Posted on Tuesday 13th January 2026
Volunteers, the Cannock Chase SAC team and Staffordshire County Council's rangers team up to plant trees at Brocton Coppice.
As the New Year begins, Staffordshire’s countryside and environment team reflects on their major achievements throughout 2025, which has helped protect rare wildlife and care for some of the county’s most special landscapes.
Staffordshire County Council manages five country parks across Staffordshire, including large areas of Cannock Chase National Landscape, several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and internationally important Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).
These protected places are home to rare and endangered species and play a vital role in supporting biodiversity, wellbeing and opportunities for people to connect with nature.
Throughout 2025, the countryside team carried out extensive habitat management to keep these landscapes healthy and resilient. Around 100 hectares of scrub were managed on Cannock Chase alone, helping to prevent heathland from being lost to encroaching vegetation and ensuring the open conditions needed by specialist wildlife.
Tree care also remained a priority, with 2,309 trees planted across the county and almost 100,000 trees surveyed to monitor their health and safety. Additionally, more than 2,000 trees were given away as part of the Staffordshire Sustainability Board’s initiative to help residents enrich their gardens and community spaces.
Alongside this, the team made significant progress in creating new habitats, installing 17 bat boxes to provide additional roosting spaces for native bat species.
At Cannock Chase, rangers planted 4,200 marsh violets, which is an essential food source for the rare small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly. Once widespread, this species has suffered a dramatic decline of 71 per cent in the UK since the mid-1970s, making targeted conservation work like this critical to its survival.
Volunteers once again played a key role in supporting the team’s work, contributing around 11,000 hours during the year - a 29% increase on 2024.
Beyond nature conservation, the council’s Historic Environment Team continued to protect Staffordshire’s heritage, adding 85 new monuments and 60 new events to the Staffordshire Historic Environment Record.
Meanwhile, 1,637 reported issues were resolved across the public rights of way network, with 471 pieces of infrastructure repaired or replaced, including 35 bridges, helping to keep routes safe and accessible.
Rangers also responded to 173 deer-vehicle collisions across Cannock Chase and surrounding areas, providing rapid support and helping to keep both people and wildlife safe.
Hayley Coles, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture, said:
“Our countryside team does an incredible job caring for some of Staffordshire’s most special places and preserving them for future generations to enjoy.
“Their work protects wildlife, keeps our parks welcoming, and helps people enjoy nature safely and responsibly. I’m really proud of what they’ve achieved in the last year. I also want to thank all our fantastic volunteers and partners. We couldn’t do what we do without them.”