Inter-Agency Liaison: Joint agency approach
The 3 main steps of identifying sites with concerns, assessing sites, and prioritising for action remains. Agencies previously dealt with deterioration on a site by site basis. However, with new information to hand, it is becoming clear that better solutions come from looking at the natural ranges of deer and then at the practicalities arising from land ownership patterns. Clustering designated sites together in clearly defined management units will have 3 main advantages:
- It makes sense to address as many issues as possible in an area at one time;
- 'Clustering' allows greater flexibility in planning work priorities for different habitats and features; and
- With all relevant owners and managers involved in plan preparation, the sustainability of any change is more likely to be maintained.
In practice, solutions will be sought over the appropriate deer range area and this may, or may not, reflect designated site boundaries. The Agencies will be contacting relevant owners and managers to explain this process further and to engage them in working out the most appropriate management units for the new cluster approach.
The partnership arrangements for strategic co-ordination, project management and resolution of complex issues have been documented and can be accessed through the following links
Process for identifying and prioritising sites for Joint action
Promoting best practice and assisting both private individuals and public sector agencies in deciding whether to fund and/or permit deer fencing.
Also: documentation about the oversight of the Joint Working process