People's Trust for Endangered Species

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

AbbreviationPTES
Formation1977
Legal statusCharitable organization
PurposeScience-led conservation of rare and endangered species and habitats
Location
  • 3 Cloisters House
    8 Battersea Park Road
    London
    SW8 4BG
Region served
UK, funds projects worldwide
Membership
16 employees (2015)
~7,500 members
~24,000 volunteers
Chief Executive
Jill Nelson
Main organ
Board of Trustees
WebsitePTES

Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is a

UK Government
. The organisation has registered charity number 274206.

History

PTES was founded in 1977. Originally based in

mammals
. In 2006, Mammals Trust UK was incorporated under the activities of PTES. PTES still operates a ring-fenced funding stream for British mammals but the names ‘Mammals Trust UK’ and 'Mammals Trust' have since been disbanded.

Activities

PTES exists to support and restore

diverse assemblages of species and their habitats present on Earth – through practical conservation and by educating and informing people about its importance. The charity supports conservation projects and research both in the UK and abroad through three funding schemes: ‘worldwide grants’, ‘UK mammals grants’ and ‘internship awards’.[2] The charities' work in the UK has a focus on mammals, with hazel dormouse, European hedgehog and European water vole
current target species. Saproxylic beetles are also a target group, and traditional orchards a target habitat. Assistance from volunteers and collaboration with other environmental organisations are both integral to this work.

Wildlife Surveys

PTES runs several national, public-participation surveys aimed at monitoring wild

populations and habitats. This includes the two mammal surveys that now have been running for over a decade: Living with Mammals (2003) and Mammals on Roads (2001). It was a founding member of the Tracking Mammals Partnership.[3]

As of 2013, extant surveys are:

Mammal Monitoring

One of ~500 dormouse nest boxes at Briddlesford Nature Reserve, used to monitor the population within these woodlands as part of the NDMP.

Hazel dormouse

PTES maintains the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP).[6] This is based on around 400 woodland sites where at least fifty dormouse nest boxes have been put up, per site, that are inspected by licensed volunteers at monthly intervals between May and October. In 2014, PTES collated 6,827 hazel dormice records from 387 sites.[7]

The NDMP has been running for the past 25 years and is run in partnership with

Royal Holloway University, Natural England
and several hundred trained volunteer monitors.

European water vole

In 2015 PTES launched a new project to try and coordinate conservation efforts for the water vole - an animal that has declined by over 90% in Britain since the 1980s.[8] The National Water Vole Monitoring Programme is the first ongoing monitoring scheme for this species in the UK and aims to bring together data from several hundred sites to allow the status of the species to be assessed year-on-year.[9]

Linking gardens is central to Hedgehog Street as impermeable garden fences and walls can make hedgehog populations unviable.

Campaigns

European hedgehog

In 2011 PTES, in partnership with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), launched a national campaign to conserve the hedgehog, a mammal that has declined in Britain by at least 25% since the year 2001.[10]

As part of the joint campaign, PTES coordinates the European Hedgehog Research Group and convenes a steering group for the species, based on the previous

BAP
group, that includes the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, mammal ecologist Dr Pat Morris, and hedgehog enthusiast and author Hugh Warwick. In 2015 they produced the first conservation strategy for the species in the UK. The only UK training course on hedgehog-friendly land management, surveying and mitigation for professionals has also been developed and is being delivered around the UK.

PTES also supports research into the causes of hedgehog decline. Some of this is jointly funded with BHPS.

Saving Cats and Dogs

In 2013 the campaign "Saving Big Cats and Wild Dogs" (shortened to "Saving Cats and Dogs") was launched. This is based around a website that provides information about the conservation projects that focus on wild

canids that are all supported through PTES grant funding. With a donation you can twin your pet cat or dog with a wild counterpart.[10]

Reserves

One of fifteen new ponds at Briddlesford Nature Reserve created since the year 2000 as part of the Million Ponds Project.

Briddlesford

PTES own and manage 158

barbastelle bat, red squirrel, narrow-leaved lungwort and the fungus weevil
Pseudeuparius sepicola.

Rough Hill

Rough Hill is a traditionally managed

pruning of extant mature trees, and the use of extensive livestock grazing to manage the species-rich calcareous grassland
communities present.

Associate organisations

PTES is a member of the

References

  1. ^ PTES homepage
  2. ^ PTES grants and projects page
  3. ^ JNCC page for Tracking Mammals Partnership
  4. ^ Using the dead to monitor the living: can road kill counts detect trends in mammal abundance? George, L. – MacPherson, J.L.1*– Balmforth, Z. – Bright, P.W.1 [permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Introduction to the Hedgehog Hibernation Survey". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. ^ PTES page on monitoring of the hazel dormouse
  7. ^ PTES page on the dormouse
  8. ^ Vincent Wildlife Trust water vole surveys Archived 28 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ PTES website page for National Water Vole Monitoring Programme
  10. ^ Saving Big Cats and Wild Dogs website.
  11. ^ Wildlife and Countryside Link: our members