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Headlines from week beginning 1 August 2016 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Now there’s even more of the Lake District to enjoy!
- Lake District National Park From today (1 August 2016), visitors will be able to enjoy even more
of the Lake District National Park, as its boundary grows by three per
cent – that’s an extra 27 square miles. The new Lake District includes an area from Birkbeck Fells Common to
Whinfell Common to the east and an area from Helsington Barrows to
Sizergh Fell, an area north of Sizergh Castle and part of the Lyth
Valley to the south. The Yorkshire Dales has also got bigger – by almost a quarter (24 per
cent), taking the west of the park up to the Orton Fells, meaning the M6
motorway is now the only dividing line between the two national parks. Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park, Richard Leafe,
said: “Many people have campaigned for this extension for a long period
of time, so this is an historic day for the Lake District National Park
and one that deserves celebration. This extension represents unfinished
business for the park and the new boundary line will be more fitting,
following the natural landscape. This extension was largely supported by
the communities, showing that there continues to be a high level of
support and recognition for the good work that is done in national
parks. We’re looking forward to maintaining and improving the
environment in these new areas, particularly the rights of ways,
creating even more of the Lake District for people to enjoy.”
Lakes to Dales extension official - Campaign
for National Parks From today (1 August 2016) the long awaited extension of the
Yorkshire Dales to Lake District National Parks finally came into force.
This is a fantastic day as we see new areas of National Parks protected
for future generations. We're absolutely delighted that today these extensions have finally
come into force. These beautiful areas in the north of England were only
excluded for administrative reasons and now have the protection they
have always deserved. Not only that, but the new 188 square miles of
National Park will also boost the local economy and visitors to the
area. We’re looking forward to knowing that many years from now, people
will still enjoy the beauty of these very special places. We are very proud to have worked on such a fantastically successful
campaign. Ruth Bradshaw, our policy and research manager said, “The original
National Park boundaries left some really beautiful, important
countryside unprotected. It is wonderful that, following years of
campaigning by lots of people, these areas have finally been granted
official National Park status. Thank you to everyone who contributed.”
Billions fewer plastic bags on the streets -
Defra Six billion fewer plastic bags taken home by shoppers in England and
over £29 million donated to good causes thanks to 5p charge Shoppers are set to take home around six billion fewer single-use
plastic bags this year following the introduction of the 5p charge,
early data published today indicates. This is the equivalent to the weight of roughly 300 blue whales,
300,000 sea turtles or three million pelicans. The charge has also resulted in donations of more than £29 million
from retailers towards good causes including charities and community
groups. Around eight million tonnes of plastic makes its way into oceans each
year, posing a serious threat to our natural and marine environment –
experts estimate that plastic is ingested by 31 species of marine
mammals and over 100 species of sea birds. Over seven billion carrier bags were issued by seven main retailers
in 2014, falling to just over half a billion in the first six months of
the 5p charge for single use carrier bags introduced in October 2015. The
data has been published, along with guidance for the plastic bag
charge.
Poll shows public is behind bag charge as bag usage drops dramatically
in England - CPRE Increased popular demand for raised funds to go to anti-litter
initiatives The huge fall in the use of carrier bags in England has been
complemented by a notable increase in public support for the charge,
according to the Break the Bag Habit coalition (BTBH) of anti-litter
charities. New Government statistics show that carrier bag usage in England has
dropped significantly since a bag charge was introduced last October,
with usage decreasing from 7.64 billion bags in 2014 to 0.6 billion in
the six months between October 2015 and 6 April 2016. BTBH’s recent poll, conducted by ICM, found that 70% of English
respondents now find it reasonable to charge 5p for all carrier bags -
an 8% increase in support in the eight months after the English charge
came into force [3]. This increase was particularly marked amongst
younger people, where support jumped 10%. Since the English charge came into force, there has been some debate
about how the funds raised will be used. Nearly three quarters of
respondents to the ICM survey (74%) supported the idea of using the
money specifically for a national anti-litter programme. This is a cause
supported by BTBH.
If you go down to the woods today - Butterfly
Conservation Wildlife lovers are being asked to head into the woods this summer to
help chart the progress of an unprecedented butterfly success story. The Speckled Wood has experienced an extraordinary a 71% increase in
distribution and 84% increase in abundance in the last 40 years as a
result of the changing climate.
