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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
News from over the Christmas Break
London's Garden Bridge falls short for wildlife
- RSPB There’s been a great kerfuffle in London as 2014 drew to a close over
an actresses’ vision, a celebrity gardener’s know-how and an
award-winning architect’s design.
The much debated Garden Bridge has now been approved by the relevant
local authorities with little across its path to prevent the artwork
becoming reality. Actress Joanna Lumley is the bridge’s chief flag
carrier, and landscape designer Dan Pearson is adding his green-fingered
expertise to Thomas Heatherwick’s design; yes, he of the Olympic
Cauldron and Boris Bus fame. From a conservation point of view, the bridge adds little and damages
little, so the RSPB had cautiously supported the initial concept.
You can do a lot in a small space, so the RSPB is hoping the design will
incorporate bat and bird nesting sites alongside suitable habitats for
pollinators and other bugs. Water capture and storage as part of a wider
drainage initiative would have been a bonus. Better still, it could link
existing wildlife spots north and south of the river, but that’s not
currently part of the plans. Londoners will not be gaining a new,
wildlife rich habitat and consequently, the bridge will not gain RSPB
backing. The Garden Bridge will cost an estimated £175 million. It will
provide a pedestrian-only link from Temple on the north bank with the
area close to the OXO building on the south. The promoters have hinted
that there may be a ticketing scheme imposed to manage the crowds, so
they warn potential users to expect queues. Picnics will not be allowed
and groups limited to no more than eight people at a time. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has promised to use £30 million of Londoners’ money to match fund £30 million from the UK Government. That leaves £115 million to secure, but this may be offset by fundraising events on the bridge. Twelve days a year have reportedly been set aside for this use.
New sea creature discovery: ‘fairy’ found on north Devon coast
- Devon Wildlife Trust
A
new variety of sea anemone has been found off the coast of north Devon.
Just 6mm tall, the tiny animal was spotted by retired teacher Robert
Durrant in Hele Bay, near Ilfracombe
But it took an international exchange of emails and photos before the
anemone was identified as a new variety. As it lacks a common name,
Robert has proposed calling the small, pretty creature the ‘fairy
anemone’. As a volunteer marine recorder for Coastwise North Devon, Robert
wasn’t particularly looking to find a new species. He takes up the
story: “It was found by accident at Hele Bay really – I took a photo and
posted it on Facebook and experts hadn’t a clue. So I decided to take a
specimen for my aquarium at home to feed the anemone to see how it would
develop – and get some more photos to try to identify it.” Since this record, further anemones have been found at Newlyn in
Cornwall which are individuals of the ‘Hele Bay’ variety, rather than
the previously familiar ‘Portland Harbour’ variety. Devon Wildlife Trust’s Dan Smith commented: “It’s amazing that new
animal discoveries can still be made right on our shores. The north
Devon coast is particularly rich in marine habitats and species, which
is why local people nominated the area from Bideford to Foreland Point
as a Marine Conservation Zone. Government missed this site off the list
in the first designations of MCZs in 2013, but we have a chance to
secure protection for this stunning section of coast in the new year.
Greener transport network to provide highways for wildlife
- Natural England, defra & the Highways Agency Roads and railways will become better-suited to wildlife and
withstanding climate change under a project by Natural England and
partners. The areas of vegetation growing alongside the transport network,
known as “green corridors”, are to be enhanced as part of a £3 million
pilot project drawing together Natural England, the Highways Agency,
Network Rail and Nature Improvement Area (NIA) partnerships. It will
ensure that these green corridors can accommodate more wildlife –
especially pollinators – and enable greater movement between sites.
