Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Wetland Creation on the River Wiske – Wetting the Wiske

Work has now begun on the creation of new wetland habitat alongside the River Wiske, near Northallerton in North Yorkshire, thanks to funding secured through the SITA Enriching Nature 2008 programme.

Two areas of land were identified after working closely with two farmers on surveys of the Wiske. This work identified a small fragmented population of water voles and after discussions with the landowners, the two areas of land were offered as sites where we could work to create the new wetland habitat. Both are in low lying areas, with one adjacent to the river, near South Otterington village, and the other adjacent to a tributary side stream in North Otterington.

As well as new pools, ponds and are ditches, stock fencing is also being erected to reduce the impact of overgrazing of  the river and stream bank sides and  prevent trampling on the banks, which can lead to bank collapse and increased erosion. The combined effect of new habitat and protection of existing habitat will lead to increased connectivity allowing water voles more chance to colonise into new areas and for the population to expand.

As well as benefitting water voles, the new work will also have the potential to benefit a wide range of other species including dragonflies, wading birds such as lapwing and snipe and other mammals such as otter.