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News Desk

 

 

Catch up with what ARC have been up to in Winter/Spring 2011/12 in the latest edition of Hop Gossip OUT NOW!

 

 

 

Get ready for the Big Spawn Count 2012!

 11th Jan2012

 

ARC has joined forces with Pond Conservation and Amphibian & Reptile Groups of UK (ARGUK) to launch the Big Spawn Count 2012! We hope to gain valuable information about the breeding success of Common Frogs and Toads by gathering data about frog and toad spawn counts in gardens ponds across the UK.

So if you see clumps of frog spawn or strings of toad spawn in your garden pond let us know via this online form. 

 

For more information on the project and how to identify and count spawn visit the Big Spawn Count 2012 website.

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Amphibian and Reptile ID iPhone app Released!

14th Dec 2011

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) staff have recently been working with popular smartphone and tablet app developers Isoperla and the Amphibian and Reptile Groups – UK (ARG-UK) to develop a new app for iPhone and iPad platforms.

Based on Isoperla’s successful “HerptileId” (which came number 3 in BBC Countryfile’s top 10 apps), the new app contains even more ID photos and updated information that will enable users to explore and identify the amphibians and reptiles of the British Isles.

To find the app, type “Isoperla” or “HerptileId” into the search box in iTunes or the Apple App Store. Existing users can upgrade to the new app for free!

Users can keep a log of reptile and amphibian sightings using the app and take a photograph too. Reptile and amphibian sightings provide important conservation information and this can be sent in real time to the ARG-UK Record Pool database automatically from the app. This information will be used to help conservation of our native species.

We hope that this exciting collaboration will lead to a greater appreciation and nderstanding of amphibians and reptiles, and that this will deliver conservation benefits.

CLICK HERE to get it now!

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The National Planning Policy Framework - is it all bad news for reptiles and amphibians?

22nd Sept 2011

I hear many of you cry and in essence that is the problem with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the Government's new planning proposals for England. The headline messages are simply not strong enough in favour of conserving the natural environment and, partly as a consequence of this, the document reads like a developers charter. Emphasising as it does the need for a strong pro-economic growth agendaâ, the current wording threatens to jeopardise large areas of our countryside and many of the brownfield sites (derelict/ former industrial land) that are so important for reptiles and amphibians.

There are, however, some principles within the NPPF that we at Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC), and others in Wildlife & Countryside Link, the NGO forum through which we do much of our campaigning work on Planning legislation and policy, do subscribe to. We support Sustainable Development (with the emphasis on Sustainable!), we see a benefit in a more proportionate and locally accountable planning system and we see value in a plan led approach that can define conservation as well as socio-economic objectives for an area. The 58 page document is meant to be read and considered in its entirety for those with the stamina to reach clause 163 there is a section on the Natural Environment and scattered through it are little nuggets that could give us hope, had we not been distracted by the less positive messages elsewhere.

ARC, through W&C Link, is actively campaigning to address some key over-riding issues, and in particular:
 

• the need for a clear and workable definition of sustainable development; 
• that there should only be a presumption in favour of development that clearly accords with an appropriate definition of the term sustainable development; and
• clear links must be made between the NPPF and the Natural Environment White Paper.

The Prime Minister has recently made a personal intervention and has emphasised his commitment to safeguarding our countryside but we also wish to see wildlife conserved throughout England and not just in our designated National Parks. For truly sustainable development to happen as a result of the NPPF, the whole document must reflect the fact that our long term economic growth relies on protecting and enhancing the environmental resources that underpin it, also paying due regard to social needs.  Without this basis, the presumption for sustainable development will simply be a licence for sustained development. The NPPF, as written, has rightly angered many environmental and local organisations and has sustained a barrage of criticism in the press. Let us hope that the Government is listening and takes this opportunity to create a planning system that delivers truly sustainable development - a thriving economy alongside flourishing wildlife. ARC will continue to campaign to try to make this happen.

The opportunity for Public comments continues until 17th October (see http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningsystem/planningpolicy/planningpolicyframework/ we would encourage you to have your say).

