Conservation Marine And Freshwater Ecosystems | Conservation Of Freshwater | Wetland Conservation Projects

Home About EPR EPR Staff News Services Ecological Surveys Vegetation & Flora Protected Species Aquatic Surveys Freshwater Fisheries & Wetland Habitats Biodiversity & Planning Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Habitats Directive Advice & Appropriate Assessment Thames Basin Heaths SPA Expert Witness GIS/Graphics Mitigation Design & Implementation Management Planning/Conservation Advice Project Profiles Freshwater/Wetland Projects EcIA Projects Habitats Regulations Projects Thames Basin Heath SPA Projects Mitigation/Habitat Creation Projects Management Planning/Conservation Advice Clients Links Contact Us Careers

Freshwater/Wetland Projects Testwood Lakes Client: Southern Water Testwood Lakes is an award-winning complex of water storage reservoirs and associated wet grassland and reed-bed habitats, commissioned and managed by Southern Water Services, and located in the Test Valley west of Southampton. Ecological Planning & Research was responsible for all ecological appraisal and design work on the scheme, which provides grazing meadows, shallow pools, reed beds, and other freshwater and woodland habitats, together with a new local management and Visitor Centre for the Hampshire Wildlife Trust, which now manages the site and uses the facilities as a base for its extensive estuarine reed bed and grazing marsh habitat at Lower Test reserve. Winkworth Arboretum Client: National Trust Winkworth Arboretum contains a lake that has a long history of fly-fishing for trout, but has in recent years been subject to serious blue-green algal (cyanobacterial) blooms which appear to have led to fish mortalities. EPR, working on behalf of the National Trust, has written a fisheries management plan collating information relating to water quality and fishery performance. A number of proposals have been put forward for the control of adverse water quality and some of these are currently being trialled. A particularly interesting aspect of the lake’s ecology is the presence of a North American signal crayfish population which may be having important effects on the overall ecology of the site. Trout stocking in SAC rivers. Phase 1: Review of stocking practice Client: Environment Agency This project undertaken on behalf of the Environment Agency provides a decision-making framework for the Environment Agency, Natural England and Countryside Council for Wales to assess Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (Section 30) consents to stock trout in candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) rivers. The study showed that brown and rainbow trout stocking into cSAC rivers containing European Habitats Designated species such as Atlantic salmon and bullheads does not appear to pose a significant threat to fish ecology. Recommendations were made for further detailed investigations in rivers where native salmon numbers have dropped, and also caution in approving trout stocking where there is a risk of crayfish plague being transmitted to native crayfish. This Phase 2 work has been carried out and the report is currently being prepared for publication. River Dove Habitat Improvement Client: Private landowner EPR has recently carried out a river habitat improvement project on the upper River Dove in the Derbyshire Peak District. The stretch of river, famous for its wild brown trout and grayling populations lies just upstream of the Wolfscotedale SAC and has in the recent past been subject to a number of water pollution problems. Many of these have now been reduced and there are signs of improving water quality; for instance with hatches of the clean water-loving mayfly Ephemera danica. EPR designed and carried out a physical habitat improvement project which involved de-silting spawning gravels to improve wild trout and grayling productivity, sky-lighting the channel by coppicing mature alder trees, cutting back invasive non-native snowberry and Japanese knot weed growth and assessing the requirements for further work. By cutting back trees which were tunnelling the river in many places, the sunlight is let back into the river bed, stimulating algal and weed bed growth. This, in turn increases invertebrate and fish production potential. A Phase 2 project is planned during which new clean gravel riffles will be built in order to supplement the small amount of natural spawning gravel available to fish. Trout eggs and fry spend several months over-winter within the river bed and must have an adequate flow of clean water percolating through the gravel to both supply dissolved oxygen and remove waste products such as ammonia.

Freshwater/Wetland Projects

Testwood Lakes
Client: Southern Water
Testwood Lakes is an award-winning complex of water storage reservoirs and associated wet grassland and reed-bed habitats, commissioned and managed by Southern Water Services, and located in the Test Valley west of Southampton. Ecological Planning & Research was responsible for all ecological appraisal and design work on the scheme, which provides grazing meadows, shallow pools, reed beds, and other freshwater and woodland habitats, together with a new local management and Visitor Centre for the Hampshire Wildlife Trust, which now manages the site and uses the facilities as a base for its extensive estuarine reed bed and grazing marsh habitat at Lower Test reserve.

Winkworth Arboretum
Client: National Trust
Winkworth Arboretum contains a lake that has a long history of fly-fishing for trout, but has in recent years been subject to serious blue-green algal (cyanobacterial) blooms which appear to have led to fish mortalities. EPR, working on behalf of the National Trust, has written a fisheries management plan collating information relating to water quality and fishery performance. A number of proposals have been put forward for the control of adverse water quality and some of these are currently being trialled. A particularly interesting aspect of the lake’s ecology is the presence of a North American signal crayfish population which may be having important effects on the overall ecology of the site.

Trout stocking in SAC rivers. Phase 1: Review of stocking practice
Client: Environment Agency
This project undertaken on behalf of the Environment Agency provides a decision-making framework for the Environment Agency, Natural England and Countryside Council for Wales to assess Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (Section 30) consents to stock trout in candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) rivers. The study showed that brown and rainbow trout stocking into cSAC rivers containing European Habitats Designated species such as Atlantic salmon and bullheads does not appear to pose a significant threat to fish ecology. Recommendations were made for further detailed investigations in rivers where native salmon numbers have dropped, and also caution in approving trout stocking where there is a risk of crayfish plague being transmitted to native crayfish. This Phase 2 work has been carried out and the report is currently being prepared for publication.

River Dove Habitat Improvement
Client: Private landowner
EPR has recently carried out a river habitat improvement project on the upper River Dove in the Derbyshire Peak District. The stretch of river, famous for its wild brown trout and grayling populations lies just upstream of the Wolfscotedale SAC and has in the recent past been subject to a number of water pollution problems. Many of these have now been reduced and there are signs of improving water quality; for instance with hatches of the clean water-loving mayfly Ephemera danica.

EPR designed and carried out a physical habitat improvement project which involved de-silting spawning gravels to improve wild trout and grayling productivity, sky-lighting the channel by coppicing mature alder trees, cutting back invasive non-native snowberry and Japanese knot weed growth and assessing the requirements for further work. By cutting back trees which were tunnelling the river in many places, the sunlight is let back into the river bed, stimulating algal and weed bed growth. This, in turn increases invertebrate and fish production potential.

A Phase 2 project is planned during which new clean gravel riffles will be built in order to supplement the small amount of natural spawning gravel available to fish. Trout eggs and fry spend several months over-winter within the river bed and must have an adequate flow of clean water percolating through the gravel to both supply dissolved oxygen and remove waste products such as ammonia.

© 2007 Ecological Planning and Research Ltd