For the first time, this type of conservation work will not only
focus on improving conditions for plants, animals and insects, it will
also benefit transport users and the wider public by making
infrastructure more resilient to the growing impacts of climate change,
such as increased flooding and winter storms. In addition, it will help
to tackle the perennial problem of “leaves on the line” and, in the
right areas, open up views for rail passengers and motorists. The pilot is a product of the government’s Natural Environment White
Paper in 2011 which pledged to bring together transport and conservation
partners in the “creation of coherent and resilient ecological
networks”. It will focus on the NIAs in Morecambe Bay, between Cumbria and
Lancashire, and the Humberhead Levels, straddling Yorkshire,
Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. If the 3-year pilot is successful it
could usher in a similar approach across the country. The rail network
has 32,000 km (20,000 miles) of green corridors, also known as the “soft
estate”, while the Highways Agency has 30,000 hectares of land in
addition to the extensive road infrastructure managed by local
authorities. Other linear infrastructure such as canals, cycleways and
power lines could also benefit. The project is based on the findings of a
literature review, carried out by ADAS UK Ltd, looking at research
into transport green corridors across the UK and Europe. These were used
to
map out the locations best suited to conservation management and
improving resilience in the 2 pilot areas. The aims of the pilot are:
Rare beetles discovered in Scotland for first time in decades
- RSPB Scotland The beetle found at Abernethy was a water scavenger beetle called
Cryptopleurum subtile, which was collected and identified during a
survey of woody debris along the River Nethy. This appears to be
the most northern ever record of this species in Scotland, and is only
the second record for the country, with the first being from a cut grass
pile in Melrose in 1969. Abernethy nature reserve (Image: Andy Hay, RSPB) The second beetle, found at Loch of Strathbeg, was a whirligig called
Gyrinus paykulli which occurs mainly in lochs and spends a lot of time
in reeds and other plants on the edges of the water. Again,
this appears to be the most northern record of this particular beetle in
Scotland with previous discoveries being made in Fife and Perthshire,
with the most recent noted in 1999. Both beetles were unearthed by Genevieve Dalley, Trainee Ecologist at
RSPB Scotland. She said: “These beetles may not have been noticed very
often in Scotland before as they are part of an under-recorded group of
animals and, superficially, look very similar to other species. However,
when you get a closer look and start learning about their lifestyle they
are unique and brilliant creatures. These discoveries really show the
importance of habitats which are sometimes undervalued, such as woody
dams in rivers. There are less than 20 records of Cryptopleurum subtile
in the UK and it is a species very little at all is known about, so
information like this is crucial to building a picture of their needs on
reserves and pinpointing important habitats to safeguard.” Cinderella wildlife refuges at risk: New report shows the vulnerable status of England’s Local Wildlife Sites - London Wildlife Trust
Hidden
havens which support rare and threatened wildlife are being lost and
damaged to development and neglect every year. New survey results
published today provide insight into the secret places where nature
thrives – known as Local Wildlife Sites – and highlight some worrying
trends.
Local Wildlife Sites are often little known, sometimes hidden yet
vitally important wild havens - identified and selected locally for
their high nature conservation value. They range from ancient woodlands
to vibrant meadows abundant with butterflies, quiet churchyards home to
bees and birds, bustling flower-rich roadsides and field-bordering
hedgerows. The Wildlife Trusts’ new report,
Secret Spaces: The status of England’s Local Wildlife Sites, draws
on new evidence gathered this year which suggests that more than 10% of
the 6,590 Local Wildlife Sites monitored have been lost or damaged in
the last five years. As if these losses were not bad enough, this
evidence does not highlight the enormous and depressingly extensive
history of loss over recent decades. With predicted growth in
housing, new roads and other infrastructure all set to increase, changes
to farm environment schemes reducing incentives for owners to gain
support for Local Wildlife Site management and austerity measures, which
threaten the management of publically-owned Local Wildlife Sites, these
last important refuges for wildlife remain vulnerable. In London, the Local Wildlife Sites – known as the Sites of
Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs), of which over 1,500 are
identified - have benefited from a reasonably robust level of protection
since the system was developed over the 1980s and ‘90s. However, London Wildlife Trust is particularly concerned that the
incredible pressures for development in London will make them ever more
vulnerable to damage and loss, and without their designation being more
visible in the public eye planners and developers may seek to downgrade
or remove levels of protection. The Trust is due to publish a report
promoting the value of London’s SINCs in March 2015.
