Water Vole Conservation

Factors causing loss or decline

• Loss of suitable bank-side habitats: as a result of engineering, bank-side development or over-zealous vegetation clearance.
• Population fragmentation: Water Vole populations are being isolated by new roads, canalisation, development and loss of habitat.
• Water level fluctuations: Water Voles need slow changes in water level or refuge areas to retreat to when water levels rise quickly.
• Predation: the spread of non-native mink throughout the UK has significantly increased the severe decline in Water Vole numbers
• Water quality: contamination of water by pesticides, heavy metals, slurry and sewage may have contributed to the decline.
• Poisoning: indirect poisoning of Water Voles by Brown Rat poison.

Actions and mitigation to improve things for water vole:

• Ensure that water quality is maintained or improved
• Maintain and enhance bank and vegetation structure
• Provide slow-moving but relatively deep water course
• Ensure that there are areas for water vole to retreat to in the event of flooding and that water levels do not rise too quickly
• Avoid disturbance
• Control the presence and numbers of Mink
• Create new water vole habitat near existing populations to allow populations to expand and colonise areas
• Create and maintain a buffer zone along the water course not less than 10 metres and around the colony not less than 50 metres.

Legal protection.

Water Voles are fully protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. It is an offence to

• intentionally capture, kill or injure water voles ,
• damage, destroy or block access to their places of shelter or protection (on purpose or by not taking enough care)
• disturb them in a place of shelter or protection (on purpose or by not taking enough care)
• possess, sell, control or transport live or dead water voles or parts of them..

Water Vole is a Section 41 species of principal importance for conservation and as such need to be taken into consideration by any public body in managing their estate. NERC Act (2006))

Links

Standing Advice [surveys and mitigation]

Associated Local Priority Habitats

Rivers and streams - slow moving

Ponds (including canals, dikes, etc)

Floodplain Grazing Marsh