Ministers must seize chance to protect our countryside

countryside M Ministers must seize chance to protect our countrysideConservationists are urging ministers to grasp the opportunity tomorrow (October 12) to clear up one of the most controversial aspects of the planning reform debate.

The Government has faced a public backlash against its proposed reforms of the planning system. Although they claim the changes will maintain sustainable development as the

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Mouth swabs to probe rare blood lines

1182395927 28fNK S Mouth swabs to probe rare blood linesGoshawk chicks in Kielder Water & Forest Park are having their mouths swabbed in a bid to discover more about the creature’s blood lines in the 62,000 hectare (155,000 acre) Northumberland wilderness.

The bird, once persecuted to extinction and which reappeared in Kielder in the 1960s, is one of the rarest in

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We love our garden birds

1154634069 T45zp S We love our garden birdsValentine’s Day is the perfect launch pad to celebrate our love affair with garden birds.

For February 14 marks the start of National Nest Box Week, an initiative that encourages people to put up nest boxes to protect wild birds and replace sites that continue to dimish and disappearing.

Nature’s Feast, one of the UK’s

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A star turn for rare bat colony

1044552150 3ypK7 S A star turn for rare bat colonyThe Forestry Commission has announced that the rare Barbastelle bat has established a maternity colony in Lincolnshire woodland – a first for the county and one of the very few such sites identified in Britain.

The bat is generally regarded as a southern English species, but research has revealed that it is

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New conservation heart for County Durham

A major new conservation project is proposed for the heart of County Durham. The idea is to be explored in a local, national and European context at a conference and exhibition to be held from October 18-22 at County Hall, Durham.

The England Biodiversity Group has recommended that central Durham should be one of the country’s first Integrated Biodiversity Delivery Areas, where priority will be given to conserving wildlife and creating new habitats.

The free

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Forestry Commission records Cumbrian red squirrel numbers

1028502798 fGTKe S Forestry Commission records Cumbrian red squirrel numbersThe Forestry Commission has carried out the first ever full survey of the Red Squirrels Reserve at Whinlatter Forest, Dodd Wood, Wythop and Setmurthy near Keswick as part of efforts to help conservation.

Numbers of red squirrels were counted using 75 traps located within the reserve.

A total of 416 red squirrels

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Butterfly survey provides conservation platform

997996731 w83eJ S Butterfly survey provides conservation platformThe results of one of the biggest ever surveys of the UK’s butterfly population have been announced. The big butterfly count organised by the charity Butterfly Conservation in partnership with Marks & Spencer was carried out by members of the public and has been based on a staggering 187,000 individual sightings.

It reveals the top ten

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First baby beavers arrive in Scotland

974059980 LnFfs S First baby beavers arrive in Scotland The first baby beavers to be born in the wild for about 400 years have been spotted in Scotland, it has been announced. Last May the trial reintroduction of beavers began with the babies, known as kits, thought to have been born about eight weeks ago.

About the size of a large

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Cheviot Hills to be restored to their former glory

925188094 aJXrj S Cheviot Hills to be restored to their former gloryNorthumberland National Park and The Linhope Estate will restore large tracts of  the Cheviot Hills  to upland heath An exciting new conservation project is about to get underway in Northumberland National Park.  The 14,000 acre Linhope Estate, which includes a substantial part of the Cheviot Hills and much

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Study highlights trees’ importance to fish as climate warms

912882475 d9omR S Study highlights trees’ importance to fish as climate warmsPlanting trees along stream banks could play an important part in protecting sensitive fish such as salmon and trout from rising temperatures as the climate warms, a new study has found. Salmon and trout are among the most temperature-sensitive of Britain’s native cold-water species, typically preferring water temperatures

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