On Friday 22nd July, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with the Woodhall Estate with support from the River Beane Restoration Association reintroduced water voles to a stretch of the River Beane near Watton-at-Stone. This project is funded by the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies and is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.
Water voles used to be commonly found on rivers throughout Hertfordshire and the rest of the country, but over the last 50 years they have become the UK’s fastest-declining mammal and now face extinction. This has been due to two main factors - loss of quality wetland habitats and predation by American mink, an invasive, non-native species. Both have contributed to a 90% decrease in water vole populations.
The Woodhall Estate was chosen as a release site thanks to the landowner’s commitment to conservation and relationship with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, the management of the habitat on the private estate to provide a suitable environment for water voles, as well as the good health of the river in that location.
Thanks to reintroduction programmes such as this one on the Beane, the future for water voles is looking brighter once again. Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust aim to have water voles back on all Hertfordshire rivers by 2030. In order for that to take place, the Trust is looking for further receptive landowners, who they can work with, alongside partner organisations to improve habitats and carefully plan more reintroductions.
The 138 water voles were bred in Devon by the Derek Gow Consultancy before being brought to the Beane. Prior to their arrival, the last recorded water vole population on the river was recorded in 2000.
Josh Kalms, Water Vole Conservation Officer at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said:
“We are delighted to have reintroduced water voles to the River Beane. Water voles are a vitally important species in wetland ecosystems and they have a key role to play in maintaining the health of these habitats. They are mini ecosystem engineers - their burrowing and feeding by grazing helps keep our river banks and wetlands in good condition.
The water voles were released along the banks of the River Beane, within the grounds of the Woodhall Estate, which is a private family-run estate focused on conservation. Volunteers from the River Beane Restoration Association and Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust transported half the voles, to pens set out along the river bank, giving them time to settle into their new environment. During this period, they were fed a supplementary diet of fruit and vegetables. After a few days, the acclimatised voles gained the freedom to go wild and make their own riverside burrows, then pens were then removed. Other, adult, voles were released directly onto a nearby watercourse, where they are now establishing territories and settling down to breed.”
Josh continued: “We are indebted to the Woodhall Estate for offering this quality habitat for the release and to the River Beane Restoration Association for providing essential support throughout. Between 2017 and 2018 volunteers helped HMWT to survey the River Beane to ensure that the habitat was still suitable for water voles. During the release RBRA volunteers continued to play a vital role, including carrying pens and feeding the voles. Successful campaigning by the RBRA to reduce the quantity of water taken from the river enabled the reintroduction to take place.
“Water vole surveys are an essential part of the reintroduction and will take place a few months following the release and in following years, to monitor how they have fared. We will also continue to monitor for non-native mink.”
Thomas Abel Smith, Managing Director of the Woodhall Estate, where the water vole reintroduction took place, said:
“Woodhall Estate pioneers and champions conservation of all kinds and as a result I am delighted to support the reintroduction of these wonderful wild animals, who have sadly been missing from this estate and the River Beane for so long. This exciting project follows the extensive restoration of the River Beane over recent years, creating a truly unique habitat to enable this water vole reintroduction. I hope they will thrive here for many generations to come.”
Dave Standing, Secretary of the River Beane Restoration Association said:
“We are delighted to work with our friends at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust on this ambitious project. Since 1991, we have been committed to improving the ecological value of the river and the reintroduction of water voles is certainly a milestone in our 30+year history, which I’m sure will be celebrated along the river.
We are very pleased that one of our members, Bob Thornton was able to assemble this team of volunteers past and present to help with the reintroduction of this iconic species. We have all enjoyed setting out and monitoring the pens, and observing the water voles becoming more closely acquainted with their new environment. We hope that all our efforts will be successful and that we can look forward to the spread of water voles along the Beane as their numbers increase.”
Water voles are part of a wider decline in our wild species and habitats across the UK. In Hertfordshire, one-fifth of the wildlife assessed in Hertfordshire’s State of Nature Report, published by the Trust in 2020, is currently either locally extinct or threatened with extinction. Habitat loss and fragmentation have sent populations plummeting. The report concludes that at least 30% of land must be protected for wildlife in order to combat the ecological and climate crisis.
We can all play our part in helping to protect water voles by conserving water every day. In doing so, we are helping to maintain the health of our rivers. This is particularly pertinent at this time of year when water resources are stressed and our rivers and wetlands are impacted by increased water usage in a changing climate. Find out more by watching the Save Water Save Wildlife video hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/save-water-save-wildlife
If you are a landowner and would like to discuss the potential of a water vole reintroduction on a watercourse running through your land, please get in touch with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust by emailing info@hmwt.org.
Images below cc Natasha Aidinyantz
