Although not an area of outstanding beauty, Thorne Moors, a raised peat bog is home to more than 4000 species of plants and animals including more than 25 of Britain's rarest and most severly endangered species. Much of the moor was drained by the Dutch in the 17th century and in more recent times has been considered as a site for dumping ash from power stations and debris from mine workings and was even a potential site for an airport. All this has happened even though the area was listed, in 1970, as an area of Special Scientific Interest. It now belongs to Fisons who are extracting the remaining peat.