Tony Gent
CEO

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Reptile Mitigation Guidelines Published by Natural England

22nd Sept 201

Natural England have published Reptile Mitigation Guidelines (9th Sept 2011) following a consultation with ARC staff, ARG UK members, ecological consultants and other volunteers during workshops run at the Herpetofauna Worker's meeting. This document can be downloaded form the Natural England website >>>

Natural England welcomes feedback on this document, to help improve future versions. Please send comments to:  technicalinformationexchange@naturalengland.org.uk

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Assessing Population Status of the great creasted newt in Great Britain

 

4th Aug 2011

An important theme in conservation biology is the setting of targets against which the progress of conservation actions can be measured. In order to do this, an understanding of species status is required and, without perfect knowledge of all sites and locations for a species, this is a difficult task because of insufficient person-hours and funding. A new report by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, commissioned by Natural England, addresses these issues for a British species for which such knowledge is most frequently needed – the great crested newt. The report aims to:

Dr John W Wilkinson

Research and Monitoring Officer 

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Connecting London’s Amphibian & Reptile Habitats (CLARE) Project launch

28th July 2011

SCALING THE CITY

Londoners are being urged to record amphibian and reptile sightings across London as part of a new project to raise awareness of the frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards that all call the capital their home. Go to www.arc-trust.org/CLARE to find out how to identify amphibians and reptiles and to record your sightings.

The 'Connecting London's Amphibian and Reptile Environments' (CLARE) project is launched this Sunday 31^st July at Hutchinson's Bank Nature Reserve in New Addington, Croydon. Some live animals will be on display, as well as the chance to record your local amphibian and reptile sightings.

Life isn't easy for reptiles and amphibians in London so the CLARE project has been set up to lend a helping hand. London has a superb diversity of wildlife. Nine of the thirteen British native amphibians and reptiles occur naturally in the capital, and there are even other species (some of which are not naturally found Britain) thriving in small pockets of land in London. Surprisingly, though, information about the distribution of most of these species in London is very poor and this is hampering efforts to conserve them.

This is why Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, has teamed up with the London Wildlife Trust, Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL), London Amphibian & Reptile Group (LARG) and London, Essex & Hertfordshire Amphibian and Reptile Trust (LEHART) with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project will be raising the awareness of amphibians and reptiles in London through a series of events - the first of which is taking place this Sunday at Hutchinson's Bank Local Nature Reserve as part of the Old Surrey Downs.

Sophie Hinton the CLARE Project Officer says:

"Amphibians and reptiles are a key part of London’s ecosystem but are disappearing from the capital due to the loss of habitats they depend on. Like humans, amphibians are dependent on clean, fresh water and so the declines in their populations reflect the damage we are doing to our environment and should act as a warning to our own survival.

We don't yet know enough about where amphibians and reptiles are living in London and it's only once we've found out where, that we can then identify key areas for their conservation. "

So if you've spotted an amphibian or reptile within Greater London, whether it was in your garden, a park, in the street - the CLARE project partners want to know what, where and when.

The launch takes place this Sunday 31^st July at Hutchinson's Bank Local Nature Reserve in New Addington, Croydon between 11am-3pm. For more information on Hutchinson's Bank and public transport information please see the London Wildlife Trust website: www.wildlondon.org.uk - Nature Reserves.

For more information about the CLARE project please contact Sophie Hinton, CLARE Project Officer: Sophie.Hinton@arc-trust.org  , 07810184501 / 02072610447

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Vacancy for a Consultancy Services Manager

5th July 2011

ARC is looking to appoint a Consultancy Services Manager to help plan, establish and then manage a new consultancy business for the Trust.  Click here to download the full advertisement and here for the person specification.  Contact Helen Wraight on 01202 391319 or email helen.wraight@arc-trust.org for an application pack or download the application form here.

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Pond Assessment, Creation and Management Course

27th June 2011

If you'd like to know more about ponds, this training course is for you! 

Pond Conservation and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation are running a training course in August that will cover:

• Ponds in the UK landscape and their conservation status.
• Methods to assess ponds, including a practical introduction to the National Pond Survey and PSYM methods.
• An overview of pond plants and invertebrates (but please note this is not an ID course).
• Best practice principles for creating clean water ponds.
• Targeting pond creation for BAP species, with a focus on amphibians and reptiles.
• Pond management and the new risk assessment tool.

