Description: Local Geological Sites (LGS) were formerly known as Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites (RIGS). They are local non-statutory sites that recognise important earth science and landscape features. The Buckinghamshire Earth Heritage Group, in consultation with local authorities, identifies these sites. The sites are selected on a local basis according to the following nationally agreed criteria:
The value of a site for educational purposes in life-long learning
The value of a site for study by both amateur and professional Earth scientists
The historical value of a site in terms of important advances in Earth science knowledge, events or human exploitation
The aesthetic value of a site in the landscape, particularly in relation to promoting public awareness and appreciation of Earth sciences.
Description: A site not qualifying as of national importance for the wildlife it contains (ie a SSSI) but regarded to be of local importance for wildlife, its importance being merited in a parish, district, borough or county context. Such sites are often called non-statutory wildlife sites as they do not have statutory protection like SSSIs, but are recognised in local plans. In Bucks Local Wildlife Sites have been called Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation and Biological Notification Sites.
Description: BMERC data on Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (BOAs). BOAs are important areas for biodiversity in the county. They represent regional priority areas of opportunity for restoration and creation of Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) habitats. They represent a targeted landscape-scale approach to conserving biodiversity and the basis for an ecological network. BOAs are the focus of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Biodiversity Partnership (BMKBP) for delivering Buckinghamshire's Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).
Service Item Id: f47d4cb1cb284859abe33c5cce35ee3f
Copyright Text: This data belongs to and remains the property of the Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre (BMERC) and its community of wildlife Recorders.
Description: Ancient woodland is defined as land that has been continually wooded since at least 1600AD. From 1600AD, planting of woodland became more common, so woodland that pre-dates this is more likely to have grown up naturally. Some ancient woods may even link back to the original wildwood that covered the UK around 10,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age.