Wildlife News for November

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RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Wildlife News for November

Post by RachelMC »

Wildlife News for November:

Woodland Trust Campaign - a message from Hilary Allison, Woodland Trust Policy Director

After we all spoke up together in 2011 against coalition plans to sell England's forests, the Government promised to protect our woods and to plant more for the future.

But we have just heard that because of a gap in forestry funding schemes, there will be no money for new tree planting for at least two years! The promises made for England’s woodland will be broken.

If you saw my interview on Channel 4 news last week, you will know that we are more than concerned about the consequences of this situation. So much so, we have set up a petition to demand urgent action from Dan Rogerson MP, the new Forestry Minister. Communities, schools, conservation groups, local authorities and other landowners ...… anyone who wants to plant trees or to create new woods, must be able to access interim grants in the meantime.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that this solution is vital to prevent a crisis. Defra must unlock the funds that are urgently needed. The good news is that the Government already recognises the enormous benefits trees and woods provide - we should be knocking on an open door. Especially with the weight of all our supporters behind us!

Please join hundreds of other people who love woods and trees and sign our petition today .......

Sign our petition ►

Our petition will run for less than 4 weeks so it can also feed into a related Defra consultation about changes to the rural funding priorities after next year, so please tell your friends too and urge them to take part before November 27th.

Thanks as always for being the voice for woods and trees – they really need you right now.

RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Biodiversity Offsetting

Post by RachelMC »

Biodiversity Offsetting:

"Biodiversity offsetting could improve the way our planning system accounts for the damage developments do to wildlife, if it is done well" - Joan Walley MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee

Government plans to introduce a system of 'biodiversity offsetting' for new building developments could enhance the way the planning system accounts for the damage done to valuable natural habitats, but the proposals must be improved to properly protect Britain's wildlife and woodlands, according to the report of the Commons Select Committee.

‘Biodiversity offset’ policies essentially require companies to fully compensate for any ‘unavoidable’ biodiversity impacts they cause through development; for instance, clearing habitat to make way for mineral extraction. To do so, they must create additional equivalent biodiversity somewhere nearby: by planting a woodland, digging a wetland, restoring degraded native grassland, increasing the productivity of fish spawning habitat, etc.

Joan Walley added: "Ministers must take great care to get offsetting right or they risk giving developers carte blanche to concrete over important habitats. Many witnesses to the inquiry were concerned that the Government's proposal would allow offsetting to be applied to ancient woodland and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. There is a danger that an overly simplistic offsetting system would not protect these long-established eco-systems.”

The MPs’ report argued that a mandatory, rather than voluntary, offsetting system would encourage a market to develop “which would in turn allow more environmentally and economically viable offset projects to be brought forward”.

Defra, Natural England and local councils are trialling six offsetting pilots begun in 2012. The National Planning Policy Framework, published in 2012, outlined a mitigation hierarchy, stating that if “significant harm to biodiversity resulting from a development proposal cannot be avoided, adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort, compensated for, then planning permission should be refused”.

To read more about this, go to: http://www.parliament.uk/business/commi ... published/

RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Badgers

Post by RachelMC »

Helen Lacy from the Wirral and Cheshire Badger Group has posted this following the Recorders' Forum last week:
Helen Lacy wrote:Hi Everyone,

Nice to see some new faces at the Recorders Forum at Risley Moss last week :)

This year (2013) we have spent a lot of time liaising with the RECORD team in getting our records on RODIS and we are proud to say we now put all our records straight through as we get them. We encourage you all to put in any dead Badgers you see (as well as live ones of course - if you are so lucky!) as well as signs of Badgers such as snuffle holes from feeding, garden records or sett records. Remember you don't have to see an actual Badger to record one! Training is free to all our members (its just £10 a year to join) and we will gladly show anyone what to look for to help protect our Badgers. We had a training day this weekend on badger persecution and this was preceded by other sessions all about Badgers.

During these difficult times for our Badgers, we are working hard at fundraising for vaccination (any donations welcome) and we have a fab Christmas raffle on the go (see our web site for details). Next year we hope to be out vaccinating in the field and we'll need help with surveying land and setting traps. If you want to get involved please join us.

If anyone has any Badger related questions, or would like to join the group and help our regions badgers, please don't hesitate to get in touch via email: info@wcbg.org.uk or messaging us through our Facebook page (just search for: Wirral and Cheshire Badger Group).

You'll find plenty of information on our web page at: http://www.wcbg.org.uk/

Thanks!
Helen


RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

More About Badgers ......

Post by RachelMC »

More About Badgers ......:

Cheshire Wildlife Trust has concluded its first full year of badger vaccination deployment against bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Cheshire, describing the project rollout over more than 1,000 hectares of Cheshire countryside as ‘a demonstration of the right way forward’.

The news comes as a number of the Government’s own advisors have expressed concerns that a planned cull programme will not provide a ‘worthwhile gain for farmers’, in minutes released from a recent meeting to agree controversial extensions to badger culling trials in Gloucestershire.

At least four of the nine board members at Natural England – the Government agency with the power to grant licences for badger culling – did not agree with an 8-week extension to the Gloucestershire trial, including Prof David MacDonald, head of Natural England’s own scientific advisory committee.

The revelations were released by the Badger Trust who are considering legal action against the cull trials.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust says the internal divisions mean the Government no longer has a credible mandate to expand its culling programme.

“We have to ask ourselves how much longer the Government is going to ignore the overwhelming voice of the independent scientific community” said Richard Gardner from the conservation charity.

“The cull trials were set-up with a principle aim – to test whether free-shoot culling was an effective and viable process, and on that basis they have singularly failed.”

Cheshire Wildlife Trust has already raised more than £20,000 from a public appeal to support badger vaccination work against TB across Cheshire

(Re-posted from Cheshire Today)

RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Hilbre Island Dropped From Government Plans for Protection

Post by RachelMC »

Hilbre Island Dropped From Government Plans for Wildlife Protection:

Hilbre Island will not receive an expected new level of wildlife protection after it was controversially dropped from Government plans.

The island group off the Wirral coast, hugely popular with visitors to West Kirby, had been set to become a marine conservation zone (MCZ) – one of only four in the Irish Sea.

A total of 127 zones were originally proposed to create a network of protected areas in UK seas after a lengthy multi-million pound consultation with marine users.

And despite that being cut to a preferred list of 31 last December, Hilbre Island was still set to be included.

But when the official list of 27 designated MCZ sites across the UK was announced by the Government yesterday, Hilbre Island was left out.

The islands were one of four sites dropped in the first round of designations, with the Government citing financial reasons and existing protection designations for its decision to cut Hilbre Island from the MCZ list.

The 27 designated sites will now be protected from damaging activities to ensure their features are conserved.

But the decision to leave out Hilbre Island was criticised by the Wirral & Cheshire Wildlife Trust, who said the North West had been overlooked.

Charlotte Harris, trust chief executive, said: “Whilst we welcome this first tranche of MCZs, it represents just one in five of the overall list of 127 sites that we would like to see recognised, not least including Hilbre Island here in the North West.

“For those growing up on the Wirral and even further afield, Hilbre Island is perhaps the first taste of our living seas – rockpooling, coming face-to-face with seals and chasing the tides.

“With more than half of the designated MCZs along England’s south coast, it does appear that North West waters have been overlooked this time around.

“We may not have seahorses or coral reefs, however our seas have no boundaries and the Irish Sea remains as important as any part of our oceans.

“Basking sharks, leatherback turtles, thousands of seabirds and seals all make a home in the Irish Sea – many of the same species that can be found in the holiday waters of Devon and Cornwall.”

The trust also pointed to the fact that just two of a possible 19 MCZs in the Irish Sea were recognised in the first round of designations.

Following the announcement of the chosen MCZs, marine environment minister George Eustice revealed plans to designate two more phases of MCZs over the next three years to complete the department’s contribution to a network of marine protected areas.