This increase comes at a time when more than three quarters of UK
species are in a state of decline with many widespread butterflies also
experiencing worrying slumps. The Speckled Wood’s extraordinary rise appears to be due to climate
change. As the UK’s climate has warmed the butterfly has spread to
colonise East Anglia, the Midlands and much of northern England. The butterfly has also become much more widespread in Scotland where
in the 1970s it was restricted to the mildest areas on the west coast
and the Moray Firth. As part of this year’s Big Butterfly Count, Butterfly Conservation
and the Tree Charter, a campaign to help protect the UK’s woodlands and
wildlife, are asking the public to look out for and record the Speckled
Wood in our woodlands. Results from the Big Butterfly Count will track the ongoing spread of
the butterfly in the UK and help scientists to understand why the
Speckled Wood has thrived when so many other species have seen their
fortunes falter. Woodland Counts will help Butterfly Conservation build a clear
picture of the importance of these habitats to widespread species.
Rural crime cost countryside £42m, says NFU Mutual Rural crime remained broadly static in 2015 as farmers and police
adopted high-tech security measures to tackle increasingly sophisticated
thieves who are turning to computers rather than bolt cutters, reports
leading rural insurer, NFU Mutual. Its annual Rural Crime Report, published today, reveals that the cost
of rural crime to the UK economy has now reached £42.5 million a year. “We have seen a shift in the items being targeted at rural homes
though; in the latest survey of NFU Mutual’s Agency network, the theft
of garden equipment was cited as the biggest growing trend along with
4x4’s,” said the Mutual’s Tim Price. In the survey of NFU Mutual Agents, the majority (65 per cent) also
reported that thieves in their area are becoming more sophisticated in
the way that they operate and cyber crime is also a growing concern
amongst their communities. "Their tactics now include cloning tractor identities, advertising
non-existent machinery in agricultural publications and stealing the GPS
computer systems which are a key part of modern farming. Farmers are
having to regularly update security measures at considerable cost to
keep high-tech criminals at bay. They are using Tracker devices on
tractors, video and infra-red surveillance in their farm yards and even
DNA markers to protect sheep from rustlers,” added Mr Price.
We want your views on Tidal Lagoon - Natural
Resources Wales Consultation Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is asking for people’s views on further
information submitted by the company behind the Swansea Bay Tidal
Lagoon. Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay) Plc project would see a 9.5 km long sea
wall built in Swansea Bay, between the Rivers Tawe and Neath. This will
generate electricity and house a visitor centre and educational and
sporting facilities. But before it can be built, the scheme will need a marine licence
from NRW. The further information submitted provides details on how the scheme
could affect fish and how those effects could be monitored and offset. The Further Information documents can also be
downloaded from our site. The deadline for comment submission is September 16, 2016.
Life
on the Edge – Newcastle University How forest fragmentation is impacting on amphibian and reptile
species Breaking up the rainforest into small ‘forest islands’ means more
species are being forced to live on the forest edge, prompting a decline
in species sensitive to changes in light, moisture and temperature. Studying over 100 species of reptiles and amphibians living in nine
fragmented forest landscapes in Central and South America, scientists
found that over 90% of all species were affected by the forest edge
effect. While a small number of these actually increased in abundance
Large areas needed to counter 'edge effect' Sampling in areas where the forests had been divided to make way for
farming or roads, the research team led by Newcastle University, UK,
showed the average ‘edge effect’ extended more than 250m into the
forest. This means a forest island with a diameter of less than 500m
would contain no viable ‘core’ area for many forest species. Publishing their findings today (30 July) in the academic journal
Biological Conservation, the research team – involving experts from
Imperial College, the University of East Anglia and Colombia University
- are calling for a new approach to forest conservation and management. Read the paper: Schneider-Maunoury, L. et al (2016) Abundance signals of amphibians and reptiles indicate strong edge effects in Neotropical fragmented forest landscapes. Biological Conservation
New bug recorded for first time in Scotland - RSPB
A new bug has been officially recorded in Scotland for the first time
after being discovered by an RSPB Scotland volunteer at the wildlife
charity’s Insh Marshes nature reserve in the Highlands. Psallus montanus is a species of plantbug, the females of which are
black and red in colour, while the males are a duller black and brown.
