Twenty projects in the East Midlands will benefit from a Natural England initiative to support the recovery of 364 threatened species across England.
The £60 million Species Recovery Programme is part of the government’s “Wild Again: Restoring England’s Wildlife” initiative.
Since 1970, wildlife populations have fallen by a third, with one in six species at risk of extinction in Great Britain, including some of our most treasured wildlife. Diamond-backed spiders and beavers are just two of the species set to benefit from funding to recover the country’s threatened plants, animals and fungi, from birds to beetles, moths to mammals, spiders to snails and sharks to seahorses.
In the East Midlands:
- Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire is the only known site in Britain where the critically endangered diamond-backed spider survives.
The species was presumed extinct for more than half a century until two National Trust volunteers spotted the 7 mm spider during an ecological survey in 2017.
The National Trust is now taking the next step with new Species Recovery Programme funding, developing a robust recovery plan based on population monitoring, habitat surveys and breeding biology research.
- In North and North-East Lincolnshire, the crystal moss animal is a tiny, filter-feeding invertebrate that clings to rocks and boulders in freshwater habitats.
Blow wells, a type of artesian spring found only between Louth and Barton-upon-Humber, are one of the crystal moss animal’s last remaining strongholds.
Led by the Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project, the new Species Recovery Programme funding will use environmental DNA analysis to find existing and new populations, identify suitable sites and support reintroductions using animals reared in zoo facilities.
- Beavers are returning to the East Midlands, and the Humber Beaver Partnership, led by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, is making sure both people and landscapes are ready.
Funded through the Species Recovery Programme, the project will bring together landowners, communities and conservation partners across the catchment to build understanding and support for coexistence with wild beavers.
- Across the East Midlands, the new round of funding will also support recovery work for a range of other species, including the Derbyshire feather-moss, European sturgeon, burbot, lady’s slipper orchid, burnt orchid, water vole, hawfinch and Eurasian woodcock.
Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said:
“For decades, Natural England’s vital species recovery work has revealed how even the rarest of the rare can be brought back from the brink.
“The red kite, lady’s slipper orchid, pool frog, beaver and large blue butterfly are among the examples that demonstrate the many opportunities at hand and what can be achieved for nature and wider society.
“We know that good science and effective partnerships can help restore species to favourable status, and this funding will enable us to support many initiatives to help halt and reverse the decline of our wonderful wildlife.”
Over the past three decades, the programme has helped protect over 1,000 species and prevented the national extinction of at least 35 species.
The announcement builds on the government’s commitment to reverse this decline and meet legal targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan, committing to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reduce species extinction risk by 2042 against 2022 levels.
Defra will invest £60 million over the next three years, plus a further £30 million dedicated to species recovery on the national forest estate, bringing the total government commitment to £90 million.
The investment comes alongside the creation of three new national forests and approval of the first wild beaver releases since they were hunted to extinction around 400 years ago.
