Giant wave of support wanted for new campaign to protect wildlife at sea

The Wildlife Trusts are calling on everyone to join a giant wave of support for 41 new Marine Conservation Zones

The Wildlife Trusts have launched a new campaign – #WaveOfSupport – to give everyone across the country the chance to back 41 new Marine Conservation Zones and protect our part of the Blue Planet around the English coast.

Recently, the government launched a consultation asking the public for their views about protecting a new group of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) – areas at sea where wildlife is protected from damaging activities. 41 special places have been chosen for the public to comment on, including nine in Devon’s waters.

None of these places will be designated unless there is public support for their protection. That’s why The Wildlife Trusts are urging the public to have their say and join a giant #WaveOfSupport e-action campaign which sends a message to government calling for all 41 potential MCZs to be recognised and protected. The public have until Friday 20th July to make their views known. The e-action can be completed at www.wildlifetrusts.org/wave-of-support

Plymouth-based Joan Edwards, Director of Living Seas at The Wildlife Trusts said:
“It’s rare that people get a chance to influence the future of our precious seas and the beautiful but fragile wild places and animals that live there. Since The Wildlife Trusts’ president emeritus, Sir David Attenborough, brought us the Blue Planet series, there’s been a surge of interest in the wonders of marine life coupled with horror at the threats facing the delicate marine environment. We’re offering people a way of channelling this concern into a giant wave of public support to create a network of protected special places at sea.”

Coral Smith, Marine Education Officer for Devon Wildlife Trust, explained the significance for Devon’s marine wildlife: 

“Nine areas in Devon’s waters have been put forward for protection in the form of Marine Conservation Zones, reflecting just how special and important our marine environment is here in Devon.
“Five estuary sites have been nominated, providing some of the most biologically productive mud and sand habitats, which in turn are hugely important feeding areas for waders, seabirds and juvenile fish. Four recommended offshore sites are home to commercially important species such as crab and lobster and many other wild and extraordinary creatures which are part of a healthy marine ecosystem."

Coral continued: "It is vital that these remaining areas are designated in order to create a blue belt of protection around Devon to restore the sea-bed that has been ravaged over the past century and allow fragile marine life to recover.  “This MCZ consultation process could be our last chance to protect Devon’s most important marine wildlife and habitats, and so we must make the most of this opportunity for our voices to be heard.”

The Wildlife Trusts believe that the consultation is a step in the right direction for England’s seas. Proper protection through good management of these sites after designation will be essential to ensure that our seas have the opportunity to recover.

Grey Seal - Photo copyright Paul Naylor (marinephoto.co.uk) All Rights Reserved.

Supporters can add their #WaveOfSupport at www.wildlifetrusts.org/wave-of-support

Nature reserves are latest campaign focus for Devon Wildlife Trust, as ash dieback confirmed on first DWT site

Devon Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign to secure more support for looking after 50 Devon nature reserves: http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves-fund
 

The charity spends around £2000 per day on management of 50 nature reserves across Devon, totalling 1943 hectares (4801 acres.) Funds are spent on ensuring varied habitats support the widest possible range of wildlife and on maintaining accessible places for visitors to enjoy exploring.

But this year, staff and volunteers will have to deal with an additional problem. Ash dieback is the latest threat to manifest on DWT nature reserves, with evidence of the disease now present on at least five DWT sites.

With the charity finding it increasingly difficult to secure funding for the ongoing management of nature reserves, DWT has launched a new campaign. The Devon Nature Reserves Fund makes it easier for more visitors to the Trust’s 50 Devon wildlife sites to support the work required to ensure thriving wildlife and satisfied visitors at all the reserves.

Many of the most wildlife-rich sites in Devon are semi-natural habitats such as heathland, coppiced woodland and wet grassland. Once traditional ways of managing the land were discontinued during the later decades of the 20th century, this had a detrimental impact on the wildlife that had evolved to thrive alongside human use of the landscape in these semi-natural habitats. Managing the varied habitats on nature reserves revives this traditional land use, but now exclusively for the benefit of wild plants and animals – and the people who enjoy seeing them.