Trust Chief Executive calls for lynx reintroduction
- Scottish Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust's Chief Executive, Jonny Hughes, has
called for the reintroduction of the once native Eurasian lynx to
Scotland. The Trust believes there is both a moral and ecological case for
reintroduction of species that have been made extinct in Scotland due to
habitat loss and persecution. Reintroducing top-level predators such as
the lynx would help restore the balance in Scotland’s natural
ecosystems, which continue to decline in the face of widespread threats,
such as overgrazing and inappropriate development. Jonny Hughes said: “The Scottish Wildlife Trust has experience in
bringing keystone species back to Scotland, having been a lead partner
in the groundbreaking Scottish Beaver Trial, a trial reintroduction of
the Eurasian beaver to Argyll. This was the first ever licensed
reintroduction of a mammal species to the UK. “The five-year scientific monitoring period of the Scottish Beaver
Trial has now come to an end and we await a ministerial decision on the
future of beavers in Scotland. We believe that lynx should also be
considered for reintroduction and in many ways could be a flagship for
the restoration of native habitats, particularly woodlands into the
future., Although reintroductions of this nature are complex and must
follow strict international guidelines, Scotland is leading the way with
its new
Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations launched by the
Scottish Government in 2014, through the work of the Scottish National
Species Reintroduction Forum of which the Trust is a key member. Finding
the right locations will be one of the major challenges for a potential
lynx project and there will be a range of stakeholders who will need to
work in partnership to ensure the best chance of success and support, as
has been the case in the Scottish Beaver Trial. It is important that we
all understand the potential benefits of bringing back the lynx to our
woodland ecosystems, but also to our forestry and tourism industries. At
the same time we should understand the challenges that this beautiful
once native cat will bring with it.”
The Trust’s policy on reintroductions can be accessed here. The
Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations can be accessed here.
To read IUCN guidelines on reintroductions, please click here.
Europe is wilder than we think - IUCN A new study published in Science finds that large carnivores such as
wolves, brown bears, Eurasian lynx and wolverines have made a comeback
in one-third of mainland Europe’s surface area, often sharing landscapes
with humans. This development is widely hailed as a major conservation
success. The article, written by 76 large carnivore experts from 26 countries,
summarized the status of these four large carnivore species across the
European continent and the results are remarkably positive. Coordinated
by the IUCN’s Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE), the study
finds that in one-third of mainland Europe at least one species of large
carnivore is present. This is an excellent example of how humans and
carnivores can share the same landscape. The study finds that there are currently 17,000 bears, 12,000 wolves,
9,000 lynx and around 1,250 wolverines. Remarkably, all of the recovered
species in Europe occur in areas with high human densities, in
landscapes that are highly modified, intensively exploited and
fragmented by infrastructure. This is in stark contrast to many other
parts of the world, where large carnivores are restricted to national
parks and wilderness areas. In June 2014, the European Commission launched the EU Platform on
Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores to facilitate
constructive dialogue among key stakeholders including farmers,
conservationists, landowners and hunters, and to find commonly agreed
solutions to conflicts arising from people living and working in close
proximity to these large animals. IUCN is one of the stakeholders
represented on the Platform. Read the paper: Chapron m.fl:
Recovery of
large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes,
Science, 19 December 2014, DOI: 10.1126/Science.1256620
Scientific Papers Orros, Melanie E.
& Fellowes, Mark D. E.
Widespread supplementary feeding in domestic gardens explains the return
of reintroduced Red Kites Milvus milvus to an urban area.
Ibis DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12237
Saeed Hadian, Kaveh Madani,
A system of systems approach to energy sustainability assessment: Are
all renewables really green?, Ecological Indicators, Volume 52, May
2015, Pages 194-206, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.11.029. Furnas, Brett J. & Callas, Richard L.
