And the sites are still badly degraded after extraction firms carried out intensive drainage to dry them out.
In 2012 Lincoln-based William Sinclair Ltd applied to continue peat extraction on the Moss until 2027, but Secretary of State Eric Pickles took the decision to end extraction after a public inquiry in May that year.
Watch: End of peat extraction spells bright future for Salford
Rare UK species you can see on Salford’s Mosses include the black darter dragonfly and the bog bush cricket.
Little Woolden Moss in Cadishead is part of a lowland raised peat bog, one of the country’s most important ecosystems.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust is now taking volunteers onto the site and blocking up sink drains to help re-wet the habitat and undo the damage that has been done.
Rewetting of the sites will also help preserve the thousands of tonnes of carbon which are stored in the peaty soil.
This week 12 volunteers underwent work to build a series of wave breakers to stop the ersoion of the walls of peat which keep water on the moss – known as ‘peat bunds’ – as well as digging three large ditch blocks.
They were under the watchful eye of Chat Moss Project Officer Elspeth Ingleby, who said: “They were a really good group, all interested and enthusiastic.
“We had a couple of light showers but, otherwise, it was a beautiful sunny day, with a curlew calling for company.”
The restoration plans will continue throughout the year.
