Threatened voles found living the high life

ONE of Scotland’s most threatened native mammals – the tiny water vole – has been found thriving more than 2,000 ft up a mountain in the Highlands.

The population of the rodent has plummeted in Scotland by 94 per cent since 1950, due to changes in their habitat and the introduction of the mink.

But Scottish Natural Heritage has now revealed that small colonies of voles, normally associated with low-level water and river systems, have been found 700 metres up a hillside on the agency’s Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve.

It is the first time water voles have been found living at such a high altitude.

Dr Lorna Brown, who led the survey team, said: “It seems that the population on Beinn Eighe is in good health.”

http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/threatened_voles_found_living_the_high_life_1_2088816

Vow to help preserve rare vole

ACTION is being taken to help preserve the rare water vole in Llanelli.


The Carmarthenshire Biodiversity Partnership is to undertake environmental enhancement works at Delta Lake, where the creature has been spotted.

Biodiversity officer Isabel Macho said: "The council, grant funded by the Countryside Council for Wales, is working with the Environment Agency to enhance the habitat around Delta Lake for wildlife, including the rare water vole, signs of which were found there this year.

"The water vole has a stronghold in the Llanelli area, one of 16 key sites for the animal in the UK.

"This work will provide a great opportunity to improve the habitat here for water voles as well as other species, such as Reed Bunting and Cetti's Warbler. It will also give the western bank of the lake some structure and improved aesthetic appeal."


The plan is to install pre- planted reed mats along the bank this winter. It means the shore will be fenced off for a while to allow the mats to establish and machinery will be on site for a couple of days.

Ms Macho said: "Currently the banks are very bare and have limited benefit for wildlife and have little visual appeal."

The work fits in with the council's obligations under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to "have regard" for diversity in all its actions.

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Vow-help-preserve-rare-vole/article-2961653-detail/article.html

Vow to help preserve rare vole

ACTION is being taken to help preserve the rare water vole in Llanelli.


The Carmarthenshire Biodiversity Partnership is to undertake environmental enhancement works at Delta Lake, where the creature has been spotted.

Biodiversity officer Isabel Macho said: "The council, grant funded by the Countryside Council for Wales, is working with the Environment Agency to enhance the habitat around Delta Lake for wildlife, including the rare water vole, signs of which were found there this year.

"The water vole has a stronghold in the Llanelli area, one of 16 key sites for the animal in the UK.

"This work will provide a great opportunity to improve the habitat here for water voles as well as other species, such as Reed Bunting and Cetti's Warbler. It will also give the western bank of the lake some structure and improved aesthetic appeal."


The plan is to install pre- planted reed mats along the bank this winter. It means the shore will be fenced off for a while to allow the mats to establish and machinery will be on site for a couple of days.

Ms Macho said: "Currently the banks are very bare and have limited benefit for wildlife and have little visual appeal."

The work fits in with the council's obligations under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to "have regard" for diversity in all its actions.

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Vow-help-preserve-rare-vole/article-2961653-detail/article.html

Dorset Wildlife Trust concerned about cuts

11:30am Tuesday 28th September 2010

By Diana Henderson

With vulnerable wildlife under threat from lack of funding, Dorset’s leading nature conservation charity has launched an urgent appeal.

Dorset Wildlife Trust is concerned that the harsh economic climate combined with government cuts means less funding will be available for wildlife protection.

Now the charity is appealing for financial help to fund vital conservation work to aid water voles, seahorses and the severely declining marsh fritillary butterfly as well as to continue work to rescue the county’s disappearing ponds.

• The water vole is Britain’s fastest declining mammal. On the River Allen and Moors River there are still populations and DWT plans conservation work to ensure their survival and to help other important species such as kingfishers, brown trout and the native crayfish.
  
• Seagrass meadows in Studland Bay are unique as breeding sites for both spiny and short-snouted seahorses. Work is needed to protect the habitat and raise awareness with boat owners and the public to prevent damage.
  
• Grassland restoration to link up and extend isolated populations of marsh fritillary butterflies surviving on nature reserves in west Dorset is urgently needed.
  
• Work to halt the rapid decline in wildlife-rich ponds has begun in Purbeck but funding is due to end in December, with many still needing restoration. In North Dorset the globally threatened great-crested newt is in danger if urgent action is not taken to restore lost ponds.

