The Llanelli Water Vole Action Group currently consists of Carmarthenshire County Council, Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, Welsh Assembly Government (DEIN), Foothold, Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Llanelli Naturalists, Swansea University, Keep Wales Tidy, Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and Cambria Archaeology.

The objectives of the 'the Group' are as follows:

• To maintain the current distribution and abundance of water voles in the Llanelli area in order to arrest the decline of the species.
• Restore water voles to as much of their former distribution in the Llanelli area as possible through restoration of existing habitat and creation of appropriate new habitat.
• To raise awareness of the decline of the water vole and the importance of the Llanelli area to the conservation of this species.

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MORFA BERWIG PROJECT

Water Voles

The water vole is Britain's fastest declining mammal species whose population has undergone an unprecedented decline of over 96% in 100 years (2002 figures).

Water vole habitat is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the animal is listed under section 74 of the CRoW Act 2000 as a species of principal importance for the conservation of biological diversity in Wales. It is also a priority species for the UK BAP and a species for which we have an action plan in the Carmarthenshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan (CLBAP).

Morfa Berwig Project

The council–owned area of land adjacent to the Berwick roundabout near Llanelli (in association with the National Wetlands Centre Wales) contains in the ditches and reedbeds a significant proportion of the remaining west Wales water vole population ( The National Wetlands Centre is one of 16 Key Sites for water voles in the United Kingdom). Water voles are still distributed throughout the Berwick site but the area is in urgent need of habitat management to ensure that water voles can thrive.

The project site has been allocated as a 'proposed employment area' within Carmarthenshire's UDP. Areas of the site have in the past had material dumped and spread on it; other natural habitat areas are scrubbing over and the ditches running through the site are being encroached by scrub. One area of grassland to the east of the project area is currently grazed by ponies.

A Llanelli Water Vole Action Group has been formed. The Group currently consists of Carmarthenshire County Council, Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, Welsh Assembly Government (DET), Foothold, Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Llanelli Naturalists, Swansea University, Keep Wales Tidy, Wildlife trust of South and West Wales and Cambria Archaeology.

The Llanelli Water Vole Action Group's vision for the site is as follows:

• Conservation and enhancement through habitat management and regular monitoring of the water vole population (and associated species) within the site.
• Sympathetic and sustainable development of industrial units and associated infrastructure within the Berwick site alongside the conservation of water vole habitat, with the possibility of using this site as a working example of best–practice demonstrating how to integrate development with the natural environment.
• Significant community involvement in this project so as to create a 'sense of ownership' amongst the local inhabitants – establishment of circular walk for local people, with associated interpretation and possibly try and link in with the cycle path.
• To interpret the industrial history of the site and surrounding area – information has been collected and is being sought from local residents on the industrial history of the site.
• To carry out scientific research on the water vole population on the site, their movement and relatedness to others in the area.

Since trapping commenced in May this year, a total of 17 water voles have been tagged and released. Many of the animals caught have been juvenile and sub–adult animals indicating that on–site breeding is occurring. All water voles caught are sexed and marked using a PIT (passive interrogation tag), which has a small transponder that can be read from a hand held scanner. Each animal is weighed and checked for parasites, fighting injuries and signs of disease before being released at the point of capture. So far no movement of marked animals has been recorded between the Morfa Berwig population and neighbouring colonies within the adjacent National Wetlands Centre Wales. In time it will be possible to ascertain how isolated the Berwick site is from water vole strong hotspots in the locality.

The path project is underway and this winter more vital habitat management work will be undertaken to ensure the habitat can sustain the water vole population.

Protecting Water Voles in Llanelli

The Environment Agency Wales, Countryside Council for Wales and Carmarthenshire County Council have been working together to protect water voles from development pressures in the Llanelli area.

We have worked closely with the developers for the Morfa–Berwick link road and Machynys Homes to ensure that local water vole habitat is protected, and that appropriate mitigation and enhancement measures are undertaken. The Dafen and Afon Goch catchments support one of the last remaining viable water vole populations in Wales, and this is now a Key Area for water voles.