If you'd like any further information about the course please download the course leaflet or contact David Orchard on 01204 529312. 

To book your place contact the Field Studies Council on 0845 330 7378.

Keep checking our ARC Training page for the lastest information about our own and outside training courses >>>

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Outside Training Courses

24th June 2011

Cresswell - A Hyder Consulting group company are running two CPD training courses aimed at Professional Ecologists and Environmental Managers in September 2011. 

Reptiles (I): Background Biology, Survey Techniques and Legislation

Reptiles (II): Advanced Survey Methods, Impact Assessment and Mitigation

Keep checking our ARC Training page for the lastest information about our own and outside training courses >>>

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The Natural Environment White Paper

15th June 2011

Tuesday 7^th June saw the launch of the Natural Environment White Paper  (NEWP) - the Government's vision for protecting and improving the natural environment in England for the next fifty years.  Listening to Caroline Spellman, the Secretary of State for the Environment, it was hard to be anything other than encouraged.  The ideas were bold, ambitious and set to put the natural environment at the heart of Government thinking.  Clearly Government had taken ideas from the 15,000 responses made to their consultation.  Nature should be valued and considered an asset both for its importance to people and for its intrinsic value - no longer should it be seen as an impediment to economic growth.  And this was a 'cross Government' initiative, this was not just the preserve of one Department, and Ministers for Transport and 'Communities and Local Government' were there to make that point.  Importantly, and reflecting a key philosophy that we at ARC and HCT before have long advocated, the important part is ensuring we get a good outcome for nature.

However, like others present, we were left with a few anxieties – uncertainty about how this would pan out rather than opposition to the principles that were articulated.  Will it be adequately supported, either across Government or by the agencies that would be needed to take a lead, noting the severe funding cuts that have happened?  Will a focus given to just twelve 'Nature Improvement Areas’ be sufficient to achieve the benefits needed across the country?  Will resources be sufficient for Government and for the non-Governmental agencies that will be needed to take it forward?  We are also concerned that the way the desired outcomes are expressed, with an emphasis on demonstrating socio-economic benefits and without the explicit recognition that nature is different in different parts of the country, may not provide the right guidance to ensure we are striving to get the right wildlife at the right levels in the right places!

This, though, is just part of the story - the new England Biodiversity Strategy is due to be launched later this month and we hope this may provide some of this important detail.  The White Paper offers a lot to be pleased about and to a large degree it is up to us to make it work the way we want it to. We need to ensure that we use this opportunity make significant gains for reptiles and amphibians.  Rest assured, ARC will be looking for ways to make this happen.

Tony Gent

CEO

 ______________________________________

 

Great Crested Newt Project gets DEFRA go-ahead

1st June 2011

ARC in partnership with Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent, have just secured funding for a 3-year project to investigate the effectiveness of mitigation measures designed to conserve great crested newt populations.


Developers and great crested newts frequently come into conflict and current guidance is supposed to compensate for any negative effects on newt populations caused by nearby development. The project will identify a set of sites where mitigation has taken place since 2004 and investigate the effects of mitigation on their populations. Comparisons will be made with other nearby sites that have not been affected by development.

The project will inform decision-makers as to the effectiveness of current mitigation projects and help adapt future guidance in order to maximise its effectiveness, thus delivering real conservation benefits for this vulnerable species.

Dr John W. Wilkinson
Research and Monitoring Office

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Do you have access to a garden pond?  Can you spend 20 minutes looking for newts?  Could you let us know what you find?

Then take part in The Great Easter Newt Hunt! 

Go to the Great Easter newt Hunt website at www.newthunt.org and find out how to identify newts and how to survey for them.  Download a newt hunt survey form and you're all ready to go!  You can hunt for newts anytime between 22nd  April to 2nd May and report your newt sightings by using the online form on the 'Report your Newts' page.

We aim to use the information acquired from this survey to help us find out more about our widespread newts and plan their conservation, and the importance of garden ponds.

More information is available on our flyer.

 

Road Salt implicated in mass mortality of great crested newts

21st March 2011

In late March 2010, approximately 75 great crested newt carcasses were found in a railway station car park in Cumbria; the newts appeared to have died during their spring migration from nearby hibernation sites on their way to a large breeding pond behind the station. Road salt had been laid in the car park two weeks previously, during an unusually late period of freezing weather, and there was circumstantial evidence that residual road salt in the car park had caused these newt deaths.

The incident was recently described in the Veterinary Record (Duff, J. P., Colvile, K., Foster, J., Dumphreys, N. Mass mortality of great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) on ground treated with road salt. Veterinary Record 168 (10) p.282). There are a few anecdotal reports of UK amphibian mortality associated with road salting, and salt treatment of ponds. As in this case, incidents tend to occur when an unusually late period of freezing weather is swiftly followed by much milder temperatures.

We would like to raise awareness of the apparent potential for road salt to negatively impact amphibians, and recommend that judicious caution is exercised in the use of road salt near amphibian migration routes, particularly in March and April; road maintenance contractors should be aware of this risk. We would be interested to hear about any future incidents of suspected salt poisoning: please email amphibian@zsl.org.

Paul Duff (Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Penrith), Katie Colvile (Zoological Society of London) and Jim Foster (Natural England, Peterborough)

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Don't Cut the Countryside

14th July 2010

England’s conservation organisations have joined forces to paint a grim picture of a countryside starved of money by budget cuts.

On the 30th anniversary of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, its members have issued an unprecedented warning about what the future would hold should the Government slash spending on conservation, wildlife-friendly farming and public recreation.
The organisation will share its concerns with MPs at a parliamentary reception this evening (Wednesday), held to mark 30 years of working together for the natural environment.

Paul de Zylva, Chair of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “We all know the new Government will have a hard job making difficult and far-reaching decisions about where the axe should fall on public spending.

“There may be a temptation to see cuts in conservation and recreation as an easy win, but in reality ministers need to think very hard before making cuts that could have profound and perhaps irreversible consequences for England’s wildlife, landscapes and people.

“We want to make clear that in the case of conservation, slashing budgets would be a false economy – short term savings would translate into huge long term costs for our economy and our national well-being.”

Link fears an austerity countryside, where the loss of public money for protected sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) has left the country’s best wildlife sites sadly degraded. 

Reedbeds are dry and clogged with brambles; heathlands have vanished as scrub begins to take over. Wetlands have dwindled and rivers and canals have become clogged by invasive plants which threaten native species.

The loss of money for wildlife-friendly farming has seen farmland birds resume their slide into extinction. Bat populations are clinging onto survival in isolated pockets, facing starvation due to the dwindling insect populations, while the country’s flower meadows have all but vanished.

England’s uplands have become degraded; their wildlife is in decline, and their ability to lock away carbon and provide clean drinking water for millions sadly reduced.
On the coasts, cuts have undone years of work to manage remaining and newly created coastal habitats such as saltmarsh and saline lagoons, impacting wildlife and flood protection.

At sea, less management and enforcement has seen a further decline in wildlife-rich reefs and seagrass beds that shelter species like seahorses and pipefish. Illegal fishing has increased, putting even more pressure on fish numbers.

There are fewer people too. Without cash to keep paths and bridleways open, huge swathes of the English countryside and coast are effectively closed to millions.
Locked up in towns and cities, unable to enjoy the country’s breathing spaces, people are less healthy, costing the National Health Service millions of extra pounds each year. 

In turn, the rural economy is denied the large sums of money visitors to the countryside spend each year.
Paul de Zylva said: “Such a picture is not an exaggeration, but nor is it an inevitability. Minsters will need to make difficult choices about which areas of public spending offer the best value for money.

“Defra and its agencies like Natural England spend just 0.5 per cent of the Government’s budget, yet their investment in the countryside brings huge benefits in wildlife, clean air and water, flood alleviation, carbon sequestration and pollination. A healthy natural environment is not a luxury but fundamental to our existence.”

He added: “The Deputy Prime Minister has said it would be morally wrong to leave our children and grandchildren with huge debts. It would be just as immoral to bequeath them an impoverished environment and an England that is in many ways diminished.”

Notes:

In a statement sent to Defra ahead of the cuts, Link has listed five “red lines” – areas of spend that must be protected to safeguard the natural environment.
These are:

• Identifying, protecting, managing and monitoring protected areas and species on land and at sea, including action to halt and reverse the decline of threatened species and habitats (including National Parks, AONBs, SPAs, SACs, SSSIs, MCZs, European protected species and UK BAP listed species and habitats).
• Higher level agri-environment schemes and other land management grants which help land managers to delivering public goods such as an attractive, accessible countryside rich in wildlife.
• Gathering evidence about the state of the countryside and our marine environment.    Research and monitoring ensures money is properly spent and not wasted on ineffective approaches.
• Rights of way and access to the countryside including establishment of a coastal trail.
• Nature conservation in UK Overseas Territories and in developing countries, not least tropical forests.

This press release is supported by the following 25 organisations;

• Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
• Badger Trust
• Bat Conservation Trust
• Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust
• Butterfly Conservation
• Campaign for National Parks
• Campaign to Protect Rural England
• Campaign Whale
• Environmental Investigation Agency
• Friends of the Earth England
• The Grasslands Trust
• Hawk and Owl Trust
• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• The Mammal Society
• Marine Conservation Society
• Open Spaces Society
• Plantlife International
• Pond Conservation
• Ramblers
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
• Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
• The Wildlife Trusts
• Woodland Trust
  

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Hundreds of Ponds Funded by Biffaward 

8th July 2010

The go-ahead has just been given for a series of pond creation projects, to be funded by Biffaward, as part of the Million Ponds Project.  £202,654 from Biffaward will see 366 ponds created on 63 sites. All these projects will benefit BAP species associated with ponds and the common toad, natterjack toad, great crested newt and grass snake in particular.

Of the ponds planned for the coming year:

• 158 ponds will benefit the common toad
• 22 ponds will benefit the natterjack toad
  
• 179 ponds will benefit the great crested newt
  
• 111 ponds will benefit the grass snake

Of course, many other species will also benefit from the new ponds.

 The Million Ponds Project is a 50 year initiative, coordinated by Pond Conservation, to reverse the long-term decline in the UKs ponds, increasing pond numbers to 1 million and, crucially, recreating clean water in the landscape. At present, some 80% of ponds in England and Wales are in poor condition, mainly as a result of water pollution. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is a lead partner in the project and is supporting projects that will benefit amphibians and the grass snake.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation's Ponds Project Officer, David Orchard said, “The Million Ponds Project is achieving some real benefits for our most threatened amphibian species. Lots of ponds are being created by the project and each new one is a positive step forward for the conservation of amphibians and the grass snake in the UK.”

The Million Ponds Project is also helping to change attitudes to ponds by highlighting the importance of water quality. Dr. Pascale Nicolet, Million Ponds Project Manager said, “Ponds with good water quality are best for wildlife, but many ponds in the UK are polluted by runoff from roads or agricultural land. The best ponds are fed by water from “clean water catchments” – i.e. those not contaminated by runoff from intensive farming or roads.”

This is one of the key messages of the Million Ponds Project which is encouraging site managers to think again about the locations for potential ponds.

“We’re encouraging people to think carefully about where the water comes from that fills their pond” said David Orchard. Often, with some careful decisions on location, water quality can be significantly improved.

The next round of Biffaward funding will be open to new applications in October 2010, with the deadline for submissions being January 2011. Although the Million Ponds Project is a 50-year initiative, 2011 will be the final year for Biffaward funding.

This funding is available to landowners or
land managers able to create new ponds that will benefit any of the BAP species associated with ponds, with a particular focus on the most endangered species which are in danger of disappearing from England and Wales completely. Sites do not need to have public access to be eligible for funding and grants cover 100% of contractor costs.

To find out more about funding for pond projects contact David Orchard, Ponds Project Officer with Amphibian and Reptile
Conservation at David.Orchard@arc-trust.org.  
For more info on the Million Ponds Project go to www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds.