Cannock Chase is home to a host of rare and protected wildlife including adders and nightjar, which need the heathland to survive, and a range of wetland habitat types, including mires that support rare fauna such as small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly and bog bush cricket.
 
Parts of the Chase are internationally protected for wildlife, but the condition of these habitats is being threatened by people pressure on the small remnants of the formerly larger heathland areas which remain.
 
Lowland heath in the UK is extremely rare and rich in wildlife, but can be easily destroyed by disturbance and the Chase is the most extensive area of the habitat type in the Midlands.

As an important resource for habitats and species, Cannock Chase is a vital element of Staffordshire’s Nature Recovery Network.  Staffordshire Wildlife Trust wants this exceptional but threatened resource to be protected for future generations.
 
Julian Woolford, CEO of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust said, “Because of the pandemic, our green spaces are even more important places to get out and enjoy the benefits of nature and wildlife.

“However, the wildlife in some of these green spaces is so fragile, that in places, excessive numbers of visitors can actually harm the wildlife which makes these green spaces so special and gives them their protected designations. 

So just as we need the outdoors, nature needs her own, undisturbed space too."