2010 a Critical Year to Save the Red Squirrel

Dr Mel Tonkin, the leader of a pioneering conservation effort to save the UK’s only native squirrel the red squirrel,  from disastrous decline has stated that 2010, the Year of International Biodiversity, will be a critical year which could determine the future success of Scotland’s bid to save an iconic element of UK biodiversity.  

The Scottish Wildlife Trust reports that the UK’s only native squirrel is slowly disappearing across our country; the red squirrel’s future existence in the UK is in grave danger.  Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrel’s (SSRS) is a crucial part of Scotland’s first nationally co-ordinated effort to save the iconic native species.  Launched in February 2009, it is a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS), and the Scottish Rural Business and Property Association (SRPBA), which aims to protect existing red squirrel populations in north Scotland.  It works in tandem with the Red Squirrels in South Scotland project (RSSS) to provide a strategic national approach to red squirrel conservation.
 
For most of England, the red squirrel is already gone from places where it used to be a common sight only 30 years ago.  In these areas, it is no longer possible to watch native red squirrels in your garden or the local park; all that remains is the non-native grey squirrel.  In Scotland’s Central Belt, the same situation has occurred and red squirrel numbers have been depleted to very small, protected populations. 

While other local initiatives continue to take place across Britain to protect pockets of red squirrels, Scotland is ramping up its efforts.  Red squirrels are still thriving in north Scotland in huge areas not yet penetrated by grey squirrels.  There is thought to be a good chance that these red squirrel populations can be protected through strategic conservation work to help them thrive and expand.  Scotland is taking big action now to save red squirrels.  And leading the effort is Dr Mel Tonkin.  As an environmental academic with over thirty years association with red squirrel conservation, Tonkin is perfect for the task at hand: engineering a co-ordinated nationwide effort to save the UK’s native red squirrel. 

As the project approaches its first full year in operation, Tonkin, working at the helm of her team of regional Project Officers, believes the project will really gather momentum in moving towards meeting its objectives this year and reap real results for red squirrels.

Dr Mel Tonkin said:  “The red squirrel is a much beloved native species: it is an essential part of Britain’s biodiversity.  If we do nothing, our red squirrel will no longer be a common sight on mainland Scotland.  It will be pushed out to remote areas and become an atypical species in its own country.  This would be a significant loss to our biodiversity and something that we should not allow to happen. 

“Our project aims to halt the decline of Scotland’s red squirrels and help them expand across the country in the future.  To do this we need to tackle the main threat to red squirrels today: the spread of the grey squirrel, an invasive North American species introduced to Britain by man which outcompetes red squirrels for food supply and habitat space.  The two species can rarely co-exist and grey squirrel spread tends to lead to red squirrel decline over time.  We are now working to prevent grey squirrels for spreading further north by undertaking targeted grey squirrel control in strategic areas, but we must also begin improving forest habitats to help red squirrel populations continue to thrive. 

“This is a co-ordinated nationwide effort.  We will be working with landowners and forest managers to support them to undertake red squirrel conservation activities.  We are also working closely with local red squirrel groups.  Our long-term success particularly depends on the work of Red Squirrels in South Scotland (RSSS), a sister project to SSRS, which works to contain the spread of squirrelpox virus in south Scotland.  Squirrelpox virus is harmless to grey squirrels yet causes fatal disease in red squirrels.  It is imperative that this is contained if we are to retain red squirrels in Scotland.   

“In 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, I really see our project making great progress.  Our first year included lots of recruitment, planning, and fund-raising, but now we are really up and running.  SSRS has a fantastic field team and this year I hope we see real results on the ground.  2010 could be the year we see the red squirrel return to areas like Aberdeen City Centre.  This would be a real achievement for biodiversity in that area.” 

Only around 170,000 reds are now thought to remain in the UK; Scotland’s red squirrel population accounts for 75% of this. 

The Scottish Wildlife Trust receives regular support by the People’s Postcode Lottery, totalling over £772,000to date.