www.ukredsquirrels.org
UK
Red
Squirrel
Group
The UK Red Squirrel Group (UKRSG) aims to improve communication and awareness of the conservation action and research into native red squirrels. Through its coordination and advisory roles, the UKRSG will develop best practice guidance for land owners, conservationists, statutory officials and home owners on how best to conserve red squirrels in our woodlands, and provide information for anyone concerned about red squirrels in the UK.
In Focus:
HLF Bid Success for England red squirrels
The Heritage Lottery Fund have announced funding to help a major new initiative aimed at raising awareness about the plight of native red squirrels. The "Save Our Squirrels" project costed at £1.1 Million, of which the HLF have pledge just over half, will be managed and co-ordinated by Northumberland Wildlife Trust on behalf of the Red Alert North England (RANEng) partnership and concentrate on the 16 priority sites in North England.
Dramatic decline
Our once common native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) has suffered a dramatic population decline in the last century, resulting in local extinctions throughout much of south England, Northern Ireland and Wales and is included as a priority species in the UK government 's conservation initiative, the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
In the past, habitat loss and fragmentation contributed to the red squirrel population declines. However, the current threats to the red squirrels' continued survival are thought to be the sustained expansion of populations of the introduced grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and with them the potential of squirrel poxvirus transmission.
Population Monitoring
Red squirrels are very difficult to survey because they are secretive, live at low densities and their populations across the UK are very fragmented and isolated. A two year scoping study is being carried out by a consortium of organisations to try to address the problems and produce a comprehensive UK red squirrel monitoring scheme. The results of the study will be published in 2007. For more information on population distribution see: Red squirrel population trends
Priority sites: Kielder, a model forest for the red squirrel
Identifying 'Priority woodlands' for red squirrels is considered by the UKRSG to be one of the key methods of conservation action required by each country. An example of this is being demonstrated in Kielder Forest, the largest man-made forest in the UK. Through a partnership of Scottish and English organisations thousands of hectares of a plantation forest, which stretch from the Scottish Borders to County Durham, will be specifically managed for the red squirrel. A computer generated model has provided the basis for a planting strategy, aimed at safeguarding red squirrels in key woodland areas, while preventing grey squirrels from gaining a competitive advantage. To read more about the actions being undertaken see: News and Events
Terms of Reference for the UKRSG
The UKRSG has been established to implement the aims and objectives of the UK Species Action Plan (SAP) for red squirrels which was initiated following the decline of the species. The group aims to set priorities for UK conservation, facilitate communication and reporting at local, country and UK levels, to ensure a common and unified approach to maintaining viable populations of red squirrel. The aims and objectives of the group are set out in our Terms of Reference (PDF 22.4 kb) and the work of the group is set out in the Implementation Plan.
UKRSG Membership
The group has a diverse membership, consisting of representatives from statutory nature conservation organisations (SNCOs), landowners and non-government organisations (NGOs) in order to provide a balanced and wide-ranging approach to the conservation of red squirrels. As a group the UKRSG meets twice a year to ensure we are on track to meet the targets of the Species Action Plan and to share important information. The full list of UKRSG members can be found on the UKRSG Meetings page.
How you can help
If you would like to help your local red squirrel population see the Advice Notes section, report on numbers of red squirrels seen and the presence of greys near
you and inform the correct bodies if you suspect a case of the squirrel poxvirus. There are also several Local
Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) groups around the UK where red squirrel populations occur that you can get involved in.
See the UKBAP website for further details: UKBAP red squirrel Local Biodiversity Action Plan Groups