Using automated recorders and occupancy models to monitor common forest
birds across a large geographic region. The Journal of Wildlife
Management. DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.821 Marie Vanacker, Alexander Wezel, Vincent Payet & Joël Robin,
Determining tipping points in aquatic ecosystems: The case of
biodiversity and chlorophyll α relations in fish pond systems,
Ecological Indicators, Volume 52, May 2015, Pages 184-193, ISSN
1470-160X, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.011. Filippo Bussotti & Martina Pollastrini,
Evaluation of leaf features in forest trees: Methods, techniques,
obtainable information and limits, Ecological Indicators, Volume 52,
May 2015, Pages 219-230, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI:
10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.010. Morrison, Catriona, Baillie, Stephen R., Clark, Acquie A., Johnston,
Alison Leech, David I. & Robinson, Robert A.
Flexibility in the timing of post-breeding moult in passerines in the UK.
Ibis DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12234 Leather, Simon R. Onwards and upwards – aphid flight trends follow climate change. Journal of Animal Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12314 Bárbara Ondiviela, María Recio, & José A. Juanes,
A management approach for the ecological integrity of NE Atlantic
estuaries, Ecological Indicators, Volume 52, May 2015, Pages
105-115, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.003.
Jan Rücknagel, Bodo Hofmann, Peter Deumelandt, Frank Reinicke, Jana
Bauhardt, Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen, Olaf Christen,
Indicator based assessment of the soil compaction risk at arable sites
using the model REPRO, Ecological Indicators, Volume 52, May 2015,
Pages 341-352, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI:10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.022. Soykan, Candan U., Lewison, Rebecca L.,
Using community-level metrics to monitor the effects of marine protected
areas on biodiversity. Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12445 Ilse R. Geijzendorffer, Berta Martín-López, Philip K. Roche,
Improving the identification of mismatches in ecosystem services
assessments, Ecological Indicators, Volume 52, May 2015, Pages
320-331, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.016. Anastasija Zaiko, Darius Daunys,
Invasive ecosystem engineers and biotic indices: Giving a wrong
impression of water quality improvement?, Ecological Indicators,
Volume 52, May 2015, Pages 292-299, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI:
10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.023.
Cardador, Laura, et al
Conservation traps and long-term species persistence in human-dominated
systems. Conservation Letters. DOI: 10.1111/conl.12160 News this week
A new joint initiative urging voluntary restraint on large scale culls
of mountain hares launched - Scottish Natural
Heritage
The
move by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Land & Estates (SLE)
and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) should, along with
several other measures, help ensure that future management is
sustainable. Ron Macdonald, SNH’s director of policy and advice, said: “We are
asking estates for restraint on large-scale culls of mountain hares
which could jeopardise the conservation status of mountain hares.
We recognise that some culling is occasionally needed to ensure healthy
grouse stocks, but do not support large-scale culls and we will work
with estates to put in place effective but sustainable management of
mountain hares.”
Douglas McAdam, Chief Executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said:
"Culling is legal and is necessary in some circumstances, such as to
protect young trees or to support management for red grouse and we
support that. We believe such management should be done sustainably and
be supported by a sound management plan as part of an overall management
approach. We want to ensure that the strong positive relationship
between mountain hares and management for red grouse continues. Moorland
managers should carefully assess the need for and impact of their
actions on their own and neighbouring hare populations, and regularly
reassess this management. A contributory part of refining this adaptive
approach to management is finding practical ways to assess hare
abundance with greater accuracy.” SNH has also joined forces with the James Hutton Institute (JHI) and
Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) to begin a three-year joint
study to trial several methods of assessing mountain hare population
densities to determine the number of hares in a particular area. The project will develop a reliable and cost-effective field method
that can be used to form the basis of a longer-term monitoring programme
for the first time. This will lead to a better understanding of how hare
populations are faring at both local and national scales, and to
better-informed decisions about their sustainable management. The new project will trial various methods to identify the most
suitable way of counting hares – with the objective of making reliable
estimates of population density. One of the aims of the study is to
develop a method which doesn’t rely solely on scientists but uses
methods that could be collected by people working in the uplands. Also read:
SNH-GWCT-SL&E position on large-scale culls of mountain hares to reduce
louping ill
Two thirds of parents have outdoor play concerns
- New Forest National Park Almost two thirds of parents based in and around the New Forest have
concerns about letting their children play outdoors, a survey suggests. Parents cited safety concerns, especially ‘stranger danger’, as the
main reason for not allowing their children to play outdoors without
adult supervision, despite 85 per cent of respondents saying that it is
‘very important’ to them that their children play outside.