Nature reserves without management would feature less varied habitats and less diverse wildlife.

Now, in addition to clearing gorse and scrub, managing grazing animals, maintaining ponds and keeping paths and boardwalks in good condition, reacting to ash dieback is the latest challenge facing Land Manager Matt Boydell and his team of staff and volunteers. The Forestry Commission has confirmed the presence of the Chalara fraxinea fungus that causes ash dieback, at DWT’s Dunsdon National Nature Reserve, near Holsworthy. Ash trees with symptoms of the disease have also been recorded at DWT nature reserves Halsdon (on the River Torridge), Meeth Quarry (near Hatherleigh), Dunsford (in the Teign valley) and The Rough (near Honiton.)

After an inspection of the Trust’s Dunsford reserve on Dartmoor, Matt Boydell said: “So far we’re seeing young trees, around 10 feet tall, that have been affected, with discolouration of branches from the tip down. It hasn’t yet affected the 60-70 mature ash trees on the reserve. But given the geographical spread of reserves affected already, it is likely that we will see symptoms of ash dieback on all young growth on most reserves from next spring.”

Matt outlined DWT’s next steps for dealing with ash dieback on nature reserves: “We need to map where the biggest and most high-risk ash trees are, those close to roads and public footpaths, as any large diseased trees posing a risk to the public will have to be felled. Mapping how quickly the disease is spreading and the age of infected trees is likely to be our focus over the next few years. Then we can plan what level of re-populating of native tree species is suitable for each reserve, in harmony with natural regeneration of the woodland, particularly where hedgerow ashes have died.”

DWT’s wildlife sites cover 1943 hectares (4801 acres) of Devon, with reserves spread around the compass. The intrepid nature-lover would need to travel 83 miles from the Trust’s most southerly nature reserve, South Efford Marsh, home to curlews and otters on a tidal stretch of the River Avon, to reach the northernmost site, Swanpool Marsh, near Braunton. Journeying from east to west, a 67-mile journey would be required from Hawkswood, near Honiton, to Warleigh Point, a riverside oak woodland where the Tavy and Tamar rivers meet.

At 326 hectares, Dart Valley is the largest DWT nature reserve, with 6.5 kilometres of the River Dart at its wildest rushing through the woodland between Dartmeet and New Bridge. The very first DWT reserve was important dormouse haven Lady’s Wood, a bluebell and hazel woodland near South Brent which was gifted to the charity by eminent Devon naturalist HG Hurrell in 1961.

The 50 reserves include:

• Devon’s largest goosander roost at Meeth Quarry
• the largest colony of pearl bordered fritillary butterflies in the South West at Marsland (on the Atlantic coast near Hartland)
• the only remaining site in England for narrow headed ants at Chudleigh Knighton Heath
• the biggest colony in the country of the rare heath lobelia flower at Andrew’s Wood (near Loddiswell)
• the Devon site with the highest recorded number of marsh fritillary butterflies, Volehouse Moor (near Bradworthy.)
• the site of the first UK field study of dormice, at Lady’s Wood, where the rodents’ distinctive way of eating hazelnuts was first discovered

DWT nature reserves include some of the best places in the county to see cuckoos (at Emsworthy Mire, near Hay Tor), otters (at Halsdon) and glow worms (at Bystock Pools, near Exmouth.)

DWT’s Dan Smith said, “Regular contributions from our members help cover the everyday costs of looking after some of Devon’s best wildlife sites. But thousands of other people enjoy visiting these wonderful places and now they can easily support work on our 50 reserves with a gift to the Devon Nature Reserves Fund.”

Donations can made online at www.devonwildlifetrust.org/make-a-donation or by calling the Trust on 01392 279244.

