Water voles return to reserve after 40 years

Water voles have been reintroduced into a nature reserve for the first time in 40 years.

Harpenden Town Council said it released 200 water voles in the Upper River Lea, at Batford Springs, Hertfordshire.

The project involved preparing the land, creating new ponds and working with other organisations.

A council spokesperson said: "We are very proud of this achievement. Batford Springs is hugely significant as it also has an incredible chalk stream."

Water voles were once common in England's rivers and streams, including at Batford Springs Local Nature Reserve.

The council said the rodents had been in decline due to habitat loss and the invasive mink.

Last year, the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust returned 100 water voles to a stretch of the Upper River Lea, on the Ayot Estate, near Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire.

Batford Springs was chosen after the trust installed a raft at the site to monitor mink numbers.

There were no recordings of the mammal for two years, making it a good location for the voles to thrive.

Native vegetation was planted around the pond and along the riverbanks to shelter water voles from predators and to provide a steady supply of food, including reeds, sedges, and other aquatic plants essential to their diet.

The reintroduction of the water voles took three years to plan.

Councillor Kirsti Wenn, Mayor of Harpenden, said: "It has been a real pleasure to watch this conservation project, from its infancy to the release of our new residents, and I can't wait to see how the water voles will help the town council continue to improve the environment and local ecosystem.

"Batford Springs Local Nature Reserve is not only a beautiful green space, but it is the home of hugely important habitats, and we are immensely proud of all we have achieved here."

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