Family
playing in New Forest (image: New Forest National Park)
In total 378 adults and children took part in the outdoor play
survey, and the results from the children surveyed showed that:
This echoes nationwide studies that have shown children have less
freedom to play outside and get in touch with nature than previous
generations. Less than a quarter of children regularly use their local
‘patch of nature’, compared to over half of all adults when they were
children, according to Natural England research (tinyurl.com/37okvmt). James Brown, the National Park Authority’s Community Engagement
Officer, said: ‘In many ways the results of this survey are bittersweet.
On the one hand children remain eager to play outdoors with their
parents or friends, and the majority do play outdoors every day outside
of school hours. These results are certainly illuminating, and will help
us to develop our wild play project, which aims to provide exciting
outdoor play opportunities in the New Forest for children, while helping
to address the concerns of parents.’ Work is already underway with parish councils and schools to develop
wild play areas, which will provide safe and engaging areas for children
to experience nature.
£20.6m Lottery boost for public parks - Heritage Lottery Fund Seven much-loved public parks are set to be revitalised thanks to new
investment by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund.
The
historic public parks are receiving grants today totalling £20.6m for
important regeneration works, new community facilities and a range of
activities that will generate income and involve volunteers. This Lottery investment in parks comes six months after the
publication of HLF’s report State of UK Public Parks 2014: Renaissance
to Risk which revealed that the UK’s public parks are at serious risk of
decline unless innovative ways of funding and maintaining them are
found. Cannon Hall Park and Gardens, Barnsley
(image: HLF)
Currently unused structures including walled gardens, gardener’s
cottages and historic halls and houses will be repaired and used as
volunteer and training centres, event spaces and community facilities. The parks funded are also partnering with schools and colleges,
ensuring that the local community can learn a range of horticulture and
other skills, enabling them to get involved in the restoration and
future management and maintenance of their parks. Several
apprenticeships will also be offered.
Busy Bees Goes Wild: Exclusive learning enhancement programme designed
for UK nurseries - Wildlife Trusts Busy Bees has joined forces with The Wildlife Trusts to promote the
great outdoors and the fabulous fun to be had exploring all that nature
has to offer with children
We
want as many children as possible to experience nature and enabling this
to happen at a young age is really important Intended to reignite children’s curiosity for the natural world, and
in doing so help protect its many wonders for generations of children
yet to come, Busy Bees Goes Wild will launch this month to babies,
toddlers and pre-schoolers across all of Busy Bees’ 236 nurseries across
the UK. Commenting on the partnership, Marg Randles, co-founder and managing
director of Busy Bees Childcare, explained: “Exploring the natural world has been an integral part of childhood
for centuries and represents a free, fun and accessible way for
children, and their families, to spend quality time together, learn and
play. It also supports active and healthy lifestyles. Yet, for several
reasons – including the advancement of technology – the great outdoors
is becoming a less attractive proposition for many children and parents. Adam Cormack, Communications Manager for The Wildlife Trusts, said: Find out more at http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/BusyBeesGoesWild
Bad news for backyard biodiversity - BTO Global biodiversity loss has hit the headlines with worrying
frequency during the latter part of 2014, be it the rate at which
Amazonian rainforests are being felled or the increase in poaching
pressure on African elephants and the northern white rhino.
The
British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO’s) latest BirdTrends report,
produced in partnership with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee
and published online, summarises the population trends for 120
breeding bird species across Britain & Ireland using data collected
by volunteer surveyors. For the first time, this year’s report
provides habitat-specific trends for many species, highlighting
those habitats where species are in trouble. While intensive
conservation efforts and targeted habitat management have benefited
some rarer UK bird species, many widespread and formerly common
birds are experiencing severe declines. Twenty-eight species, almost
a quarter of those included in the
BirdTrends report, have exhibited a fall in numbers of greater
than 50% over the last 35-45 years.