 Ash Tree. Photo copyright Peter Wakely (All Rights Reserved)

 Ash Tree Flower - Photo copyright Michael Symes (All Rights Reserved)

Dunsdon Path. Photo copyright Dave Chamberlain (All Rights Reserved)

Donations can made online at www.devonwildlifetrust.org/make-a-donation or by calling the Trust on 01392 279244.  

About Devon Wildlife Trust 

Devon Wildlife Trustis the county’s leading environmental charity, with 32,000 members. The charity manages 50 nature reserves across Devon, including a range of beautiful landscapes such as woodlands, meadows, wetlands and heaths. Devon Wildlife Trust relies on charitable donations, grants and the generous support of its members and the general public to raise more than £3.5million every year. Money raised is spent maintaining our work for wildlife conservation and education in Devon, for present and future generations.

Battle to protect wildlife at sea receives boost today

Devon Wildlife Trust welcomes possibility of 9 new Marine Conservation Zones for Devon and 41 nationwide.

Today the government has launched a consultation asking the public for their views about protecting a new group of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) – areas at sea where wildlife is protected from damaging activities. 41 special places have been chosen for the public to comment on, including nine in Devon’s waters.

The Devon sites range from the Dart estuary, which is home to both British species of seahorse, to Morte Platform - between Morte Point and Lundy - where a great diversity of marine wildlife is supported on an area of seabed consisting of rocky, sandy and muddy habitats featuring living reefs and mussel beds.

Plymouth-based Joan Edwards, Director of Living Seas at The Wildlife Trusts said:
“We’ve been calling for the government to give real protection to a connected network of diverse sea-bed habitats since 2009. Only 50 have been designated so far and this new consultation on 41 special places is really good news. We need to restore the sea-bed that has been ravaged over the past century and allow fragile marine life to recover – and this can only be done with good management. Without these astonishing submerged landscapes there simply wouldn't be any fish, let alone fantastic jewel anemones, seahorses, and all the other wild and extraordinary creatures which are part of a healthy marine ecosystem.”

Devon Wildlife Trust believes that the consultation is a big step in the right direction for England’s seas. Proper protection of these sites after designation will mean that our seas will be given the opportunity to recover. However, there is disappointment that the proposed 1100 square kilometre protected area for Lyme Bay’s white-beaked dolphins is missing from the consultation.

Harry Barton, Devon Wildlife Trust’s Chief Executive, said:
“I’m thrilled to see that we’ve got a really good chance to protect nine new marine sites around Devon’s beautiful coasts. I’m particularly pleased that our internationally important estuaries, among them the Dart, the Otter and the Erme, are on the list of potential sites. It’s disappointing that neither the Taw and Torridge estuaries nor the Lyme Bay Deeps site for dolphins and seabirds have been included on the list. We desperately need to safeguard areas for these wonderful creatures so that they can continue to grace our seas. We’ll keep pushing for greater protection for these areas in future.”

The full list of new proposed Marine Conservation Zones for Devon comprises:

• Axe Estuary
• Dart Estuary
• Devon Avon Estuary
• East of Start Point
• Erme Estuary
• Morte Platform
• North-west of Lundy
• South-west Approaches to the Bristol Channel
• Otter Estuary

Harry Barton continued: “The most important thing now is that as many people as possible tell the government that they want these sites protected. If we succeed, it’ll be a huge step forward for marine wildlife and to leaving our natural environment in a better state than we found it.”

The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the public to back the 41 potential Marine Conservation Zones in the consultation – details of how to do this will be added to The Wildlife Trusts and Devon Wildlife Trust websites and on social media in the next week. The consultation closes on Friday 20th July 2018.

 

Devonshire Cup Coral can also be found on the Morte Platform - Photo copyright Paul Naylor (All Rights Reserved)

Plaice as found in Holderness Offshore MCZ and the Morte Platform - Photo copyright Paul Naylor (All rights reserved)