Fight to save at risk wildlife (From Chard & Ilminster News)

Fight to save at risk wildlife

3:00pm Saturday 26th December 2009 in

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WILDLIFE under threat of local extinction, including the white clawed crayfish, tiny fern-moss and high brown fritillary butterfly, is being giving a fighting chance of survival thanks to the Somerset Biodiversity Partnership.

The Somerset Priority Species List has been produced by the Partnership to highlight those plants and animals most in danger of disappearing in Somerset.

It will be used to protect wildlife as part of the planning process and guide conservation efforts across the county.

There are 840 species on the priority list including the brown hare, short haired bumble bee, hairy click beetle and long-eared owl.

Pearl bordered fritillary butterflies are among the species already thought to have become extinct in Somerset in recent years.

Barry Philips, chairman of the Somerset Biodiversity Partnership, said: “Many local species are being forced into dangerously small numbers or even threatened with extinction before we have even had a chance to understand their true value. “Somerset has an amazing array of wildlife habitats which are the only native refuge for species such as the Cheddar pink.

"Other flora and fauna which are rare in other parts of the UK are common here, like the water vole.”

More than 13,000 species have been recorded in the county by Somerset Environmental Records Centre, part of Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Based on this data, the Partnership has identified wildlife most at risk, and action plans have been developed to protect the main places these plants and animals can be found.