A FOREST on the edge of a National Park is to become 1,140-acre wildlife haven.
Silton Forest, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, will have more than 250 acres of woodland felled next year to create a more open, bird-friendly habitat.
The Forestry Commission wants to encourage more native species, such as ash, alder, oak and rowan, to grow along streams and in the north-west of the wood.
It also wants to protect evidence in the forest of Bronze Age farming.
A total of 250 acres of densely-planted commercial woodland will be felled in three phases, then replanted to create a softer border with the moorland.
Forester Alastair Cumming said: "The restocking is going to be with small clumps of trees, with heather in between.
"We will have a diversity of habitats in just one area. This will be an evolutionary process taking many years, but it will significantly improve the wood, especially for wildlife."
The forest was planted with fast growing larch, spruce and pine after the Second World War, to help shore up the nation's depleted timber reserves.
At present, it produces 3,000 tonnes of timber a year.
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