Bugs are an order of insects generally characterised by having two pairs
of wings and piercing mouthparts. Bob Fleetwood has volunteered at Insh Marshes for four years and
routinely carries out survey work on the reserve. He found the female
Psallus montanus while collecting and recording beetles and bugs from a
birch tree. Bob said: “Of all the bugs I came across that day, this one looked
quite distinctive. As I’m still learning, I wasn’t 100% certain what it
was, so I contacted the national recorder for terrestrial bugs, Jim
Flanagan, who positively identified it as a female Psallus montanus. “
WWT welcomes new invasive species law – Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust A list of 37 invasive non-native plant and animal species including
squirrels, a terrapin and a cabbage will be banned from being brought
into the UK after this Wednesday – but only for as long as the UK
remains in the EU.
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) has welcomed the news because the
EU list contains several species that are water-based, which allows them
to spread easily and outcompete native British wildlife. The water-based species include signal crayfish, Chinese mitten crab
and water primrose which can grow aggressively and choke native water
life of light, oxygen and space. Invasive species cost the UK economy an estimated £1.7bn per year to
control. Floating pennywort, which can grow 20cm a day, costs the
economy £23.5m each year alone. The EU Regulation comes into force in the UK on Wednesday 3 August.
But it is not transposed into UK law so, as it stands, will cease to
apply when the UK leaves the EU.
Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Wind Farms – APEM Ltd Research co-authored by APEM’s head of ornithology tracked the
movement of lesser black-backed gulls in and around offshore windfarms. It used state-of-art GPS tags to show how the gulls, breeding at a
protected site in Suffolk, used areas of sea where offshore wind farms
already exist and where future developments are earmarked.
Offshore windfarms are a key part of the government’s plan to obtain
15 per cent of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. It is
therefore important to properly assess and quantify the impact that such
developments could have on marine wildlife and habitats. APEM’s chief ornithologist, Dr Mark Rehfisch, formerly worked with
the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) for 21 years. Whilst there he
heard about advanced new bird tags developed by the University of
Amsterdam and approached the university to help set up the research
project. The BTO tracked twenty-five birds in three consecutive summers and
found that gulls visited offshore wind farm areas significantly more in
some years than in others. In every year, birds spent more time in wind
farms zones when their chicks were young than at other times in the
breeding season. Males also spent more time in wind farm zones than females later on
in the breeding season, when chicks were growing bigger and more
independent. Dr Chris Thaxter of the BTO said: “These results indicate just how
varied individual seabirds can be in their behaviour, and highlight the
value of long-term tracking datasets in estimating potential impacts of
offshore wind farms on seabird populations.” Read the paper: Ross-Smith, V, H. et al (2016) Modelling flight heights of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Great Skuas from GPS: a Bayesian approach. Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12760
Echo templates aid mental mapping in bats – University of Bristol
New insights into how bats recognise their surroundings to help them
build mental maps have been revealed today [2 August]. Bats have excellent spatial memory, and navigate with ease to
important locations including roosts and foraging grounds. But exactly
how these animals recognise such places through echolocation –
perception based on soundwaves and their echoes – is largely unknown. New research from the Universities of Bristol and Antwerp, published
in journal eLife, suggests the animals observe and remember templates to
help form a cognitive map of their environment. Dr Marc Holderied, Senior Lecturer in Biology at the University of
Bristol, and senior author of the study, said: "When we visually
recognise places, such as our living room or office, we identify and
localise the various objects that make up the scene. Read the paper: Vanderelst, D., Steckel, J., Boen, A., Peremans, H. & Holderied, M. W. (2016) Place recognition using batlike sonar. E-Life. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.14188
From landfill to wildlife haven - Port Sunlight River Park celebrates
second birthday - The Land Trust 70-acre space was transformed from a landfill site into a community
park and wildlife haven by national land management charity the Land
Trust. It opened to the public in August 2014 and has been maintained by
North West charity Autism Together ever since. Park warden Anne Litherland said that the achievements in the park’s
first two years had been wide-ranging. “We wanted this to be a space for
everyone and it’s incredibly encouraging to hear, through a Land Trust
survey, that 95 per cent of people feel our new park has helped improve
the local area and that over 80% said it brought the community
together,” she said. The park’s achievements, in its first two years: A new home for
wildlife; An autism-friendly environment; A fitness and leisure
destination; Regional and national recognition Alan Carter, Director of Portfolio Management at the Land Trust said
“We are so proud of how the River Park has flourished over the last two
years, and how incredibly passionate local communities are about the
park. It’s so encouraging to see it being so well loved and used by so
many people, and it really does demonstrate how green spaces can have
such positive impacts on local areas.”
