List of local nature reserves in Hertfordshire
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File:The Aquadrome, Bury Lake - geograph.org.uk - 1588838.jpg|300px]]
Hertfordshire is a county in eastern England. It is bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south. The county town is Hertford. As of June 2014, the county has a population of 1,154,800{{cite web|publisher=Hertfordshire Local Information System|url=http://www.hertslis.org/peoppla/pop/respop/|title=Resident Population|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715020127/http://www.hertslis.org/peoppla/pop/respop/|archive-date=15 July 2015}} in an area of {{convert|634|sqmi|km2}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.hertslis.org/geog/areameas/|publisher=Hertfordshire Local Information System|title=Area Measurements|access-date=10 February 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210194001/http://www.hertslis.org/geog/areameas/|archive-date=10 February 2015}}
Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The local authority must have legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically, and local authorities have a duty to care for them. They can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs.{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/protected-or-designated-areas|title=Protected or designated areas|date=9 April 2013|publisher=Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504145328/https://www.gov.uk/protected-or-designated-areas|archive-date=4 May 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/create-and-manage-local-nature-reserves|title=Local nature reserves: setting up and management|date=2 October 2014|publisher=Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704111109/https://www.gov.uk/create-and-manage-local-nature-reserves|archive-date=4 July 2015}}
As of July 2015, forty-two LNRs in Hertfordshire have been notified to Natural England.{{cite web|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_results.asp?N=&C=21&Submit=Search|publisher=Nature England|title=Local Nature Reserves: Search Results for Hertfordshire|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210191033/http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_results.asp?N=&C=21&Submit=Search|archive-date=10 February 2015}} The largest site is Therfield Heath with {{convert| 147.3|ha|acre}}. It has some of the richest chalk grassland in England, and it is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).{{cite web|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001839.pdf|title=Therfield Heath citation|series=Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=9 February 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235513/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001839.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016}} The smallest is Oxleys Wood in Hatfield, which has an area of only {{convert| 1.2|ha|acre}}. This wood often floods, and it provides a habitat for a wide range of insects and birds.{{cite web |url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=21&N=&ID=1617 |title=Oxleys Wood |series=Local Nature Reserves |publisher=Natural England |date=14 March 2013 |access-date=10 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210192643/http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=21&N=&ID=1617 |archive-date=10 February 2015 }} Several other sites are also SSSIs, such as Croxley Common Moor and Sherrardspark Wood. The oldest LNR in Hertfordshire listed by Natural England is Hilfield Park Reservoir, declared in 1969,{{cite web|url= http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=21&N=&ID=217|title= Hilfield Park Reservoir|series= Local Nature Reserves|publisher= Natural England|date= 14 March 2013|access-date= 10 February 2015|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150210192637/http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=21&N=&ID=217|archive-date= 10 February 2015}} and the newest Weston Hills in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.north-herts.gov.uk/weston-hills|title=Weston Hills|publisher=North Hertfordshire District Council|access-date=24 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724025350/http://www.north-herts.gov.uk/weston-hills|archive-date=24 July 2015}}
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Key
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Sites
See also
{{commons category|Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire}}
Notes
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References
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{{Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire}}
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