of the agricultural, historical, social, economic and environmental development of Braunton Marsh, which have contributed to making this area so distinctive and so important. The Study also ensures that the enormous contribution of all of the members of the marsh community in the management of the Marsh is recognised and celebrated. Without their support, this Study would have been impossible.
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2 The Developmental History of Braunton Marsh
2.1 Pre-reclamation
2.1.1 A Brief Geological History
Stand at any point on the Braunton Marshes to view the panorama of hills stretching clockwise from Saunton Point to Appledore, and you can begin to understand the processes that created the low-lying estuary landscape. Beneath your feet lie up to 30 metres of accumulated sediments, which have been washed down from the hilltops over millennia.

3 The Twentieth Century
3.1 The Breach of the Horsey Embankments, 1910
3.1.1 The Storm
In December 1910, high tides combined with a south-westerly gale wreaked devastation along much of the North Devon coast. A report from the North Devon Journal Herald describes an estimated damage of over £5,000 was caused to the Braunton Marshes. Linhays and stone walls were destroyed, and large quantities of sand, gravel and debris were distributed over lands adjacent to the banks1. Most of the livestock in the pastures affected by flooding were drowned, along with hundreds of partridges and rabbits

4 Water Level Management
Essentially, the drainage system of Braunton Marsh operates by means of gravity, with the subtle gradients of the clay-lined water channels directing water around the marshes. Water exits the Marshes via the Great Sluice at Horsey Island. During the summer, some water enters the system at Velator, via the River Caen1, however the primary source of water entering the system comes from a spring situated in an area known as the ?Meres? or ?Mares? to the north. During the summer of 2006, dry conditions meant that this spring was barely flowing, yet the drains were relatively full, suggesting that the system is also fed by other springs, and from water draining from the Braunton Burrows dune system to the west2. Following the re-profiling of the boundary drain by the IDB in the late 1980s, there were concerns that this act may have contributed to a reduction in the water table of Braunton Burrows. This hypothesis was investigated through the preparation of a draft Environment Agency Water Level Management Plan1, however results as to the cause of this reduction were inconclusive. Elsewhere, across the estuary, Northam Burrows has also suffered a reduction in its water table in recent years.

5 Habitats and Species
The environmental value of the Braunton Marsh and surrounding area has long been recognised. The undulating pastures, the hedgerows, and the drainage ditches of varying depths and widths, provide several different types of habitat, and support a wide variety of species. The conditions provided by the relict tidal guts are particularly important, as they provide damper conditions for wetland plant communities, which are increasingly threatened across the UK. The channels provide cover for many resident birds, and the area is also an important feeding and breeding ground for many species. The Marshes also comprise an important wildlife corridor, maintaining a connection between the various designated areas and other adjacent habitats.
5.1 Habitats
Historically, the value of the area as a feeding ground for birds, and the ecology of the freshwater channels, were acknowledged under a wide-scale Taw Torridge Estuary SSSI designation until the late 1980s. Despite this designation, however, it is understood that few studies have ever been undertaken to quantify the ecological significance of the Marsh. As such, it is almost impossible to determine how much the Marsh has changed over time. However, a limited number of fragmented species lists and survey records of a small range of taxons, do exist within the archives of Natural England, largely associated with the ecology of the drainage ditches1,2,3,4,5. In spite of this limited ability to quantify ecological change, much of the Marsh was de-notified in 1988, on the grounds that parts of the pasture had suffered a reduction in biological diversity following agricultural improvement. Detailed records of this process are unavailable; however, many Marsh pastures have since been identified as potential Devon County Wildlife Sites, but their fulfilment of the habitat criteria remains unconfirmed. Habitat on the neighbouring Horsey Island was confirmed as a County Wildlife Site in the mid 1990s16. The records of this assessment may help to suggest the potential biodiversity that might be found across the Braunton Marsh area as a whole. However, since this time, the habitat on Horsey Island has been subject to changing agricultural practices and increasing salt inundation over the past few years due to a faulty sluice, providing a more transitional saltmarsh environment. Anecdotal reports suggest that many freshwater species are now in decline across many parts of Horsey Island
5.2 Species
Within the priority habitats contained in the Braunton Marsh, several locally, nationally, and even internationally important species have been identified.
5.3 Management
Several organisations currently play a part in the environmental management of the Marshes.

