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Headlines from week beginning 25 January 2016 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
RSPB and Ecotricity to build new wind turbine in green energy
partnership Work begins in Sandy, Bedfordshire on Monday 25 January, and the 100
metre tall wind turbine will generate around two million units of green
energy every year, equivalent to over half of the electricity the RSPB
uses across its 127 UK locations. With this one wind turbine, Europe’s largest nature conservation
charity, in partnership with Ecotricity, will reduce carbon emissions by
up to 800 tonnes every year. Martin Harper, RSPB’s director of conservation, said: “Climate change
is the single biggest threat to our planet. This is about our birds and
wildlife as well as our way of life. Around the world, and even in the
UK, we can already see how these changes are affecting wildlife, the
places where they live as well as damage to our homes and disruptions to
the economy. It is down to everyone to play their part. In the UK, we
have the potential to generate a significant portion, if not all, of our
electricity from sustainable sources. This will take time and it will
take investment. So I am proud to say the RSPB continues to back words
with actions to show we are serious about tackling the threat of climate
change with our biggest single renewable energy project yet.” The new turbine is the latest development in a growing portfolio of
RSPB projects that are making the charity more energy efficient and
greener. The RSPB has aligned its carbon emissions reduction ambitions
with the 2008 Climate Change Act, which includes a legal duty for 80%
reduction of greenhouse gas emission by 2050. To achieve this, since 2007, the RSPB has set out a target to reduce
its carbon emissions by 3% per person per year to 2020 as the first
phase towards this ambition. Over the last few years, the RSPB has
invested in energy conservation, photovoltaic (PV) roof systems, wind
power, solar thermal collectors, ground source heat pumps, biomass
generators and more to achieve this target. Ecotricity, in partnership with the RSPB, completed three years of
detailed ecological and environmental research to confirm that the
location is a suitable site for a wind turbine before presenting final
plans to the local Planning Authority.
National Park Grant Protected for next four Years
- Dartmoor National Park In the 2015 Spending Review the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced
that the funding for National Parks and AONBs (Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty) would be protected. The Department for the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have just confirmed that the
protection will be in real terms and that there will be additional
funding for the recently announced extensions of the Yorkshire dales and
Lake District National Park. The announcement means that Dartmoor
National Park Authority now has a protected grant settlement for the
financial years 2016/17 to 2019/20. Peter Harper, Chairman of Dartmoor National Park said: “We have just
received confirmation that our budget will be protected for the next
four years (2016/17 – 2019/20). This is excellent news for the
Authority, those who live and work in the National Park and the millions
of people who visit the National Park. I would like to record my
thanks to our Minister Rory Stewart OBE MP and the Secretary of State
Liz Truss for their personal support and confidence in the work we do. After five years of deep cuts that saw our income decline by over 40
per cent we now face a period of financial stability that will provide
an opportunity to plan ahead and re-focus our efforts on sustaining the
National Park for the benefit of current and future generations
Lancashire County Council threatens to abandon its countryside service
- Open Spaces Society We are dismayed that Lancashire County Council has said that it will
cease to provide and maintain its countryside sites in two years’ time.
We have responded to the council’s consultation on the future of the
countryside services beyond April 2018 Of course we understand that the council faces massive cuts, stated
to be £262 million over the next five years, but we consider it a false
economy to stop investing in the country parks and green spaces. Wycoller and Beacon Fell country parks are the council’s flagships,
and there are numerous other sites, close to urban areas, which provide
health and happiness to thousands of people. We believe that if these
cease to be available and maintained it will have a devastating effect
on the well-being of the population. People need green spaces and open countryside now more than ever,
especially those which are close to home. They provide income to the
county and health benefits to its people. The service manages teams of
volunteers who are able to expand the work of the county council; it
would be tragic if their energy and enthusiasm were to be lost.