Orkney goose management project enters final year
- Scottish Natural Heritage A project to manage resident geese populations in Orkney is set to
enter its final year, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has confirmed.
The Orkney greylag goose adaptive management pilot allows local people
to control the resident greylag geese population. Licensed shooting
takes place with experienced local guns in August and September before
migratory birds from Iceland arrive in October. This helps keep the
population down to reduce impact on farming while maintaining the
species’ conservation interest. Geese taken as part of the pilot project will continue to be recorded
and numbers monitored in the summer. The aim is a sustainably managed
goose population which generates income for local people. Gail Churchill, SNH’s Orkney operations manager, confirmed: “We
undertook this initiative in response to the concerns of local farmers
and land managers. Over the last four years the project has managed to
prevent the expansion of the population of resident greylag geese in
Orkney which without the project shooting could be in the region of
50,000 birds. This active management work will help us meet our nature
conservation obligations by maintaining a sustainable and stable
resident greylag goose population. It has the support of the British
Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) who have been working
closely with all of us involved in this new form of adaptive management
control. This is the final year of the pilot project and at the end of
this season the Local Goose Management Group will be reviewing it and
identifying ways in which the population of greylag geese can continue
to be managed sustainably.”
Record breaking breeding season for Kielder ospreys
- Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Nine chicks have already fledged, beating 2014’s record of eight,
with a further two more birds expected to take their first flights
within the next week. First to fledge was the chick ringed Y1 on 13 July from the nest
known as 1A. Over the course of the following five days his brother and
two sisters also flew for the first time. Since then, three birds have
fledged from Nest 2 and two from Nest 3, bringing the total to nine. Two
further juveniles are expected to fledge from Nest 4 shortly. Philip Spottiswood, Forestry Commission Wildlife Manager said “We are
all delighted that 2016 has been a record breaking year for Kielder’s
ospreys, the young birds will help to ensure that this once rare species
continues to recover in England. Thanks goes to the Forestry
Commission’s Wildlife Rangers who have done so much to ensure prime
nesting sites are available in Kielder Water and Forest Park.” Nature makes us happier about our bodies - Anglia Ruskin University Research shows enjoying the natural environment improves body
appreciation A new study shows that spending time in nature is associated with
more positive body image. The research, published by the journal Body
Image and led by Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia
Ruskin University, involved 399 adults (199 women and 200 men) aged
between 19 and 76 years old.
National Trust calls for major reforms of farming subsides post-Brexit to reverse the damage to the natural environment - National Trust The National Trust today (Thursday, August 4) called on government to
put the recovery and future resilience of the natural environment at the
heart of the funding system that will replace the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP). The conservation charity said reform was essential to reverse decades
of damage to the countryside and the headlong decline of species. Dame Helen Ghosh, Director General of the Trust, will tell an
audience at the National Trust Theatre at BBC Countryfile Live that the
vote to leave the European Union presents an urgent opportunity to shape
a new and better system for stewardship of the countryside. Helen Ghosh said: “Whatever your view of Brexit, it gives us an
opportunity to think again about how and why we use public money to
create the countryside we want to hand on to future generations. Unless
we make different choices, we will leave an environment that is less
productive, less rich and less beautiful than that which we inherited.
Taxpayers should only pay public subsidy to farmers in return for things
that the market won’t pay for but are valued and needed by the public.
We may need some kind of transition period to get there but that means
payments for goods that go beyond food production – for the wildflowers,
bees and butterflies that we love, for the farmland birds, now
threatened, for the water meadows and meandering rivers that will help
prevent the flooding of our towns, and for the rebuilding of the
fertility and health of the soils on which both nature and production
depend. In the long run there’s no conflict between maintaining our
ability to grow food and looking after the land and nature on which it
depends. The first is utterly dependent on the second. This is not
just about the subsidy system but the way the market works. Farmers
should get a proper return from retailers and food manufacturers.
