Brown Hare
Research Project on Brown Hare from EuropeThe brown hare is a farmland animal that thrives best on arable ground. It has always been much less abundant on pasture land. It is thought to have originated in the steppes of central Asia and to have spread westward across Europe as forest was cleared for farming in the Neolithic period. The brown hare, however, did not appear in the British fauna until the Roman era.
As brown hares spread into most lowland farming districts they probably displaced the smaller mountain hares (Lepus timidus), which formerly inhabited low-ground areas, just as they do in Ireland today. Only in the uplands or in northern forested districts are mountain hares likely to have held their own. Because of predation, and hunting for food, brown hares were probably never very abundant until the 18th and 19th centuries, when the combination of land enclosure, agricultural improvement and predator control allowed populations to rise. On large well-managed estates, like Holkham in Norfolk, numbers shot peaked in the late 19th century, but the size of the bag at that time may have been related to improvements in firearms and shooting popularity as much as to agricultural changes.
The Ground Game Act (1880) gave tenant farmers the right to kill hares and rabbits on their farms in order to protect their crops. However, during the period of declining farm prices from the late 19th into the early 20th century, this had the perverse effect of encouraging farmers to trap rabbits in large numbers as an alternative crop. In many districts, such as southern Wales and parts of the West country, brown hares appear to have been trapped out of existence at this time.
For centuries, hares were an animal of the chase and both hunting with hounds (beagles and harriers) and coursing with greyhounds had a very long history. These sports, now outlawed by the Hunting Act 2004, killed very small numbers of hares. Currently hares are a minor shooting quarry. Hares are widely famed for their culinary value, but most driven hare shoots are designed to prevent crop damage by reducing the hare population locally. Typically such shoots are organised in response to high hare density, and therefore may not take place every year on a given landholding.
A code of practice for the management of brown hare has been drawn up by the GWCT, CLA, Countryside Alliance, The Moorland Association, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation and the Tenant Farmers Association. This code sets out the law and best practice for ensuring an appropriate and workable balance between the welfare and conservation of brown hares, their status as game, and their ability to cause serious damage to crops.
https://www.gwct.org.uk/wildlife/research/mammals/brown-hare/More Details…
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Pine Marten Recovery Programme
Conservation Project on Pine Marten from EuropeIn the ancient wild woods that once blanketed much of Britain, the pine marten was one of our most common carnivores, thriving amongst the diversity of trees and shrubs that offered a year round supply of food and snug tree holes in which to den.
Pine marten numbers declined dramatically during the 19th and early 20th century as a result of the combined impact of continued habitat loss and an increase in predator control associated with the growth in Victorian game shooting estates. Today, whilst the pine marten population in Scotland is recovering and expanding, the marten population in England and Wales has shown no sign of recovery and the likely outcome is extinction.
The VWT’s Pine Marten Recovery Project aims to restore viable populations of pine martens to Wales and England, focusing on those areas within the marten’s natural range where habitat and other conditions are suitable. A major part of this work will involve the reinforcement or reintroduction of pine martens. Between 2015 – 2017, the VWT has translocated a total of 51 pine martens from Scotland to mid-Wales. The translocated pine martens are closely monitored, have become established and have bred every year since the translocation began.
The pine marten is part of our rich wildlife heritage. It plays an integral role in a healthy, balanced woodland ecosystem and can be an important predator of pest species, such as grey squirrels. As a bonus, re-establishing pine martens in England and Wales also has the potential to benefit the rural economy, as has been the case in Scotland, through the creation of tourism opportunities for people who are keen to see this captivating woodland animal.
https://www.pine-marten-recovery-project.org.uk/
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Sea Turtle Program
Conservation Project on Sea Turtle from North AmericaSea Turtle Program: Due to the location of the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant and the design and operation of its intake cooling water system, sea turtles sometimes inadvertently enter the plant’s cooling canal system. A net system keeps the turtles safely corralled in the canal, and trained biologists on site from the Inwater Research Group systematically capture, measure, weigh, tag and release nearly all of the turtles back to the ocean. Turtles with injuries or health issues are transported to an animal rescue center recommended by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Through this program, FPL performs a valuable service to researchers worldwide by providing sea turtle data.
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Everglades Mitigation Bank
Conservation Project on na from North AmericaA critical link to the success of restoring the Everglades ecosystem to its natural condition is FPL’s Everglades Mitigation Bank, a nearly 14,000-acre project located in southern Miami-Dade County adjacent to the FPL Turkey Point Plant. Two phases of restoration have been completed of the mitigation bank, culminating in the creation of tidal creeks for essential fish habitat, along with crocodile and indigo snake habitat. Other aspects of the effort included removal of historic roads and canals, removal of hydrologic barriers, replanting of vegetation and the installation of more than 80 features to restore historical water distribution patterns for more than 9,000 acres of sawgrass marsh, high marsh, forested tree islands and mangrove habitat. Learn more about our mitigation banking activities..
http://www.nexteraenergy.com/sustainability/environment/wildlife.html#openMore Details…
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Whooping Crane Protection Plan
Conservation Project on Whooping crane from North AmericaNextEra Energy Resources has a voluntary whooping crane protection plan for all operating wind farms within the whooping crane migration corridor. All wind technicians receive annual training on whooping crane identification, curtailment procedures and notification requirements. If a whooping crane is observed on the ground or flying overhead, the turbines are immediately shut down and remain down until the whooping cranes have left the area.
http://www.nexteraenergy.com/sustainability/environment/wildlife.html#openMore Details…
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Manatee Program
Conservation Project on Manatees from North AmericaDuring cold weather, manatees congregate at the warm water outflows near power plants. FPL has worked closely with regulatory agencies and environmental organizations for more than 30 years to ensure that manatees are protected, and our leadership role has been recognized by numerous environmental organizations worldwide. We have conducted hundreds of aerial surveys, constructed and operate Manatee Lagoon — An FPL Eco-Discovery Center, published and distributed thousands of pieces of educational literature, and sponsored extensive research on manatee habitat and behavior.
http://www.nexteraenergy.com/sustainability/environment/wildlife.html#openMore Details…
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Project Tiger
Conservation Project on Tiger from Asiaim Corbett launched the project tiger in the year 1972, when the population of tigers declined to an all time low of 1800. This dwindling tiger count attracted the attention of the Government which then took quick steps to safeguard these tigers from being extinct. Just after the Wildlife Protection act was enacted in 1972, a new scheme to protect the tiger was mooted. This scheme was named as Project Tiger.