A consultation on the next phase is expected to be launched in early 2015.

Defra said the 27 sites chosen so far will provide greater protection for around 8,000 square kilometres of offshore and around 2,000 square kilometres of inshore waters. Sites include South Dorset, Chesil Beach and Stennis Ledges, the Isles of Scilly and the Cumbria coast.

Re-posted from the Liverpool Echo

RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Dane Valley plans approved by councillors

Post by RachelMC »

Dane Valley plans approved by councillors:

PLANS for more than 230 houses and a nature park have been reluctantly approved for land at Dane Valley.

Debate centred around flooding fears on the site, in Leftwich, and in Northwich town centre, which lies downriver, when proposals were discussed by Cheshire West and Chester Council’s strategic planning committee on Thursday.

But the proposals, put forward by Ainscough Strategic Land, are supported by the Environment Agency and endorsed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust, leaving committee members with little choice. Leftwich resident Chris Hart said: “The Dane is the fastest flowing and most dangerous river in Cheshire and these plans will entice people, especially children, nearer to a dangerous flood plain and to the Dane.”

Clr Derek Bowden, from Northwich Town Council, spoke of the value of the site, which is an area of special landscape and environmental value.

“These are likely the right houses for Northwich but they’re in the wrong place,” he said.

“This site is wild and beautiful, it’s never been built on and once that is done it can never be undone.”

But Richard Gardener, from Cheshire Wildlife Trust, said the nature park aspect of the site, which would be created in the main flood plain and managed by the trust, would help people engage with nature.

“Habitats will be available to the community and we are renowned for delivering activities and events that inspire and engage people,” he said.

“We see Dane Valley as an incredible opportunity to bring people closer to nature in Northwich.”

Members of the strategic planning committee expressed their nervousness over the proposals.

Clr Keith Butcher said: “It’s going to always be a worry, whether it’s this community, this current council or future councils – is it going to flood?”

Clr Angela Claydon said: “Northwich already suffers from flooding on a regular basis and I’m most concerned not just that these houses might flood if they’re built but that the building of them could cause the water to go elsewhere.”

The plans were approved by four votes to three, with two abstentions.

Re-posted from the Northwich Guardian

RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Public protest at Rixton gun club inquiry

Post by RachelMC »

Public protest at Rixton gun club inquiry:

CONTROVERSIAL plans to open a clay pigeon shooting club close to Risley Moss have been scrutinised by a planning inspector during a planning inquiry on Tuesday at the Town Hall.

Prospect Target Club is seeking planning permission to open the shooting facilities at Prospect Farm on Prospect Lane after the application was turned down in February.

The plans have outraged residents as well as the Risley Moss Action Group, RSPB, Rixton Moss Friends and Warrington Nature Conservation Forum, who claim the proposals are ‘inappropriate’.

Speaking on behalf of the appellant, Peter Goatley said the benefits of opening the shooting club were ‘considerable’ and that it is ‘an important and necessary development’.

Mr Goatley added: “Shooting is an Olympic sport. It is the third most played sport in the country after football and running.

“It would be substantially counter intuitive to resist the very sort of facility that our Olympic and Paralympic sports men and women need to be able to compete and succeed at the highest level.”

It was also argued that it will provide access and opportunities for people across the community to engage with the sport that is growing in popularity.

Doctor Peter Marshall, director of Shooting Standards, said the facilities would be ‘an invaluable resource for the sport’ and that it would rival other shooting clubs across the country.

Ruth Stockley, who was representing Warrington Borough Council at the inquiry, raised concerns about noise pollution and the ‘harmful’ effect it would have on a number of protected bird species with three local wildlife sites in close proximity.

Mrs Stockley argued that ‘the site was in an area of high conservation value’ and a prime specified site of scientific interest.

More than 30 members of the public, many residents who live near to the site, attended the meeting to oppose the plans with many set to voice their objections on the third day of the planning inquiry.

The inquiry continues.

Re-posted from This is Cheshire
Facebook page: Say No to Rixton Shooting Club

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