Heritage Lottery Boost for Red Squirrel Project – Scottish Wildlife
Trust Leading environmental charity, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, has
received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the
Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels’ Developing Community Action project. The project aims to develop a network of active voluntary red
squirrel conservation groups. This is part of the programme of red
squirrel protection work required to secure the long-term survival of
the remaining core red squirrel populations across Scotland. Development funding of £37,800 has also been awarded to help the
Scottish Wildlife Trust progress their plans to apply for a full grant
of £2.46 million at a later date. The Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project has been running for the
last seven years, led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust in partnership with
Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Land
and Estates, RSPB Scotland and the Red Squirrel Survival Trust. Through a seven-year trial the innovative partnership has established
that it is possible to halt the decline of red squirrels via
co-ordinated grey squirrel control. Saving Scotland’s Red
Squirrels Developing Community Action will craft a sustainable programme
to deliver this work over the long-term creating communities and
landowner networks that are motivated and capable of acting together to
protect red squirrels in their local area. Project Manager of Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, Dr Mel Tonkin,
said: “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this
support. Our work over the last seven years has shown that it is
possible to reverse the decline of our much-loved red squirrels and
safeguard them for future generations, but to do this we need to keep up
the protection work for a long time to come.”
The Environment Secretary has visited a GWCT Farmer Cluster - GWCT The Environment Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, has visited a farm in
Hampshire to see how Farmer Clusters are working together to deliver
positive conservation at landscape scale. Using a ‘bottom-up’ approach, these Farmer Clusters, under the
guidance of a lead farmer, are trying to help wildlife on a landscape
scale rather than single farms working alone. With government funding,
and support and advice from Natural England (NE), the Game & Wildlife
Image: GWCT The Environment Secretary joined staff from the GWCT, NE and the
South Downs National Park Authority to visit just one of these new
clusters, The Selborne Landscape Partnership, comprising 11 farmers and
covering 10,000 acres of land. The group discussed how the Partnership has been working to conserve
harvest mice, barn owls, wildflowers and several butterfly species,
including the brown hairstreak and the Duke of Burgundy. The Cluster are
particularly proud of their harvest mice, which have been rediscovered
on their land, 25 years after the last sighting. The finding is doubly
special as it was in Selborne that harvest mice were first identified as
a separate species, by the naturalist Gilbert White in 1767.
BSBI New Year
Plant Hunt 2016 finds an unprecedented number of wildflowers in bloom
– Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland The results are in for BSBI’s fifth New Year Plant Hunt, when
wildflower enthusiasts across Britain and Ireland head out over the
holidays to see what is in bloom in their local patch. More than 850 plant-lovers spent up to three hours between 1st and
4th January hunting for wild plants in flower and contributed to these
amazing results: · A total of 8,568 records of plants in bloom across
Britain and Ireland. · A stunning 612 different species flowering,
compared to 368 last year. · We received more than 400 lists from
individuals, families and botanical recording groups. Ryan Clark, who
co-ordinated the New Year Plant Hunt this year, said “It was astonishing
to see so many records flooding in, from Guernsey to Shetland and Kent
to Donegal. As expected, the milder south and west of Britain had the highest
numbers of species in flower, but we also had more than 60 species
reported blooming in Edinburgh. Lists from Ireland also had consistently
high numbers of plants in flower at New Year”. Does the number of plants
flowering this New Year herald an early spring? BSBI’s Head of Science
Dr Kevin Walker said “There does not seem to be any real indication of
an early spring. Although spring-flowering specialists, such as Lesser
Celandine, Cow Parsley and Sweet Violet, were widely recorded, they make
up less than a fifth of the total. “At least three quarters of the
plants recorded were ‘Autumn Stragglers’ like Yarrow, Red Campion and
Red Dead-nettle that had carried on flowering in the absence of a hard
frost. The two most commonly recorded plants were Daisy and Dandelion –
which we would expect to be flowering at this time of year.”
Diverse migration helps birds cope with environmental change –
University of East Anglia Migratory birds that are ‘set in their ways’ could be more vulnerable
to environmental impacts – according to new research from the University
of East Anglia (UEA). Many species of migratory birds are in decline as a result of human
impacts such as climate change and habitat loss. New research published today (26 January) reveals why some species
are more vulnerable than others. Wood Warbler (University of East Anglia) It shows that species that migrate to a more diverse range of winter
locations during their non-breeding season – such as White Storks, Marsh
Harriers and Reed Warblers - are less likely to suffer population
decline. However species that tend to ‘funnel’ into smaller areas during the
winter – such as Turtle Doves and Wood Warblers - have been more
vulnerable to declining numbers, caused by human impacts. Lead researcher Dr James Gilroy from UEA’s School of Environmental
Sciences said: “Birds are well-known for their remarkable long-distance
migrations, often involving extreme feats of navigation and endurance.