If they are also producing clean water, unflooded streets or great
holiday experiences, they should also get a proper return from the
utilities or tourism industry. Farmers are key partners in finding
solutions but this is too important to leave to governments and farmers
to sort out between themselves. We would encourage ministers to now
consult widely on the way we fund farming in a post-Brexit world and
involve the public in the debate, along with organisations who have
experience and insights to share.”
The NFU has responded to the National Trust's view on a reform of
farm support. NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “The picture the National Trust is
trying to paint - that of a damaged countryside - is one that neither I
nor most farmers, or visitors to the countryside, will recognise. "Farmers have planted or restored 30,000km of hedgerows for example
and have increased the number of nectar and pollen rich areas by 134% in
the past two years. Farmers take their responsibilities as
custodians of the countryside seriously and most visitors to the
countryside will be enjoying the natural environment and appreciating
the views of rural Britain which have been created by farmers –
including many of the landscapes showcased by the National Trust.
In this debate we must not forget that food production is vital.
We should not be contemplating doing anything which will undermine
British farming’s competitiveness or its ability to produce food.
To do so would risk exporting food production out of Britain and for
Britain to be a nation which relies even further on imports to feed
itself. In our view, food security should be considered to be a
legitimate political goal and public good. British farmers are proud of
the high standards of production, traceability of the food they produce
and high animal welfare. British food production is the bedrock of
the food and drink sector – which is the largest manufacturing sector in
the country contributing £108 billion to the economy and employing
nearly four million people. All our survey work shows that the
British public wants to buy more British food and, interestingly, survey
work also shows the British public believes farmers play a beneficial
role in improving the environment at the same time.”
Stephen Trotter explains that Brexit offers us the opportunity to
shape a better future for farming, nature and people Dame Helen Ghosh of the
National Trust made a speech which hit the headlines yesterday. At a
time when we are facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new
approach to how we manage our land for the benefit of people and nature,
her words are most welcome. With the EU Referendum over, the challenges faced by the UK’s
remaining wild places and species are as great as ever. It is therefore
right that we have a national and public conversation about how to
improve our natural environment. This conversation requires serious
consideration of the principles which should replace the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) in a few years’ time. Around 70% of the UK is
farmed and £3.6 billion is spent on CAP every year in the UK, however
less than 12% - around £600 million - is spent on environmentally
beneficial activities. The Wildlife Trusts movement stand together with the National Trust
and many other British environmental organisations in seeking root and
branch reform of the current agriculture policy. Specifically, The Wildlife Trusts is calling for an Integrated
Environmental Policy.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is calling for a full reform of
agriculture subsidies in Scotland, echoing calls made by the Director of
the National Trust Dame Helen Ghosh. Scottish agriculture receives around £600 million in public support
each year, the majority of which comes through the Common Agricultural
Policy. However, only a small proportion supports healthy ecosystems and
wildlife. The Scottish Wildlife Trust believes that a complete redesign of
agricultural policy is required to ensure that public money provides
benefits including long term improvements to habitat quality, increasing
biodiversity on farmland and connecting habitats on a landscape scale.
Hen harrier chicks tagged at home of UK Submarine Service
- RSPB Two young hen harrier chicks have been satellite tagged at an MoD
base in Argyll as part of a national RSPB project to protect and
conserve these threatened birds of prey. The pair came from a nest of four young located at HM Naval Base
Clyde’s high security Coulport site, which is the storage and loading
facility for the UK’s Trident nuclear warheads. All four chicks were
ringed and two, a male and a female, were tagged.
The satellite tagging was conducted as part of the RSPB’s part
EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE+ Project, an exciting five year programme of
nest protection, monitoring, community engagement and investigations
work to secure a future for these birds in Scotland and northern
England. The data gathered from the tags will be monitored, to see where the
birds go and identify the areas where they are most at risk. Sgt John Simpson, MoD Police wildlife crime officer, said: ““The
Security at HM Naval Base Clyde that protects the Submarine Service also
provides a sanctuary for hen harriers, the most endangered bird of prey
in the UK. We understand that hen harriers are a necessary part of a
healthy functioning countryside and are please we can play some part in
helping to protect them.” Blánaid Denman, manager of the RSPB’s Hen Harrier LIFE+ Project,
said: “We’re delighted to have worked alongside the MoD who have been
monitoring and protecting this nest at Coulport. Given the parlous state
of hen harriers in Scotland it’s fantastic to see an adult pair being
able to safely raise four fit and healthy young chicks. Hen harriers
travel widely outside the breeding season, so we’re waiting in
anticipation for these chicks to spread their wings now, before being
able to follow their lives and track their journeys around Britain and
possibly beyond.”