The Indian Government governs the project Tiger as the Directorate of Project Tiger that comes under the ministry of Environs and Forests. The Director who monitors and supervises the running of tiger reserves and brings the financial aids to various state governments manages this project. State governments have the administrative control on Project Tiger. The field Director submits the report to the Chief Wildlife Warden. The Deputy Directors and general field staffs assist the field director.
The state governments receive full financial help for non-recurring and half-financial support for the recurring items that are approved
The major objectives to launch the Project Tiger are as follows:
- To make certain that the viable count of tigers is maintained in the country for economic, scientific, ecological and cultural reasons.
- To safeguard such regions of biological significance as a nationwide inheritance for education, amusement and benefit of the masses.
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Crocodile Conservation Project
Conservation Project on Gharial and the saltwater crocodile. from AsiaThe Crocodile Conservation Project was introduced in the year 1976. The chief objective of the project was to protect the nation’s three rare crocodilian species, viz. the freshwater crocodile, Gharial and the saltwater crocodile.
Objectives of Crocodile Conservation Project
- To ensure that the breeding of species remain captive.
- Assortment of eggs from regular haunt, ensuing crosshatching and nurturing of crocodiles in captivity to lessen mortality because of the natural predators and lastly released into the wild.
The rehabilitation of the gharial was a subunit of the Crocodile Conservation Project. It was emphasized on Gharial predominantly. The Gharial was on the brink of extinction in the year 1974.
More than 250 Gharial were released in the Ramganga River in Corbett, between 1982-1994.
https://www.corbettnationalparkindia.in/blog/wildlife-conservation-projects-in-corbett/More Details…
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Crocodile Program
Conservation Project on Crocodile from North AmericaOn the brink of extinction in the late 1970s due to habitat loss, the American crocodile has made a comeback in the habitat surrounding FPL’s Turkey Point Nuclear Plant. In the 1980s, FPL initiated a crocodile management program to benefit these ancient reptiles. Given the 5,900-acre, man-made cooling canal system at the plant offers ideal nesting conditions, the management program includes protecting these nesting areas, completing population surveys, conducting capture and spatial distribution surveys, and regulating plant activity at night and during nesting season.
http://www.nexteraenergy.com/sustainability/environment/wildlife.html#openMore Details…
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Mahaweli River Waterkeeper Project
Conservation Project on Elephants and other wildlife from AsiaThe Mahaweli River basin is the largest basin in Sri Lanka accounting for almost one fifth of the country’s total area. The river flows into the Bay of Bengal. Threats to the watershed include agricultural pollution, sand mining, hydro power dams, deforestation, poorly planned land use, and water shortage that have collectively resulted in the degradation of watershed conditions, a decline in water quality, a loss of wildlife habitat and populations, and an escalation in human-elephant conflicts.It is an honor for SLWCS to have been designated the official “Mahaweli River Waterkeeper” by the Waterkeeper Alliance, which works to strengthen and grow a global network of grassroots leaders protecting everyone’s right to clean water. This is the first time in Sri Lanka that a river, or for that matter any surface water body on the island, has a designated Waterkeeper. This means SLWCS will have the added challenge of ensuring this pioneering and innovative initiative succeeds. We are using our elephant conservation as an entry point to protect the Mahaweli River watershed, an important water source for both humans and elephants.
There are fewer than 5,000 Asian elephants left in Sri Lanka; they are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as ‘Endangered’ and by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as a species threatened with extinction. The increasing negative impacts from unsustainable water resource use by rural communities are taking a toll on wildlife—especially the elephants in the Wasgamuwa region in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. An adult elephant requires from 100 to 300 liters of water per day. During the dry season water becomes a finite resource. As the available surface water sources are depleted and dry out, both people and wildlife—especially elephants—compete for whatever water is available. When elephants’ access to water is blocked they turn to raiding village wells and storage tanks and often break into homes to steal stored water during this period. Water (and crop) raiding by elephants and the harsh retaliatory measures subsequently taken by people whose lives and livelihoods depend on a source of fresh water feeds a vicious cycle of violence.
Each year, between 50 and 80 humans and between 150 and 200 elephants are killed due to human-elephant conflicts. As the Mahaweli River Waterkeeper, SLWCS will play a critical role in developing a long-term, sustainable, community-based conservation and management program for the river. We will be an ambassador, spokesperson, and voice for the Mahaweli River, promoting the urgent need to protect and manage the river for future generations.We will educate people and create awareness in the communities that are dependent on the river, and will mobilize community support and participation for its protection, empowering people to take action on their own behalf.Considering the Mahaweli River is one of the most utilized rivers in Sri Lanka, SLWCS will conduct a comprehensive and systematic study to assess the impacts of the anthropogenic activities on the river as well as on the river’s ecosystems and its fauna and flora. We will use the results of this study to advocate for improved management and protection of the Mahaweli River watershed, and will implement a wide variety of action-oriented strategies that will conserve its natural fauna and flora and ensure the river’s waters are managed in a sustainable manner.
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