Threatened species benefit from multi-million pound investment to aid their recovery

Threatened species benefit from multi-million pound investment to aid their recovery - Natural England

Results of multi-million pound conservation programme revealed for first time – showing supported over 150 species including rare mammals and insects
Threatened Species Recovery Actions, a guide for supporting the recovery of more than 1,000 threatened species published
Natural England Chair calls for a redoubling of efforts with time running out to halt the decline of nature

male black grouse (dark coloured dumpy bird with bright red "eyebrows") standing on rough moorland — Black grouse were successfully re-introduced to the North York Moors (Danil Komov / unsplash)

The results of a multi-million pound investment in nature have been revealed for the first time today (Wednesday 13 August), alongside the launch of a new guide for supporting the recovery of more than 1,000 species threatened with extinction.

The £13 million Species Recovery Programme’s Capital Grants Scheme ran from August 2023 to March 2025, and saw Natural England invest in targeted conservation efforts that gave species such as water vole, oystercatcher, lady’s slipper orchid, hazel dormouse and Atlantic salmon a chance to flourish.

From the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall to Cumbria and Northumberland, 63 different projects involving 78 partners have transformed landscapes and supported the recovery of 150 species, many of which were on the brink of national extinction, through research, captive breeding, habitat creation, and conservation translocations.

Across the projects, more than 15,000 individual animals and plants were translocated to expand species territories, as well as captive breeding more than 12,000 individuals, including invertebrates, mammals and birds.

The successes of the scheme included the first wild-hatched red-billed chough chick in Kent for over 200 years, the successful reintroduction of black grouse to the North Yorkshire Moors, and the return of the large marsh grasshopper to the Norfolk Broads after an 85-year absence.

To further support nature conservation a Threatened Species Recovery Actions guide is also being published today to support the recovery of over a thousand of England’s most threatened species. The guide can be found on our Access to Evidence page. It reflects the expertise of 40 partner organisations which contributed to it and will help to pave the way to delivering the legally-binding target to reduce the risk of species’ extinction by 2042.