Footage of urban otters proves that the once threatened creature is
making a return to the City - Nottinghamshire
Wildlife Trust Video footage, captured by local wildlife photographer Jack Perks,
has finally proved what wildlife conservationists have long believed –
that otters, so long absent from our county, are back on the River Trent
and its tributaries close to Nottingham. A report of an otter killed on the road at Burton Joyce at the turn
of the year illustrated just how close they were to the city, but video
footage captured by Jack Perks of Clifton using remote ‘trip’ cams,
conclusively proves that they are present within the City boundary. Speaking about the footage Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Head of
Communications Erin McDaid said: “This is really exciting. We’ve known
for a number of years that otters must be passing along the Trent and
even through the City as they’ve recolonised parts of the county and
other tributaries of the Trent, but to have footage of them within the
City boundary is wonderful.”
Community woodland groups set to benefit from £70,000 in grants
- Woodland Trust 12 community groups across the North of England are celebrating the
award of a grant from the Woodland Trust. The groups, which all care for
local woods, will use the grants to support their work, recruit new
volunteers and encourage more visitors. The Trust launched a pilot in the spring as part of a £1.25m
partnership with Nationwide Building Society to provide funding for
communities to either establish new groups or help existing groups
undertake greater care and maintenance of their local woods. In total over £70,000 has been provided to applicants in the first
round of grants, with a second window open until October, with groups
able to apply for grants from a £79,000 pot of funding. One group receiving a grant is the Experience Community CIC based in
Huddersfield, which has received £9,583 to upgrade pathways through
Tunnel End Woods near the village of Marsden to provide better access
for wheelchair users, many of which get involved in conservation work in
the woods too.
Find out more about the groups receiving the grants.
Pokémon-Go players could capture 400 years of wildlife sightings in 6
days, Dr Tom August blog for Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology Pokémon-Go encourages millions of players to explore their local area
collecting imaginary creatures. However, if the Pokémon they caught were
instead observations of real species they could produce more wildlife
observations in 6 days than have been collated over the past 400 years
by naturalists. (This figure is calculated using the number of
estimated daily players in the USA (22 million), the estimated daily
number of Pokémon caught (5), and the number of wildlife observations in
GBIF (642 million). 642million / (22million * 5) = 5.8 days.
Farming with nature reaps its rewards -
National Trust National Trust Fine Farm Produce Awards announced at BBC Countryfile
Live Tregullas Farm, the most southerly farm on mainland Britain, was the
winner of the National Trust’s first-ever ‘Farming with Nature’ award at
its Fine Farm Produce Awards ceremony yesterday (Thursday 4 August). Against the stunning backdrop of Blenheim Palace, BBC Countryfile’s
Ellie Harrison and Helen Ghosh, Director General of the National Trust,
presented this special award to farmers Rona and Nevil Amiss in the
National Trust Cookery Theatre at BBC Countryfile Live. “I am delighted that the Fine Farm Produce Awards have generated a
special category ‘Farming with Nature’, making the link between
award-winning production and the promotion and care of wildlife-rich
farmland,” said Helen Ghosh. National Trust Food and Farming advisers across the country judged
the producer who had shown greatest commitment to managing or restoring
habitats, demonstrating best practice with soil and water and promoting
farming and nature conservation. “The competition was extremely close but Tregullas Farm stood out,”
said Rob Macklin, Head of Food and Farming for the National Trust. Just three years ago the award-winning ‘Farming with Nature’ Amiss
family arrived at Tregullas Farm, perched on the tip of Cornwall.
