Cotswold Water Park Water Vole Recovery Project

The Cotswold Water Park Water Vole Recovery Project has been running since 2002 when comprehensive control of non-native American Mink was put in place. This control has proved highly successful, with numbers of mink currently kept consistently low, and as a result Water Voles have begun their recolonisation of the Upper Thames corridor through the CWP. Along with this vital element of the project, we have also engaged in a programme of advising landowners regarding riparian management, in order to improve the habitat for Water Voles – still the UK’s fastest declining mammal species. Linking areas of positive management has allowed populations to expand their range along sections of rivers that previously had barriers through habitat degradation.