Unfortunately, many migratory birds are in decline, and there is an
urgent need to understand what determines their vulnerability to human
impacts. We wanted to know whether ‘migratory diversity’ - the
variability of migratory behaviour within species - plays a role in
determining their population trends.” Read the paper here: Gilroy, J. J.,
Gill, J. A., Butchart, S. H. M., Hones, V. R. & Franco, A. M. A. (2016)
Migratory diversity predicts population declines in birds. Ecology
Letters. DOI: 10.1111/ele.12569
Don't blame grey squirrels: their British invasion had much more to do
with us - Imperial College London
Grey squirrels were imported to the UK from the 1890s onwards, and
the traditional view is that they spread rapidly across the UK due to
their ability cope with new landscapes. Different populations of grey
squirrels were thought to have interbred into a ‘supersquirrel’ that was
better able to adapt and spread.
However, new research shows greys may not be as hardy as once
thought, and were helped much more by humans in their conquest of the
British Isles. Dr Lisa Signorile compiled a DNA database of nearly 1,500
grey squirrels in the UK and Italy during her PhD studies at Imperial
College London and the Zoological Society of London. She was able to show that different squirrel populations are still
genetically distinct, meaning they did not interbreed much and did not
create a supersquirrel. The difference between populations also means Dr
Signorile and coauthors were able to trace where populations in new
areas had come from. In many cases, new populations of grey squirrels are not related to
nearby populations, and instead have come from a long way away. The only
way they could have travelled so far was by human intervention. For
example, the population in Aberdeen is most closely related to
populations in Hampshire, around the New Forest area. “It has been thought since the 1930s that grey squirrels were all the
same, spreading across the country as one invasion front. After a
century, genetics has proved that this isn’t correct. They are not that
good at breeding and mixing – in fact there are clear signs of
inbreeding,” said Dr Signorile. “Grey squirrels are not as crazy
invaders as we think – their spread is far more our own fault.”
Shark hotspots ‘tracked’ by fishing vessels Significant geographic overlap between ‘hotspots’ of oceanic shark
distribution and fishing activity is reported in a new study. Tens of millions of ocean-dwelling sharks are caught by fishing each
year, and catch rates have declined significantly for many species, yet
oceanic shark fishing remains largely unregulated. A lack of data on
where sharks are likely to encounter fishing vessels hampers current
conservation efforts. An international team of researchers from the UK, Portugal, Spain and
U.S.A. tracked more than 100 sharks from six different species by
satellite across the entire North Atlantic, one of the most heavily
exploited oceans. Concurrent with the shark tracking, the scientists
tracked 186 Spanish and Portuguese longline fishing vessels using GPS to
quantify the overlap in space and time. “Many studies have tracked sharks, and many studies have tracked
fishing vessels, but fine-scale tracking of sharks and fishing vessels
together is lacking, even though this should better inform how shark
fisheries should be regulated,” says Professor David Sims of the Marine
Biological Association in Plymouth, UK, the senior author of the study Read the paper here: Queiroz, N. et
al (2016)
Ocean-wide tracking of pelagic sharks reveals extent of overlap with
longline fishing hotspots. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1510090113
Minister Approves Plans To Safeguard National Park
- Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Initial plans for investment in improved camping unveiled
The Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Dr
Aileen McLeod, has approved camping management proposals that cover 3.7%
of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. The proposals put forward
by The Park Authority aim to protect the Park’s world-class environment
by addressing damage caused by overuse and antisocial behaviour around
the Park’s busiest lochshores. The National Park Authority collected years of evidence to support
its proposals and found that, despite increased ranger and police
efforts, serious problems ranging from widespread litter and
fire-damage, to abandonment of entire campsites were continuing to
blight the Park’s outstanding natural beauty. Local residents are also celebrating today’s announcement, which will
introduce three new ‘camping management zones’ at West Loch Lomond,
Trossachs (West) and Trossachs (North). The existing zone at East Loch Lomond – where investment, education
and enforcement has had a transformative effect in addressing antisocial
behaviour – will see a slight adjustment to its suite of measures for
consistency and ease of communication.
Richard Graham, Chairman of St Fillans Community Council said: “This
is great news, not only for the communities who have had to put up with
environmental degradation and antisocial behaviour for years, but also
for the visitors who have been put off spending time in these ‘no go’
zones. We’ve seen the restorative effect that dealing with the similar
issues had on East Loch Lomond and look forward to seeing families,
responsible campers and visitors return to areas like ours, which have
been blighted by these problems for too long.”
