List of local nature reserves in Hertfordshire

Rickmansworth Aquadrome
Rickmansworth Aquadrome

Hertfordshire is a county in eastern England. It is bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south. The county town is Hertford. As of June 2014, the county has a population of 1,154,800[1] in an area of 634 square miles (1,640 km2).[2]

Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The local authority must have legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically, and local authorities have a duty to care for them. They can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs.[3][4]

As of July 2015, forty-two LNRs in Hertfordshire have been notified to Natural England.[5] The largest site is Therfield Heath with 147.3 hectares (364 acres). It has some of the richest chalk grassland in England, and it is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[6] The smallest is Oxleys Wood in Hatfield, which has an area of only 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres). This wood often floods, and it provides a habitat for a wide range of insects and birds.[7] Several other sites are also SSSIs, such as Croxley Common Moor[8] and Sherrardspark Wood.[9] The oldest LNR in Hertfordshire listed by Natural England is Hilfield Park Reservoir, declared in 1969,[10] and the newest Weston Hills in 2012.[11]

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  1. ^ "Resident Population". Hertfordshire Local Information System. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Area Measurements". Hertfordshire Local Information System. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Protected or designated areas". Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England. 9 April 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Local nature reserves: setting up and management". Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Local Nature Reserves: Search Results for Hertfordshire". Nature England. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Therfield Heath citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Oxleys Wood". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CroxleySSSI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference SherrardSSSI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Hilfield Park Reservoir". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Weston Hills". North Hertfordshire District Council. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.