The Cairngorms Water Vole Conservation Project has become the biggest if its kind in mainland Britain with additional staff, new partners joining the initiative and new areas being targeted in a bid to increase populations of these furry little rodents.
Part funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and co-ordinated by the University of Aberdeen, the the project has support from local communities, landowners, farmers and conservation bodies and aims to safeguard Scotland's threatened native water vole – as well as other native wildlife – by tackling the threat of alien invasive mink across a 6,440 sq km area of the Cairngorms.
The project team, comprising Dr Rosalind Bryce, Project Co-ordinator; Project Officers Helen Gray and Laura Taylor and researcher Dr Matt Oliver, are working alongside local estate staff to help improve habitat for water voles by reducing densities of the predatory mink.
Dr Bryce said: "The Cairngorms Water Vole Project has been operating successfully for over a year now, albeit on a smaller scale. We are now in a position to vastly expand the work we are doing and are delighted that new partners have come on board to help. We also have additional staff which means we can make the project bigger and better.
"This boost for the Cairngorms Water Vole Conservation Project means we have a real chance of success and that large viable populations of water voles will be common-place once more in the Cairngorms. Our vision for the future is to see water voles re-colonising areas that used to be occupied before the declines caused by mink predation."
The Cairngorms National Park is one of the water vole's last strongholds. The American mink is not in its natural habitat in the Cairngorms and has devastating effects on native wildlife. Its removal from the Cairngorms will be good news for local biodiversity and as such the project promotes humane mink control as part of a sustainable management strategy.
The water vole is listed by SNH for action under the Species Action Framework and is a priority species on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan due to its loss of habitat and the impact of mink. This project is tackling these threats through a coalition of committed parties including SNH, the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) and local fishery management interests, with funding support from the Tubney Charitable Trust and the Natural Environment Research Council.
Professor Colin Galbraith, SNH's Director of Policy and Advice said: "The water vole is a priority species and as such urgently needs concerted, imaginative and sustained efforts to bolster and increase its habitat and population. We are delighted to see the project expand and this new coordinated strategy being applied in the Cairngorms. We believe our combined efforts in this project will create a model for improving biodiversity here and elsewhere. It will also benefit future work by creating mutual understanding and respect between partners."
Professor Xavier Lambin of Aberdeen University – who has played a key role in the development of the project – believes the initiative will establish connections between the community and conservationists. He said: "The Cairngorms Water Vole Conservation Project will benefit the community not only by achieving tangible benefits on the ground but also by strengthening communication and knowledge transfer between scientists, conservationists and local stakeholders."
Information gathered by the workers operating in the field is being fed back to ecologists at the University of Aberdeen. Dr Matt Oliver is using the data to develop a management strategy aimed at maximising the efficiency of how mink are controlled in the focal area. Information obtained from field workers is improving understanding of key aspects of the biology of mink, such as how many there are, where they are, and how mink move from one place to another. This data is then being used to predict when and where the trapping effort should be concentrated in order to reduce the number of mink and their impact on other species.
Dr David Hetherington, Ecology Advisor at the CNPA said: "Conserving and enhancing biodiversity is one of the Priorities for Action in the Cairngorms National Park Plan. We see the water vole project as being a key activity in working towards delivering that commitment.
"Partnership working is the ethos behind the Park Plan and this collaborative approach mirrors the effective partnership working that is crucial to this project's success. It is great to see estate staff, farmers and conservationists sharing a common interest in assisting Scotland's biodiversity."
For more information about the project see: http://www.watervolescotland.org/