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Headlines from week beginning 15 February 2016. |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
WDC bids farewell to Kessock Centre After detailed discussions lasting over a year, WDC has made the
decision not to renew the lease at the Dolphin and Seal Centre (DSC) at
North Kessock from the end of the 2015 season. WDC have run this small, satellite centre since 2007 and during those
years it has been a great place to tell visitors to the Inverness area
about WDC and the bottlenose dolphins in the Kessock channel and at
Chanonry Point. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our
supporters, volunteers and visitors who have been to the Centre over the
years. However, visitor behaviour is changing. This has dramatically lowered
footfall at the DSC; it is situated opposite a tourist information
centre and, as more tourists use the internet to plan their holidays,
fewer people visit information centres like these. This, coupled with
the increased interest in Chanonry Point, has resulted in visitor
numbers being down by 45%, despite an increase in marketing by WDC. As a registered charity, we have to use our funds wisely, and feel it
would be more beneficial to have a flexible staff member who can spend
more time interacting with the public at places like Chanonry Point.
There have been no redundancies caused by the closure and the decision
will also give WDC more scope to visit schools and attend community
events in the Inverness area, and set up talks at the nearby marina to
promote responsible behaviour around dolphins. We hope to gain some
external funding for this work and for it to begin in late spring 2016.
This plan will enable us to work more flexibly, and without the fixed
costs that running the Kessock Centre includes. The Scottish Dolphin Centre is unaffected by these changes.
Manx shearwater, one of the birds now breeding on St Agnes and Gugh
(Image: Steve Round This is the world’s largest community-led project to restore seabird
populations by removal of rats. Local volunteers worked with
conservationists from the Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project and
island restoration specialists Wildlife Management International Ltd
(WMIL) to rid their islands of the non-native rats that were killing
seabirds. The project to remove the invasive species has been a huge
success and benefitted from essential support from EU LIFE and the
Heritage Lottery Fund as well as local organisations. Work began in 2013 with an intensive six-month operation to monitor
rat activity on the islands. WMIL worked with over 30 local volunteers
to find rat nests and signs of activity. This information was used to
create a strategy for eradicating the rat population, with an intensive
programme of baiting and poisoning for a month in the winter.
Baiting started on 8 November 2013 and continued every day, as the days
passed the amount of bait taken was monitored. And by the end of the
month the last evidence of rats was observed. Treatment and community
projects continued, but no further rat activity was detected. The specialists returned at the beginning of the year to check for
any signs that rats might still be present on the islands. Having
completed this follow-up survey St Agnes and Gugh now meet the
international criteria to be declared rat-free. Since the removal of the rat population, the project team has
observed both Manx shearwaters European storm petrels successfully
breeding on the islands for the first time in living memory, with over
40 chicks being recorded on the islands in the last two years. Jaclyn Pearson from the RSPB, who manages the project said: “Getting
to this stage is a fantastic achievement and everyone involved is
delighted that the islands are now officially rat free. This, and the
recovery of the seabirds so early on, is testament to the hard work of
the team and the 100% support from the local community. We look forward
to continuing to work with the community for the next two years of the
project and beyond.” Elizabeth Bell, Senior Ecologist, Wildlife Management International
Ltd says: “The eradication of non-native brown rats from St Agnes and
Gugh demonstrates that the techniques of ground-based bait station
operations can be successfully utilised on inhabited islands throughout
the UK and the world.”
Position statement: the future of beavers in Scotland
- Scottish Wildlife Trust & RZSS Position Statement from Scottish Wildlife Trust and Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland on the Scottish Government decision concerning the
future status of the Eurasian beaver in Scotland As the two lead partners in the
Scottish Beaver Trial,
the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust
believe that the Eurasian beaver should be fully recognised by the
Scottish Government as a resident, native species in Scotland. It is now eight months since Scottish Natural Heritage delivered its
Beavers in Scotland report to the Scottish Government, outlining four
possible future scenarios for the beaver in Scotland. We are firmly of
the view, supported by extensive scientific evidence, that beavers will
be a key asset to Scotland and are now urging the Scottish Government
not to delay any longer in making a positive decision on the restoration
of this species to Scotland. We believe augmenting and managing the current population in Tayside
and beaver families in mid-Argyll is urgently needed to secure the
genetic health and long-term viability of these colonies. We also
strongly advocate for further licensed releases across other appropriate
areas of Scotland in order to restore this once widespread species and
minimize the risk of genetic in-breeding and local extinctions. The decision has now become urgent as animals are currently being
indiscriminately culled on Tayside. The indiscriminate nature of this
culling has led to well-publicised animal welfare concerns and, in the
medium term, could threaten the existence of local populations. There is also a particular urgency to enhance the small number of
beavers at the Scottish Beaver Trial site at Knapdale with additional
animals to ensure the viability of the population in the long term. Scientific evidence shows that the return of the beaver will help to
restore our depleted wetland ecosystems, assisting in the delivery of
the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity, and bring a range of
other social, economic and environmental benefits.
Our top UK wildlife-watching experiences -
Wildlife Trusts As winter wanes and spring starts to unfold, our exciting new
seasonal online guide offers a perfect opportunity to plan a ‘wild’ year
ahead. For those who have ever wondered when and where to glory in
the beauty of the rare swallowtail butterfly or to cheer at a salmon’s
leap; for those who pine to see a puffin but don’t know where to head
and when; or for those who want to spot an otter, osprey or orchid but
don’t know how, The Wildlife Trusts’ online guide to our Top UK
Wildlife Experiences offers answers to these and so much more. Outdoor enthusiasts and wildlife-watchers will be able to vote for
their favourite wildlife experience online – the results will be
published in 2017. Simon Barnes, wildlife author and journalist, introduces our top
wildlife-watching experiences. He warns: “Here are many, many ways in
which you can get closer to the Wild World than you ever dreamed.” Our Top UK
Wildlife Experiences online guide is live at the start of spring,
the perfect moment to make plans and venture outdoors.
Whales
beached in Scotland show high toxic metal levels
- University of Aberdeen Investigations led by the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration
with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, have shown that a pod
of whales stranded in Fife in 2012 had high concentrations of toxic
chemicals, some of which had reached the mammals' brains. The pod of long-finned pilot whales they investigated were stranded on
a beach between Anstruther and Pittenweem in Scotland, on September 12
2012. Out of the 31 mammals which beached only 10 could be refloated and
21 – 16 females and five males – died. Scientists found mercury at levels high enough to cause severe
neurological damage in humans and demonstrated for the first time that
the toxic element cadmium can cross the blood-brain barrier. Their
report, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, shows
a clear correlation between the increased levels and the age of the
mammals, suggesting toxic stress increases the longer the mammals live. They say this could demonstrate that this species of marine mammal
are less susceptible to mercury poisoning than humans, but that they
cannot entirely discount the possibility that it is a factor leading to
whales navigating off course. Dr Eva Krupp, an environmental analytical chemist from the University
of Aberdeen, collected and analysed samples from the whales together
with PhD students Cornelius Brombach and Zuzana Gajdosechova. She said: “We were able to gather an unprecedented number of tissue
samples from all the major organs including the brain and as a result we
can see for the first time the long term effects of mammalian exposure
to the environmental pollutants. Previous scientific studies have shown that mercury concentrations in
the oceans have notably risen since the industrial revolution and
through goldmining activities, which may in turn lead to an increase of
mercury levels in marine mammals. “So far, we have no indication that the mercury and cadmium levels in
the brain cause disorientation, which in some cases can lead to
strandings, but there is a potential for higher stress in these iconic
animals due to rising toxic metal concentration in the oceans,” Dr Krupp
added. “More research is needed to investigate whether this is a factor
in strandings, particularly where other explanations such as illness or
weather events cannot be found.”
Green light given to over 80 pocket parks – Department for Communities and Local Government More than 80 unloved and neglected urban spaces across the country
will be transformed into green oases for everyone to use, thanks to a
share of a £1.5 million dedicated fund, Communities Secretary Greg Clark
announced today (Tuesday 16 February). Increasing the availability of green space draws more people outside,
giving residents, particularly in urban areas without gardens of their
own, more space to relax, get together with their neighbours, grow food
and provide a safe space for their children to play. Now 87 community groups, from Newcastle to Penryn in Cornwall, will
have the money to create their own ‘dream’ pocket parks, developing
small parcels of land, sometimes as small as the size of a tennis court.
75,000 children across the UK join forces to protect precious
pollinators – Field Studies Council 205 schools located across all counties within the UK, are
celebrating the news that they been selected to participate in the UK
wide ‘Polli:Nation’ project – an initiative which supports schools to
provide food and shelter for Britain’s pollinating insects. FSC is proud
to be a partner in the project.
The 205 selected schools have been handpicked, following an
application process that required them to demonstrate how they would
like to transform their grounds to support the dwindling population of
Britain’s pollinators. Following today’s interactive website launch, the programme has also
been made available for all schools to participate. Access to the
website will enable all schools and communities in Britain to
independently get involved by using the vast array of free resources
available at: www.polli-nation.co.uk The Polli:Nation project, developed by the charity Learning through
Landscapes (LTL), is the result of a collaboration between various
wildlife and education organisations. The programme runs over a
period of three years and allows selected primary and secondary schools
to join forces in clusters of four. Pupils will have direct hands-on
experiences; from creating vertical green walls and night-blooming
flower beds, to lobbying to change school maintenance regimes and
debating pesticide use.
Beavers bring environmental benefits to Scotland – University of
Stirling
Beavers are beneficial to the Scottish environment, say academics
from the University of Stirling. A study into the ecology and habitat engineering of beavers
reintroduced to a site on Tayside in 2002 has found the creatures can
improve biodiversity, minimise pollutants and reduce downstream
flooding. Examining head water streams which drain water from 13 hectares of
Scottish countryside, scientists compared areas where beavers had been
active with areas in which they were absent. The study formed part of a
programme of research at this site by Stirling scientists that has been
ongoing since 2003. Leading the research Dr Nigel Willby of the School of Natural
Sciences, said: “Our study found that beaver behaviours have several
benefits for the environment. Their dam building skills help restore
degraded streams and increase the complexity of the surrounding habitat,
consequently increasing the number of species found by 28 per cent. The
dams also help improve pollutant levels and store flood water.”
North East coastal heritage to be protected with National Lottery
support - Heritage Lottery Fund From sea rescue and protecting the environment to tackling antisocial
behaviour, volunteers up and down the North East coast are getting
involved in projects made possible by National Lottery players.
Further north, the Northumberland Coast AONB (Areas of
Outstanding Natural Beauty) Partnership has received initial support for
its plans to establish a skilled volunteer base to celebrate and
conserve the north Northumberland coast from just south of
Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Coquet Estuary. Two hundred volunteers, three
community champions and a group of Young Rangers (aged 13 to 19) will
gain training in conservation and heritage skills. Activities will
include beach cleaning, monitoring historic buildings, control of
invasive species and mitigating the effects of coastal erosion, scrub
clearance and dry stone walling.
Consultation outcome: Biodiversity offsetting in England
- defra We received 460 substantive responses to this consultation, together
with 486 campaign responses. Defra and Natural England will continue to work with interested
parties to develop our shared understanding of how best to compensate
for biodiversity loss when it cannot first be avoided or mitigated, as
required by the National Planning Policy Framework. Access the report
Biodiversity offsetting in England: summary of responses (PDF)
National Park calls on help from the skies above National Park Wardens have undertaken a herculean task this month
among the snowy peaks of the Brecon Beacons National Park battling the
weather to preserve eroded peat bogs and footpaths. By the end of
the project over 910 tonnes of stone along with 300 enormous bags of
heather brash, jute and heather bales will have been transported onto
the mountain tops of the Central Beacons and Black Mountains range. For
a task like this, the wardens call on help from the skies above in the
form of a helicopter.
Weather permitting, the helicopter makes repeated trips to
inaccessible locations across the park laden with bags full of
materials. Thanks to funding from the Welsh Government, Honourable
Artillery Company and the National Park Authority, Fan y Big in the
Central Beacons will have 120 tonnes of stone airlifted to improve the
path and help protect surrounding vegetation along one of the most used
walking routes in the park. Ian Rowat, Brecon Beacons National Park Authority Member Champion for
Biodiversity and Environment added; “This crucial work is made possible
through grant funding from a variety of different sources and through
working closely with the Black Mountains Graziers Association. We hope
that visitors to the park recognise that the importance of this work to
what is a not only a wonderful recreation asset but also a working
environment is economically important in terms of both farming and
tourism. The whole project is a great example of partnerships working to
protect and improve the condition of the landscape around us now and
through long-term land management. As a member of the National Park
Authority and someone who has worked in countryside management I would
also like to thank all those who are out in all weathers completing the
work’. On the ground a team of Brecon Beacons National Park Authority
Wardens, National Park Upland Path Volunteers and local contractors are
battling with snow and ice to carry out the work before the ground
nesting bird season starts in the spring. Volunteers will then maintain
the paths throughout the year to minimise further erosion of the popular
walking routes.