Floodplain management: reducing flood risks and restoring healthy
ecosystems - European Environment Agency
Floodplains once covered wide stretches along European rivers, but
today only fractions of them remain. These ecosystems have an important
role to play in reducing flood risks and are also the natural habitat of
many endangered species. A new report by the European Environment Agency
(EEA) provides an overview of significant floods in Europe and looks at
the role of floodplains in flood protection, water management and nature
conservation. Floodplains once covered wide stretches along European
rivers, but today only fractions of them remain. These ecosystems have
an important role to play in reducing flood risks and are also the
natural habitat of many endangered species. A new report by the European
Environment Agency (EEA) provides an overview of significant floods in
Europe and looks at the role of floodplains in flood protection, water
management and nature conservation. By retaining water, floodplains can buffer the effects of heavy
rainfall and in this way protect economic activities and communities
further downstream from flood damage. However, many former natural
floodplains are under increased pressure from urban sprawl,
infrastructure developments and agriculture. In Europe, up to 90% of
floodplains have been lost during the past centuries or are no longer
able to serve as functioning natural ecosystems providing flood risk
reduction and habitats favouring a high biodiversity. The EEA report ‘Flood
risks and environmental vulnerability — Exploring the synergies between
floodplain restoration, water policies and thematic policies’ draws
upon information published in the
European flood impact database which covers floods reported between
1980 and 2010. The report highlights the benefits of an integrated
approach to flood risk management and argues that a coordinated
implementation of EU legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive
(WFD), the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Floods Directive
through coherent measures and actions, would enhance the effectiveness
of the policies. The restoration of healthy ecosystems, for example through the Natura
2000 networks, is often a very effective way of preventing and
mitigating floods. Even when 'hard' flood defences, such as dykes, are
necessary to protect communities, those measures should be complemented
with long-term nature-based solutions such as floodplain restoration. By
'greening the grey' and making a network of green infrastructures, the
necessary protection levels can be combined with a minimum loss of
habitats and a good preservation of ecosystem services.
Scottish Saltmarsh Survey report published -
Scottish Natural Heritage Results from Scotland’s first comprehensive national survey of an
important coastal habitat have been published today (Thursday 28/1/16)
by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Environment
Protection Agency (SEPA). The three-year long Scottish Saltmarsh Survey, a joint project
between the two agencies, has mapped in detail, and assessed the
condition of, all known saltmarshes larger than three hectares or longer
than 500 metres across the Scottish mainland and offshore islands. Professor Stewart Angus of SNH, who managed the project, said: “The
Scottish Saltmarsh Survey report gives us a really valuable ‘snapshot’
of a habitat that is likely to change considerably in coming years as a
result of climate change. We now have detailed mapped information on
four of Scotland’s most important coastal habitats – saltmarsh, machair,
dune and shingle – known as ‘soft coasts’. This work also helps the
Scottish Government to meet its European reporting obligations.” Saltmarshes are important coastal habitats which provide us with a
range of natural services. They help to filter and regulate water,
provide defences against flooding and they act as a valuable carbon
sink. Saltmarshes also provide a refuge and food for a range of
breeding, wintering and migrating birds. Throughout the project the condition of saltmarsh was assessed
against UK targets, which are set at a high level, beyond that which is
needed to achieve Favourable Condition under the European Habitats
Directive. The report finds that the main reasons why some sites didn’t meet the
targets set related to the presence of manmade structures, such as
embankments, and a lack of transition habitats between the saltmarsh and
land. These are issues which are not easily addressed through site
management. Negative impacts of grazing were recorded more frequently on
non-designated sites.
Access the SNH Commissioned Report 786: Scottish saltmarsh survey report
Pagham coastal spit: planning application to protect housing in West
Sussex - Natural England Natural England says it won’t block a planning application to cut
through the spit at Pagham, West Sussex.