6 Future
6.1 Local Development
Naturally, the future of the Braunton Marshes will be shaped by the external pressures of the coming years. As previously mentioned, the historic agricultural landscape on which the Marsh wildlife depends has, and continues to be, influenced by changes within the agricultural industry as a whole. Alongside this changing agricultural context, environmental resources have become increasingly valued, albeit at odds with the intensely competitive market forces, which continue to drive down the wholesale price of agricultural produce. With narrowing profit margins, schemes such as Environmental Stewardship are helping to marry together the two contradictory forces, together with an emphasis on farm diversification across the UK. On the Marshes themselves, only the future will reveal what impact these influences will have in the long term.
6.2 Climate Change, Shoreline Management Plans and Estuary Modelling
Natural climatic and geological processes have resulted in a gradual sea-level rise in the South West since the end of the last Ice Age, and it is now widely believed that this sea-level rise is likely to accelerate in the coming century. The intensity of rainfall and windstrength is predicted to increase, along with Atlantic storms producing increasingly powerful waves. Historical development and sea defences have often served to enhance the current impact of sea-level rise, reducing the overall area over which the tidal waters and energy might otherwise be dispersed. Human development has been particularly focused around estuaries due to the services that estuaries can provide, resulting in the loss of many of the natural coastal systems that would otherwise help to mitigate the effect of climatic change. Over the past decade, nationwide Shoreline Management Plans (SMP) have been developed to determine a strategic framework for dealing with the sea-level rise and climatic changes that will increasingly threaten vulnerable parts of our coast. Such strategies include the restoration of natural estuarine systems, where appropriate, in order to reduce the overall risk to more economically significant developments, such as houses and businesses.

7 Overview of Current and Future Marsh Management
The Braunton Marsh was developed through the foresight and capital investment of the landowners and farmers of Braunton parish to create a landscape able to produce high quality food for the British public. Since reclamation, Braunton Marsh has been shaped and maintained by cattle grazing, for which the area is famed. The traditional system of farming has produced a wide variety of habitats, which in turn have resulted in the rich wildlife and varied plant populations we see today, and it should be respected and acknowledged for this. The interests of the Braunton Marsh are best served by the continuation of the established farming practices employed by the marsh owners and tenants, combined with the efforts of the Braunton Marsh Internal Drainage Board (IDB) and the Marsh Inspectors.
7.1 Marsh Management
The Braunton Marshes are managed primarily through the actions of three major stakeholders, namely;
? The Marsh Landowners
? The Braunton Marsh Internal Drainage Board
? The Marsh Inspectors
7.2 Environmental and Cultural Heritage
Evidently, the Braunton Marsh and surrounding area make up a complex landscape of intrinsic historical, cultural and environmental importance.
7.3 Education and Cultural Awareness
Recreational interest in the area of the Braunton Marshes has increased dramatically over the last fifty years. However, in recent years, visitor numbers appear to have remained relatively stable.
7.4 Consultation
Horsey Island is an area of land adjacent to the Braunton Marsh which was reclaimed during a second phase of engineering work in the 1850s. Horsey Island has been identified in several estuary management documents, including the Shoreline Management Plan, as a potential site for saltmarsh restoration through managed realignment. If Horsey Island is allowed to return to the sea, the original Great Embankment, bordering the Toll Road, would once again become the main sea defence, which would have implications for the Marsh environment, its cultural heritage and its management.

Appendix 1 - Glossary
Appendix 2 - Rights of Common
Appendix 3 - Pre-reclamation
Appendix 4 - Pre-reclamation
Appendix 5 - Marsh Inspectors
Appendix 6 - Braunton New Quay and the Enclosure of Horsey Island
Appendix 7 - A Brief Outline of Repair to the Horsey Embankments following the 1910 Storm
References/List of Archive Resources
Braunton Marsh Species List Plants
Braunton Marsh Species List Birds
Braunton Marsh Species List Mammals