Water for Wildlife project

This project combines two well-established areas of work – Water Vole conservation and restoring and managing areas of wetland across the county.

Water Voles

Once a common species, the Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) is now one of the rarest mammals in the UK, suffering a catastrophic decline in the last 20 to 30 years, due to the loss and fragmentation of habitat and predation from the non-native American Mink (Mustela vison).

Our larger native predators (e.g. Otters) are too big to enter Water Vole burrows, while smaller native predators (e.g. Weasels) are not able to swim as well. Mink can do both and are therefore capable of devastating a Water Vole colony in a very short period of time. The exception to this pattern seems to be in urban wetlands where mink’s tendency to avoid these areas can provide a vital refuge for Water Vole colonies.

The Trust’s Water Vole Recovery Project is a partnership involving Natural England, the Environment Agency, British Waterways, the Cotswold Water Park Society, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WILDCRU) based at Oxford University, and British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC).

The project aims to contribute to the UK BAP target of reaching 1990 population levels by 2010. In order to meet the BAP target, local and regional key sites have been designated and safeguarded through habitat enhancement and targeted mink control. This work allows connectivity between colonies, enabling self-sustaining populations to establish. There are presently a number of good, viable Water Vole populations in Wiltshire, but even here mink predation and habitat loss continue to be serious threats.

Participation by members of the public is essential to the success of this project, and people can help in a number of ways:

• Landowners with a river, stream, canal or pond of whatever size can help create and safeguard habitat for Water Voles.
• Volunteers can be trained to carry out water vole surveys on pre-selected sites near to where they live.
• Landowners and volunteers with suitable experience can assist with the mink control programme.

Restoring wetlands near you?

The Water for Wildlife Project can help parish councils, housing associations, and community groups restore rivers, ponds and wetlands across Wiltshire and Swindon. We can help you find funding and provide advice and assistance on planning and overseeing works for the benefit of both the community and the environment.

This project works closely with the following projects within the Trust:
Landscapes for Wildlife Project
Swindon Wildlife
Wessex Chalk Streams

We work in partnership with many similar projects elsewhere in the UK and in particular those of neighbouring county trusts such as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) BBOWT’s Water Vole Project. We also work closely with the Cotswold Water Park Society.

For more details on any aspect of this project, email the Trust using the form below, or contact us on (01380) 725670