Wildlife Corridors

Wildlife needs to move through the landscape to feed, breed, shelter and survive. When those connections are broken, the Forest becomes weaker.

Roads, fencing, development, hard boundaries and poorly planned infrastructure can all cut through routes that nature has relied on for generations. Once habitats become isolated, plants, animals and insects have fewer places to go and fewer ways to recover.

Habitat corridors help keep those routes open. They allow wildlife to move between important habitat areas, giving nature a better chance to adapt as pressures increase.

This matters more than ever. The Forest is already under strain from traffic, recreation, development, climate change and changing land use. If its habitats are treated as separate pieces rather than as part of one living system, decisions made in one place can cause damage far beyond that place.

The New Forest Association believes these connections must be protected, restored and properly considered in every decision that affects the Forest and its surrounding areas.

We support joined-up conservation, sensitive land management and planning decisions that strengthen the Forest rather than chip away at it. We oppose development or infrastructure that damages important habitats, severs wildlife routes or adds pressure to already fragile places.

This is not just about protecting attractive views or individual sites. It is about understanding how the Forest works as a whole: water, soil, grazing, woodland, heathland, wetlands, wildlife and people all connected.

The Forest cannot speak for itself. By protecting habitat corridors, we help give the Forest a voice, challenge poor decisions, support responsible stewardship, and help people understand what the Forest needs to survive.

Join us today and help keep the New Forest connected.

More about the Habitat and Landscape Committee HERE

Publicly available comments made by the Habitat and Landscape Committee are available HERE.