SHAGGY Highland cattle are to be introduced to Shawford Down as part of a £15,000 conservation programme.
Hampshire County Council has secured the government grant to help with a ten-year programme.
Fencing for the cattle will be erected on the downs along with new gates and a wheelchair accessible path.
The council says the project will restore the downland but also maintain public access. The bridleway over the down will also be unaffected.
Work is scheduled to begin this month. Highland cattle will then be introduced early in 2007 to graze for a period of up to three months.
Unlike at nearby St Catherine's Hill, dog walkers will not be restricted from entering the area while the cattle are present.
Cllr Margaret Snaith, council executive member for recreation and heritage, said: "Shawford Down is an important fragment of downland habitat which survives from the earliest days of the settlement by people in the area."
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