“We are very concerned about these particularly vulnerable wildlife projects, which could make a vital difference to the survival of some populations of native British wildlife,” said Alastair Cook, director of fundraising and marketing.

“We can promise that your donation will only go to the particular project you have chosen and that all of it will be spent on active nature conservation.”

You can donate to the appeal at dorsetwildlifetrust and support seahorses, marsh fritillary butterflies, disappearing ponds or water voles.

http://www.thisisdorset.net/news/8418092.Cuts_may_hit_Dorset_s_wildlife/
(Submitted by Jonathan McGowan)

Dorset Wildlife Trust concerned about cuts

11:30am Tuesday 28th September 2010

By Diana Henderson

With vulnerable wildlife under threat from lack of funding, Dorset’s leading nature conservation charity has launched an urgent appeal.

Dorset Wildlife Trust is concerned that the harsh economic climate combined with government cuts means less funding will be available for wildlife protection.

Now the charity is appealing for financial help to fund vital conservation work to aid water voles, seahorses and the severely declining marsh fritillary butterfly as well as to continue work to rescue the county’s disappearing ponds.

• The water vole is Britain’s fastest declining mammal. On the River Allen and Moors River there are still populations and DWT plans conservation work to ensure their survival and to help other important species such as kingfishers, brown trout and the native crayfish.
  
• Seagrass meadows in Studland Bay are unique as breeding sites for both spiny and short-snouted seahorses. Work is needed to protect the habitat and raise awareness with boat owners and the public to prevent damage.
  
• Grassland restoration to link up and extend isolated populations of marsh fritillary butterflies surviving on nature reserves in west Dorset is urgently needed.
  
• Work to halt the rapid decline in wildlife-rich ponds has begun in Purbeck but funding is due to end in December, with many still needing restoration. In North Dorset the globally threatened great-crested newt is in danger if urgent action is not taken to restore lost ponds.

“We are very concerned about these particularly vulnerable wildlife projects, which could make a vital difference to the survival of some populations of native British wildlife,” said Alastair Cook, director of fundraising and marketing.

“We can promise that your donation will only go to the particular project you have chosen and that all of it will be spent on active nature conservation.”

You can donate to the appeal at dorsetwildlifetrust and support seahorses, marsh fritillary butterflies, disappearing ponds or water voles.

http://www.thisisdorset.net/news/8418092.Cuts_may_hit_Dorset_s_wildlife/
(Submitted by Jonathan McGowan)

Water voles to return to inner London river?

Will the water vole be coming back to the River Wandle?
June 2009. A new study along the River Wandle has found that some areas of habitat along the river are already ideal for reintroducing water vole, and with some work, additional stretches of the river could be improved to support a healthy water vole population in the not too distant future.

London Wildlife Trust has been awarded £58,000 by Natural England through Defra's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) to assess the feasibility of reintroducing water vole to this important urban river. Water vole once flourished along this chalk stream in south London, which Admiral Lord Nelson regularly used to fish for its brown trout. Yet by the 1960s the river was officially declared a sewer and the water vole became a distant memory.
London Wildlife Trust and partners are now working hard to restore the River Wandle for both its wildlife and people. Reintroducing water voles to the area is a key aim of a plan to create a Living Landscape for the Wandle Valley. And this funding has enabled a systematic and comprehensive study of the river to inform what work will need to be done for a successful water vole reintroduction.

"The River Wandle is one of London's most valuable green spaces for people and wildlife, and it is fantastic news that its importance has been recognised by funders such as ALSF" says Emily Brennan, London Wildlife Trust's Director of Biodiversity Conservation.

Water voles are Britain's fastest declining mammal
The water vole (Arvicola terrestris) is Britain's fastest declining mammal - 95% of the British population has been lost over the past century. This catastrophic decline has been mainly due to habitat loss and predation by the American mink.

London Wildlife Trust is working with landowners, local authorities, other key organisations and volunteers to save existing populations of water vole across London and encourage new ones either by creating and enhancing habitat for them to move into, or by reintroducing them to suitable sites to increase their population spread across the capital.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wandle-voles009.html