Protected Plants on the Isle of Man
Which plants are protected?
All wild plants on the Island are protected by law, in that it is illegal for an unauthorised person to intentionally uproot wild plants, for example by going onto someone’s land without their agreement and digging up wild flowers. In addition to this, some particularly rare or vulnerable species are further protected from being intentionally picked, uprooted or destroyed. It is these which are generally referred to as “protected species”, and listed on Schedule 7 of the Wildlife Act 1990.
Photo: pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis at the Ayres National Nature Reserve. All orchid species are protected on the Isle of Man.
.
.
Why are some plants given extra protection?
In general, a plant will be included on Schedule 7 if it is locally and/or internationally rare, or is known to be in sharp decline on the Island, or is particularly vulnerable and at risk of decline (e.g. it is associated with disappearing habitats which can’t recover well from damage). As with the Schedules for protected birds and animals, the protected plants list is periodically updated in order to reflect the dynamic status of the Island’s biodiversity. This is carried out by DAFF in conjunction with a scientific advisory committee.
The current list may be downloaded via the link at the botom of this page.
Click on the second plants page for more examples of Manx protected plants, with pictures.
Legal activities on land with protected plants
If you have, or think you might have, protected plants on a development site, it is important to contact the Wildlife and Conservation Division for advice as early as possible before carrying out any works. It can alarm landowners to learn that there are legally protected species on their land, due to the fear that planned activities might be held up, or that accidental damage might lead to prosecution under the Wildlife Act. However, as with protected birds and animals, the presence of protected plants does not necessarily mean that you “can’t do anything” with the site in question. Damage to plants can often be avoided by careful planning, and DAFF operates a Wildlife Act licensing system to permit appropriate activities, and can advise whether this is applicable.
Photo: parsley fern Cryptogramma crispa.
(Photographs: Linda Moore)
| Downloadable Documents | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
You will need Adobe Acrobat to download documents that are PDFs, this is available free by following this link:
