Essex Biodiversity Project

Three hundred endangered water voles are to be re-homed from DP World’s London Gateway new deep sea container port at Thurrock to the peaceful riverbanks of the winding River Colne, in Essex. The port project includes clearing the 1,500acre site of animals and mammals including snakes, lizards, water voles, newts and many others. Over 50,000 animals have been relocated to date. Trapping water voles started in March 2010 under licence from Natural England, with voles weighed, sexed, and placed in holding cages with bedding and food before being transported to temporary homes, including the Wildwood wildlife sanctuary in Kent.

Essex has lost 90% of its water voles But with the help of action by conservation groups, this translocation will help to strengthen local populations. The vole translocation programme is the brainchild of Darren Tansley, Essex Wildlife Trust’s Water for Wildlife officer who will oversee their release, providing advice to DP World, developers of the London Gateway and one of the world’s largest marine terminal operators. One of the main vole release sites is Fordham Hall Estate, a 500-acre Woodland Trust woodland creation site ideally situated on the River Colne where enhancement work to improve the river habitat has already been undertaken in conjunction with the Environment Agency. One in ten of the water voles will be radio-tracked by Essex Wildlife Trust and Thomson Ecology to establish in which locations they choose to settle, providing important information for future translocations around the UK.

Full story at http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=news&id=3378