COUNTRYSIDE bosses today reflected on 40 years of Bowland as an area of outstanding natural beauty - and were warned it was up to them to preserve it.

As a week of events got under way to mark the 40th birthday of the designation of a large part of Lancashire as an AONB, council bosses unveiled a new management plan designed to help protect it for future generations.

Councils across the AONB, including Ribble Valley and Lancashire County Council, have signed pledges to help preserve the landscape while helping open up large areas of it to the public to fall in line with new 'right to roam' legislation.

At the launch of the Bowland Festival, held yesterday on the edge of the Forest of Gisburn, County Coun Tim Ormrod said the AONB designation from Government had resulted in extra investment.

A combination of its unique moorland, and the fact it is home to rare species of animal and bird, led the Government to make the decision in 1964.

Coun Ormrod said: "We led the way with AONB status and were the first in the country to have ranger-patrolled areas. Then we set up the joint committee to ensure we preserved the landscape and improved it, while making it accessible.

"Other achievements include reinventing the parish lengthsman scheme, which appoints people to carry out quick improvements and repairs to keep areas looking good. At the same time, AONB status helped us persuade the Government to pilot The Bowland Initiative in the area in 1999. Now called Lancashire Rural Futures, it has helped hundreds of businesses diversify and helped protect the landscape."

The North Lancashire Bridleway, spearheaded by Lancashire Rural Futures and expected to draw thousands of visitors to the area, was launched at the Bowland Festival. It runs from Caton in Lancaster through the AONB via countryside near Slaidburn and Dunsop Bridge, before ending in Chipping.