[UK] Plans to reintroduce Wales' extinct species

From IC North Wales

By Ian Parri, Daily Post

REINDEER, elk, wild horses and eagles could rule the roost over huge swathes of Wales as poverty stricken upland farmers finally run up the white flag of surrender.

At least that's the scenario painted by environmentalists who warn it could be just 10 or 15 years away.

The Cheltenham-based Wilderness Foundation came up with the explosive plans as they sought solutions to the situation many Welsh hill farmers are likely to find themselves in when EU agriculture grants are likely to be savagely cut in the future.

The Foundation has identified a huge two million acres throughout the UK, comprising of forestry and poor quality farmland, that could potentially be allowed to transform itself into wildlands where long-extinct species could be reintroduced and encouraged to re-establish themselves. It includes large parts of Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons, the Elan Valley and the Plymlimon range in Ceredigion.

The Foundation forsees farmers fulfilling new roles as foresters and guardians of the new wildlands. And it says the expected benefits could be a huge upsurge in ecotourism, as well as the addressing of vital conservation issues.

"Those benefits could be as much economic and social as environmental, helping local communities and landholders," says spokesman Toby Aykroyd.

"You've got nature tourism, such as what the red kite has achieved in central Wales, which can be brought in. And the ospreys, now coming into the west coast, have been tremendous money-spinners for local communities.

"You've also got environmental services such as flood mitigation from habitat restoration in upland watersheds, and carbon sequestration - that means locking up carbon dioxide - from newly planted forests and freshly created marshlands that would otherwise aggravate global warming.

"On top of that you've got activities related to youth development and education, which aim to address some of the urban issues and linking rural opportunity with urban need."

The Foundation's ideas are certainly being taken seriously in the corridors of power in England, and they are hopeful of a similar positive reception from the National Assembly.

The National Trust, the RSPB and the Forestry Commission are among those landowning bodies to have given the proposals their tentative backing. Discussions have also been held with the Countryside Council for Wales.

Sheep farmer Dafydd Morris, 68, from Deiniolen, has tended to his flock on land that reaches almost to Snowdon's summit all his adult life. He now runs the business with three of his sons, and admits it can be difficult to make ends meet. But he has no intention of giving up on a generations-long way of life.

"I've got no problems with caring for the land, but I do have problems with people tramping all over the place," he says.. "I don't see it as a role for farmers. If you've chosen a lifestyle you enjoy, I can't see why you should change.

Would Tony Blair go down a coal mine to work?

"There's a hankering to go back to the olden days, but the people who aspire to it want it both ways. Just ask them to get rid of their cars and see what their response is. What worth would we see from reintroducing these animals?

"We already have wild goats here, which don't concern me as they're good enough jumpers not to damage fences. But many of these wildlife enthusiasts around the place, who perpetually run farmers down, are up in arms as soon as the goats target their gardens."

He is scathing of any moves to increase tourism into upland areas, and says that the powers-that-be should be more concerned with protecting the fragile human heritage than reintroducing species long extinct in Wales.

He adds: "Schemes such as Tir Gofal have only one aim: to attract more people here from outside. That's the last thing we want. It's heart-breaking as it is as far as local youngsters getting housing is concerned.

"The language and culture are suffering dreadfully. If we Welsh want to turn our country into one huge playground for tourists then so be it, but it shouldn't be up to outsiders to try to force us to do it.

"I've heard people on the National Park authority call for the brown bear to be reintroduced, but they'd just kill and eat farm animals. As for eagles, their main source of food would be lambs. They'd do better to look after species that are fighting to stay in existence here."

But Toby Aykroyd insists they're not seeking to introduce animals such as wolves and bears to Wales, as has been touted in some quarters.

He says their proposals are far more far-reaching than just delving into the past to bring our medieval biodiversity back to life.

"What we're proposing is as much for people as for the habitat and wildlife. We all know that agriculture and forestry hasn't really got much of a future in the remoter areas. I don't see why people should soldier on trying to make a pittance of a living.

"It's up to local communities to decide what they want. It should be part of a regional land use mosaic, and I can't see why it shouldn't happen side-by-side with areas devoted to good commercial agriculture and forestry."

He adds that it's more about creating habitat than species introduction, although he concedes some species have been discussed.

"You could be talking about red squirrels, pine martens, sea eagles, and you could go further afield to see what herbivore management you might want to maximise biodiversity. You'd be looking at useage of semi-wild ancient species of cattle, which would provide some interface between agriculture and wildland areas."

Adrian Lloyd Jones, conservation officer with the North Wales Wildlife Trust, says that many predatory species could only be introduced in the distant future.

However he names the fish eagle and the lynx, a member of the cat family that in other countries feeds largely on rabbits, as species that could make a comeback sooner rather than later.

He is particularly enthusiastic about on-going moves to reintroduce the European beaver to Welsh rivers after an absence of several centuries. It has been successfully reintroduced in 22 European countries, and moves to release some into the wild in Scotland were only recently defeated. "They largely died out because they were hunted out in medieval times rather than because their habitat was destroyed; the habitat still exists," he says..

"Their introduction is not such a long-term aim - it could be done right now. Beavers manage habitats and maintain riverbanks for us, doing what we have to do today by using diggers and such things, and could well help prevent flooding.

"It could be great for the Welsh economy, and it would put Wales on the map. The Assembly certainly has the powers to do this."

Dafydd Morris, however, remains to be convinced about replacing farming with wildlands. He says he'd rather live with the devil he knows: "One thing we've learnt from working the mountain is how to live with poverty. We survive somehow."