Thursday 25 March 2010

Upland Habitat Manual


The 'English' launch of the manual took place at our Trout Stream Workshop on Tuesday this week. (Left to right) Vaughan Lewis (Windrush AEC), Heidi Stone (Environment Agency), Shaun Leonard (Wild Trout Trust) and myself (Eden Rivers Trust)


Following the successful track record of the Wild Trout Survival Guide and the Chalkstream Habitat Manual, the Upland Rivers Habitat Manual is aimed at fishing clubs, river keepers and riparian owners, helping them identify problems and finding solutions. It gives clear ‘DIY’ advice for local river improvement projects as well as the fundamental importance of land use and the need to work in partnership to address catchment wide issues.

Wild Trout Trust Director Shaun Leonard said ‘This guide is a fantastic, practical resource for clubs and owners. It is so important for grassroots organisations to feel they can address the problems of their local rivers at both a reach and a catchment scale. This guide is one way that the Wild Trout Trust can support and inspire local groups to take action. Wild trout, including sea trout, are a strong and visible indicator of the health of the river system and fishing clubs and owners have a tremendous opportunity – and responsibility – to look after them and the wider ecosystem’.


The Upland Rivers Manual was supported by the Environment Agency in England and Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government. The manual was produced by Vaughan Lewis of Windrush AEC with support from Dave Charlesworth (Environment Agency Wales), Martin Janes (River Restoration Centre), Alistair Maltby (Association of Rivers Trusts), Simon Johnson (Eden Rivers Trust) and Tim Jacklin (Wild Trout Trust).


The manual is in Portable Document Format (pdf) and will be available for free download from the Wild Trout Trust website (http://www.wildtrout.org/) from 1st April, and a high-resolution version is available on CD from the WTT on-line shop for £10 including P&P.