A Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) is a non statutory designation, which seeks to protect areas of high wildlife value at a local level. They include semi-natural habitats such as ancient woodland and flower-rich grassland.

These sites are also know as Local Wildlife Sites and as a result of increasing pressures they are often small, isolated and fragmented. As such the protection and management of SINCs is important in conserving our natural resources.

The North Yorkshire SINC partnership

The Ecology team concentrates on delivering a high quality and effective SINC system for North Yorkshire in conjunction with a series of key partners. We review the site system and the guidelines for site selection in keeping with the latest national guidance.

Current SINC priorities

There are currently 750 SINCs designated and our priority now is help bring about positive management of SINC land and to monitor the condition of SINC sites. This will enable us to target funds towards priority sites and habitats. One of the key ways we achieve this is through the help of the Countryside Volunteers.

Countryside You can find out more about countryside services by following this link.