We renew call for use of Local Green Space designation We have called on the government to clarify the opportunities to win
Local Green Space (LGS), and once again urged local authorities and
communities to make use of the designation. The society has
responded to a
consultation from the Department for Communities and Local
Government on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework of March
2012, in which LGS is first mentioned. We are concerned that the criteria for designating land as LGS are
vague and that there is no prescribed process for this, nor is there any
requirement for a local authority to consider creating public access, or
ensuring the land is managed properly. The protection afforded to
LGS is also unclear, and only stated to be similar to that of the green
belt—which the government proposes to relax. LGS can be designated as part of the neighbourhood and local plan
processes.
Prize winning photo of moorland bird took four years to capture
- Peak District National Park With piercing yellow eyes, the short-eared owl alights for the
briefest of moments on a fencepost as golden evening sunlight bathes the
moorland. Malcolm Mee’s winning photograph was pitted against a high volume of
entries showing ‘moorland and wildlife’ scenes, and impressed the judges
enough to take first prize in the Moors for the Future Partnership’s
first photography competition.
The winning image was chosen by wildlife photographer Paul Hobson and
BBC Springwatch regular contributor Wildlife Kate (Kate MacRae) who said
“Golden light falling on this stunning short-eared owl was what made
this shot stand out. The moor in the distance puts this awesome hunter
in context with its landscape. A cracking shot!” Malcolm explained how he achieved his winning image: “I have been
visiting the same location for four years trying to get shots of this
daytime hunter - I stay in my car as it makes a perfect hide. Finally
the owl landed briefly on a post on the other side of the road giving me
just enough time to get the portrait that I was looking for”.. Project manager Sarah Proctor said: “It’s wonderful to see all the
inspiring moments people living in and around the moorlands have
captured and shared with us. It is great to see so many potential
Community Scientists engaging with the landscape”. The winning and shortlisted photos can be seen online via the Moors for the Future Partnership website (here), and will be on display in the Peak District National Park and beyond during the coming months. Don't forget that if you've any photos as wonderful as this one by Malcolm to enter them into the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2016 competition is now open
Planning changes will do nothing to address housing needs in National
Parks - Campaign for National Parks We respond to a recent Government consultation on national planning
policy, concluding it will lead to inappropriate housing in National
Parks. Prioritising starter homes and reducing planning authorities’ ability
to take account of local circumstances will undermine existing measures
to address local housing needs and could lead to significant amounts of
completely inappropriate housing in National Parks. That’s the key
conclusion of our
response to a
recent Government consultation on changes to national planning policy
aimed at speeding up the delivery of housing.
National Park Authorities (NPAs) have a strong track record of
supporting the delivery of the kind of housing that is needed locally
but the proposed changes would restrict their ability to do this in the
future. We are very concerned that the Government has not fully
considered the implications of the proposed changes and are calling for
National Parks to be exempt from some of the proposals. One such change
would allow dense housing development around virtually all rail stations
but there are many small stations in National Parks where such
development would be completely inappropriate, for example, where the
existing settlement is very small and has few or no shops and other
local services. We believe there is a strong case for exempting
National Parks from this and other damaging proposals given that
national policy emphasise the high level of protection that should be
granted to these areas.
Lords committee calls for Government to change course on housing
- CPRE CPRE today (19/2) welcomes the first report from a new cross-party
House of Lords select committee on the built environment. The Building
better places report, from the
National Policy for the Built Environment Committee, criticises the
Government’s housing policy and argues that it is unlikely to provide
either the quantity or quality of homes we need. More precisely, the report:
Paul Miner, planning campaign manager at the Campaign to Protect
Rural England (CPRE), gave oral and written evidence to the committee.
His evidence was referenced in the report. He comments: “The
Government is constantly focusing on speeding up the planning process,
but there is no evidence that cheaper and quicker planning means better
decisions for local people. CPRE strongly welcomes the cross-party support for a community right
of appeal. The Government has continually declined to introduce the
measure. Paul Miner comments: “A community right of appeal would
reassure communities that their aims and aspirations are not being
ignored.”