Already they’ve made a huge difference – farming closely with nature to
create a healthy, productive and wildlife-rich environment. As
well as producing great meat, cereals, vegetables and eggs the careful
way in which they work the land creates the perfect habitat for rare
birds and plants, including Cornish choughs and wild asparagus. The annual National Trust Fine Farm Produce Awards celebrate the
very best produce from the National Trust’s 1,500 tenant farmers and
estates. Rob Macklin, Head of Food and Farming added: “Now in its
11th year, our Fine Farm Produce Awards are setting an increasingly high
standard for sustainable food production.”
New seedlings from conservation expedition will replace Kent’s tallest
tree - Forestry Commission Kent’s tallest tree, the “Old Man of Kent”, has been an iconic part
of the Forestry Commission’s conifer collection at Bedgebury National
Pinetum, near Goudhurst, Kent, and sadly it has now reached the end of
its natural life and was felled on Wednesday 3 August. Fortunately, a Bedgebury led team of conservation experts travelled
to the Pacific Northwest coast of America on a collaborative
seed-collecting expedition in 2015, which enabled them to bring back
wild collected seed of Abies grandis (the “Old Man of Kent”). Some of
these seeds have recently been successfully propagated, and these new
seedlings will be used to replace the “Old Man of Kent”.
Issue of buzzard licence- Government response
from Natural England Natural England is providing further information regarding the issue
of a licence for buzzard control. We recognise the strength of public feeling following the decision to
issue a licence to control up to 10 buzzards and we are providing
further context to this case. Wildlife licences are required from Natural England for activities
that will disturb or remove wildlife or damage habitats and can be
granted to prevent damage to agriculture, livestock, fisheries, property
or archaeology. So far this year, we have received over 5,500 wildlife licence
applications covering a variety of species. In deciding whether a
licence should be granted, all applications have to be assessed in the
same way against the relevant policy and within the legal framework of
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. We fulfill this role as a wildlife licensing authority, alongside the
range of our statutory responsibilities as government’s adviser on
nature conservation. In assessing the buzzard licence application we took into account the
legislative tests and policy guidance, the evidence received from the
applicant, industry guidance and scientific literature. The application
was rigorously assessed with input from specialists across our
organisation. As a public body, Natural England has to balance the public interest
with the security of the individuals who apply for licences. In the
interests of transparency, Natural England will shortly be making
documents associated with the assessment and granting of this licence
publicly available. These also include details about control methods,
assessment and criteria under which the license has been granted. Any
disclosed documents will be released in accordance with the Data
Protection Act 1998 and therefore some details, such as personal
information, may be redacted.
Scientific Publications Cheng, T. L. (2016)
Efficacy of a probiotic bacterium to treat bats affected by the disease
white-nose syndrome. Journal of Applied Ecology.
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12757 Wilker, J. Rusche, K, Benning, A., MacDonald, M. A. & Blaen, P.
(2016)
Applying ecosystem benefit valuation to inform quarry restoration
planning. Ecosystem Services
A. Kreiderits , A. Gamauf , H. W. Krenn , P. Sumasgutner
Investigating the influence of local weather conditions and alternative
prey composition on the breeding performance of urban Eurasian Kestrels
Falco tinnunculus Bird Study DOI:
10.1080/00063657.2016.1213791 Osnas, E. E., Zhao, Q., Runge, M. C. and Boomer, G. S. (2016),
Cross-seasonal effects on waterfowl productivity: Implications under
climate change. Jour. Wild. Mgmt.. doi:10.1002/jwmg.21124
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Speckled
Wood (image: Ivan Lynas, Butterfly Conservation)
(those
already adapted to living at the forest boundary), the majority of
species declined and the negative impact on them extended far into the
forest interior.
Image: Andy
Hay
Parrot’s
feather, an invasive non-native aquatic plant, chokes up a pond at
Llanelli Wetland Centre (WWT)
Image:
APEM Ltd 
Image:
Device in action in Israel: The device in action in a park in Midreshet
Ben Gurion, Israel. The echo catchment distances were greater in this
corridor of boulders than in the corridor of vegetation in the Royal
Fort Gardens, suggesting that bats can use boulders and other such
landmarks for mapping. Vanderelst et al., eLife, 2016
The
Kielder ospreys have had their most successful ever breeding season this
year since they first began nesting at Kielder Water & Forest Park in
(2009)
Female
hen harrier flying low, Image: Graham Catley, RSPB
