Environment Agency News -
Conservation organisations working to protect water voles in the Northumberland and Durham areas have welcomed this week’s change in legislation announced by Defra.
The water vole will now be protected against being intentionally or recklessly killed, injured, or taken from the wild from 6 April 2008. Until now, legislation has only protected the water vole’s places of shelter.
Environment Agency biodiversity technical specialist Fiona Morris said: “This change in legislation is great news for water voles and will help us in our struggle to ensure that these wonderful creatures are not lost from the North East region.”
“The Environment Agency is the lead partner for water vole conservation in the UK, and we will continue to work with our conservation partners on exciting new projects and initiatives to protect this species.”
Water voles have undergone a catastrophic decline in numbers in the Northumberland and Durham areas, but a number of partnership projects in the region have been successful in securing water vole populations, with the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Water Vole Project being the latest initiative to launch.
In the North Pennines AONB the Environment Agency, working in partnership with Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria Wildlife Trusts and the North Pennines AONB Partnership, secured funding to protect existing water vole populations and link populations together to secure their long-term survival. Habitat creation and improvement work will be done over the next three years.
Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency recently made habitat improvements along Ormesby Beck in Middlesbrough. Officers helped clear away the overgrown vegetation, widen the channel and re-profiled the banks to improve the water vole habitat. Several other areas of poor habitat along the becks in the Tees Valley will also be improved in future.
These projects follow the success of the Water Vole Recovery Project led by Durham Wildlife Trust, working with the Environment Agency, Natural England, Durham Biodiversity Partnership and local authorities to implement a range of ways to protect water voles in East Durham.
A regional forum has also been established to enable conservation organisations to work together to secure and expand water vole populations in the North East. Representatives on this forum include Environment Agency, Tees, Durham and Northumberland Wildlife Trusts, Northumberland Biodiversity Partnership, Northumberland National Park, Durham County Council, Northumbrian Water and North Pennines AONB Partnership.