Natural England met local residents in Pagham to confirm it won’t
block the planning application submitted by Pagham Parish Council to
protect houses from erosion along this dynamic stretch of coastline. The growth in recent years of the coastal spit at Pagham in West
Sussex has led to increased erosion of the beach and subsequent risk of
erosion and flooding to nearby properties. The local community has
campaigned for their preferred option to cut a channel through the spit
to decrease erosion at Pagham beach. Natural England’s area manager James Seymour met community
representatives in Pagham today (28 January) to share the revised advice
Natural England is providing for both Arun and Chichester district
councils and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) ‘the planning
authorities’. Natural England recognises the significant problems posed by the
coastal erosion at Pagham and understand how distressing and difficult
it is for those who are affected. Natural England is committed to
helping the community in any way that it can to support their search for
a solution that ensures protection of properties and the unique
environment of Pagham. Natural England clarified its advice from
earlier this month to make it clear that it can work with the community
and authorities to deal with any environmental reasons why planning
permission cannot be sought, and help the authorities work through the
legal process needed to support a legally robust decision. During the meeting Mr Seymour also reassured residents the
consultation regarding a potential new marine Special Protection Area
(SPA) for foraging terns within the Solent and along the Dorset coast,
will not make it harder to get planning permission, as this is already
being taken into account. Mr Seymour praised the hard work of the
community’s representatives, their consultants, the local authorities
and Environment Agency in considering and identifying solutions to
protect the wildlife of the area, whilst progressing with the option
preferred by the local community to cut a channel through the spit to
decrease erosion at Pagham beach.
Dark Skies application submitted! - South
Downs National Park Our Ranger Dark-skies-Dan and his group of dedicated volunteers have
spent the past three years mapping out the quality of night skies across
the National Park. He’s also attended countless parish, town and county
council meetings to develop policies that will help protect our skies. All of this in preparation for our bid to get parts of the South
Downs Named as an International Dark Skies Reserve. You’ve played your
part too. Thank you to everyone who backed our bid by signing up to our
Dark Skies Pledge. We are really excited to announce that the bid has now been submitted
to the International Dark-Sky Association.
Rare plant saved from extinction - Natural
Resources Wales A rare meadow plant with striking blue flowers has been brought back
from extinction in the wild in Wales.
The last surviving wild population of Meadow Clary in Wales, at a
site in Monmouthshire, was dying out. But before it became extinct here,
seeds were collected and grown at Treborth Botanic Gardens in Bangor,
North Wales. This gave Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and its partners a
chance to study the plant and understand why it was in decline.
This discovered that the Meadow Clary population at the Rectory Meadow
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Monmouthshire had dwindled
due to genetic deterioration. The plants were unable to sustain the
population. The National Botanic Garden of Wales in
Carmarthenshire then studied various populations of Meadow Clary, found
at only 22 locations across the UK. Results showed that the
germination of the Welsh plant wasn’t as good as other larger and
healthier populations. A plan to cross-pollinate the Monmouthshire
plants with others from England and to limit cattle grazing at the site
was created. NRW has produced a
short film to
explain the work, and also created a
photo album.
Ending the week on an "aw" story!
He just flue in! Tawny owl rescued after getting stuck in chimney
- RSPCA A plucky tawny owl had to be rescued by the RSPCA after he fell down
a chimney and got stuck.
In a scene worthy of Harry Potter, the owl had got himself trapped in
a log burner of a house in Vicarage Lane, in Neston, Cheshire, on
Tuesday evening (26 January). RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes, who helped to free the owl, said: “He
was properly jammed in there and the only way I could get him out was to
remove him very delicately. I took him straight to a vet, where it
was found that he had got soot in his eyes. The vet found that he had
ulcers in both eyes caused by soot rubbing under his eyelids. This meant
that I could not immediately release him back to the wild, as owls rely
on their eyesight for hunting. He is now being treated at the RSPCA’s
Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre. I am hoping that I personally will get
to release him in the near future when his eyes have healed.
Scientific papers: Suykerbuyk W. et al (2016)
Unpredictability in seagrass restoration: analysing the role of positive
feedback and environmental stress on Zostera noltii transplants.
Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12614
Bennett, Nathan James. Use of perceptions to improve conservation and environmental management. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12681
Jinhong Luo & Lutz Wiegrebe. Biomechanical
control of vocal plasticity in an echolocating bat. Journal of
Experimental Biology 2016 : doi: 10.1242/jeb.134957
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CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS. |
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Conservation
Trust (GWCT) launched a pilot group of five Farmer Clusters in early
2012. Since then, the project has gone from strength to strength, now
boasting 22 Clusters. Those that weren’t part of the original pilot
group have set up voluntarily with no funding, showing just how much the
project means to them.
DNA
profiling reveals grey squirrels are not as good invaders as we think,
and that humans played a much larger role in spreading them through the
UK.
Image
© André Künzelmann/UFZ
Meadow
Clary in flower (image: NRW)