The Land Trust welcomes House of Lords National Policy for the Built
Environment committee report Today (19/2), the House of Lords Built Environment Committee has
published a report expressing its concerns that the short-sighted
Government housing policy will not meet objectives. The committee emphasises the importance of delivering a better built
environment, is concerned about the quality of new developments and the
risk of housing delivery being prioritised at the expense of other
elements of the built environment. Therefore, the focus needs to be on
building better places, not just on the quantity. In its written and
oral evidence to the Committee, the Land Trust stressed the important
role that green infrastructure plays within the planning process and
sustainable development of the built environment as well as a need for
more joined up approaches between the health and planning sectors. Euan Hall, CEO of the Land Trust said: ‘I am really pleased that the
Committee recognises that the housing policy does not go far enough in
relation to green infrastructure and that it has taken our views into
account. As we stated, well maintained green infrastructure is
essential for good development and needs to be considered on the same
level as grey and blue infrastructure (transport, highways,
utilities etc.). I am however disappointed that there is a
recommendation for reintroducing the ‘brownfield first’ approach. Some
brownfield land has far greater environmental value than green field,
and I think that a land use strategy is needed to ensure the right land
is used for the right type of activity in the right locations. I
hope that Government takes on board the views of the Built Environment
Committee in relation to green infrastructure and provides a mechanism
for coordinating better approaches to developments.”
Defra’s strategy to 2020: creating a great place for living
- Defra Corporate report A strategy for the whole of Defra that sets out a shared vision and
set of strategic objectives for the period up to 2020. This strategy document sets out a shared vision and set of strategic
objectives for the whole of Defra for the period up to 2020. It is
intended to provide staff across the whole group of Defra organisations
(including non-ministerial departments, executive agencies,
non-departmental and other public bodies) with a clear, unifying
framework. Actions to achieve the strategic objectives are described in
more detail in Defra’s Single Departmental Plan Download the report
Creating a great place for living: Defra’s strategy to 2020 (PDF)
Defra: single departmental plan 2015 to 2020
- Defra Corporate report Our single departmental plan describes the objectives of the
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs for 2015 to 2020. You can see updates on the department’s progress towards achieving
its objectives and read about the programmes and policies which will
help to meet them. Access the
Single departmental plan: 2015 to 2020
Scientific Publications Ingersoll, Thomas E., Sewall, Brent J. & Amelon, Sybill K.
Effects of white-nose syndrome on regional population patterns of three
hibernating bat species. Conservation Biology Nico Blüthgen, et al
Land use imperils plant and animal community stability through changes
in asynchrony rather than diversity. Nature Communications. DOI:
10.1038/ncomms10697
Baker, C. M. (2016)
Target the source: Optimal spatiotemporal resource allocation for
invasive species control. Conservation Letters.
DOI: 10.1111/conl.12236
Hüppop, O., Hüppop, K., Dierschke, J. & Hill. R. (2016)
Bird collisions at an offshore platform in the North Sea. Bird
Study. DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2015.1134440
Elwyn Sharps, Angus Garbutt, Jan G. Hiddink, Jennifer Smart, Martin
W. Skov,
Light grazing of saltmarshes increases the availability of nest sites
for Common Redshank Tringa totanus, but reduces their quality,
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Volume 221, 1 April 2016, Pages
71-78, ISSN 0167-8809, DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2016.01.030. Céline Bellard, Phillip Cassey, Tim M. Blackburn
Biology of extinction: Alien species as a driver of recent extinctions.
Biology Letters (Royal Society). 2016 12 20150623; DOI:
10.1098/rsbl.2015.0623. Published 17 February 2016
David Vačkář, Zuzana V. Harmáčková, Helena Kaňková, Kateřina Stupková, Human transformation of ecosystems: Comparing protected and unprotected areas with natural baselines, Ecological Indicators, Volume 66, July 2016, Pages 321-328, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI: /10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.001
Lukyanenko, Roman, Parsons, Jeffrey & Wiersma, Yolanda F. Emerging
problems of data quality in citizen science. Conservation Biology
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12706
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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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Image:
Field Studies Council
Dr
Nigel Willby of the School of Natural Sciences (University of Stirling)
A
Little tern says hello to a Coast Care volunteer (Credit: Northumberland
Coast AONB
A
helicopter airlifts materials to repair footpaths onto Fan y Big, one of
the peaks in the central Beacons (credit: Sam Harpur
The
winning image by Malcolm Mee (Peak District National Park).jpg)
Ditchling
village (image: Richard Reed via CNP)