“National declines in farmland birds are well-documented and
these latest figures show that this decrease is continuing,”
explains the report’s lead author, Senior Research Fellow Dr Stephen
Baillie. “The results of BTO surveys show that many familiar garden
birds are also experiencing problems. House Sparrow numbers have
dropped by almost 70% since the 1960s and the data suggest that
sparrows occupying urban and suburban habitats are faring worst.” “The range of garden birds experiencing population declines
appears to be increasing,” explains report co-author John Marchant.
“While many will be familiar with the disappearance of House
Sparrow, Starling and Spotted Flycatcher, it may surprise people to
know that House Martin, Mistle Thrush and Greenfinch are heading in
the same direction.”
Opportunity to engage with UK Science Landscape Project The Prime Minister's Council for Science & Technology (CST) has
announced a new project which aims to build a picture of the whole
UK research landscape and develop a stronger evidence base. This
evidence base will be available to inform future strategic decision
making and help the UK maintain and develop its excellence in
research. CST wants to better understand how the UK's research community
defines itself, and the links and interconnections that exist
between research disciplines. To do this they have developed the UK
Knowledge Landscape Tool, which is designed to gather data from
researchers on the disciplines, dependencies and key infrastructure
they think make up modern research. CST is interested in crowd sourcing a large amount of data which
will be analysed for statistically significant patterns across the
whole body of responses, then used to produce outputs such as
taxonomies or maps. The more responses the tool has the better the
mapping will be, and NERC encourages its academic community to input
as widely as possible. To take part in this exciting and experimental project, please
create an account on the
UK Knowledge Landscape website.
Government gives Green Gyms £475,000 to grow
- TCV TCV's Green Gym initiative has been awarded almost half a million
pound (£475,000) investment by the Cabinet Office and innovation
foundation Nesta.
Recognised
by the Department of Health and GPs as having a significant impact
on the health and wellbeing of those who take part, Green Gyms are
outdoors sessions during which instructors guide individuals through
activities such as tree planting, food growing, creating footpaths
and maintaining woodlands. Improving the health and wellbeing of the
individual and creating improved community spaces for all to enjoy.
Unlike other conservation projects, the emphasis of Green Gyms is
very much on health and fitness - volunteers warm up and cool down
in preparation for what can be quite vigorous exercise. Almost a
third more calories can be burnt in Green Gym sessions than in an
average aerobics class. This innovative way of getting people active
and healthy whilst benefiting their local communities was the reason
why TCV was awarded funding. The funding will be used to support the growth of dedicated Green
Gym staff, both nationally and locally. This will enable the charity
to grow the Green Gym movement to improve the health of communities
across the country and develop outdoor spaces for those communities
to enjoy. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to grow our Green Gym
offering as a result of the funding awarded by the Cabinet Office
and Nesta. Green Gyms are free, fun and help people get fit at the
same time as improving their community space. The funding will
enable more people, and more communities, to benefit from this
brilliant resource.
New funding for Dragonscapes! - Amphibian and
Reptile Conservation Trust ARC are delighted to announce that our forthcoming “Dragonscapes”
project – involving local communities in habitat creation and
restoration, and monitoring of amphibians and reptiles across South
Wales – has received support totalling £249,935 from the Big Lottery
Fund People and Places grant scheme. The project aims to re-engage the people of South Wales with the
natural environment, providing them with opportunities to make a
positive difference to the declining wildlife on their doorstep. These
new experiences will encourage outdoor exercise, improve mental
wellbeing and provide skills to help communities to live healthier
happier lives in harmony with the natural world. This will include
amphibian and reptile surveying/monitoring, improving their local patch
for wildlife and working with nature to grow food for communities. The
grant, over three years, will fund two full-time posts of Habitat and
Species Officer, the purchase of a vehicle to transport equipment and
volunteers to tasks, staff and volunteer expenses, training, marketing
and monitoring & evaluation costs as well as equipment and lots of
habitat creation and restoration!
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