Britain, France, and the European Union - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 101

carving. The park has 14 lakes. Human settlement dates back 10,000 years,
with archaeological evidence of prehistoric, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and
medieval settlements. Wordsworth lived here, and wrote a Guide to the
Lakes , which became popular. Today, millions of tourists visit each year.
A joint national-local planning board oversees the park. Most of the land
remains in private hands, with a quarter owned by the National Trust.
Hikers have access to most areas. The second largest park is Snowdonia
in Wales, named for Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in England and
Wales. It is a land of mountains, valleys, and castles. Like the Lake District,
it is largely privately owned, but with public access. Twenty-six thousand
people live there, many speaking Welsh as their native tongue.
An issue in many of the parks is the extent to which the land should be
restored to a prehuman natural state. North American visitors are horri-
fied to find sheep are allowed to graze on the moors, clipping the hills to
bareness. Native trees and shrubs cannot grow to maturity. On the other
hand, most Britons believe that is the proper situation because sheep have
been grazing there for thousands of years. Moreover, prehistoric inhabit-
ants used to cut the timber for fuel and building, and later residents dug
mines, plowed fields, and dammed rivers.
In 1968 the government, once more in the hands of the Labour Party,
expanded parks, adding some national ones, but also creating many
smaller ones more accessible to the cities under the Countryside Act. They
were designed for recreation, and were not necessarily significant in terms
of nature. The Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 established Areas of
Special Protection. These incorporated Sanctuary Areas, originally desig-
nated under the Protection of Birds Acts 1954. The 1981 law responded to
pressure from farmers against unilateral action. Now they must be con-
sulted. It also established Sites of Special Scientific Interest for wildlife
habitats and geological features, categorized into international, national,
and local importance. In 1991 Parliament reorganized the agency into
agencies for England (English Nature), Wales (Countryside Council for
Wales), and Scotland (Scottish Natural Heritage).
Fox hunting has been one of the most controversial issues in politics, pit-
ting the upper class against the working class. A hunt begins with upper-
class horsemen and women dressed in red coats gathering with their packs
of hounds to chase a fox. England has more than three hundred packs. A
fox is released with a head start, followed by the hunters and hounds gal-
loping across the countryside until the hounds chase the fox into a hole.
To some it is a thrilling ride, and to others it is cruelty to an innocent