Landowners

SORP provides free advice to farmers and landowners on wetland species and habitats and how to manage your land to enhance and restore wetlands. If you would like advice about otters, water voles, black poplars, wet woodland, river or wetland restoration then please contact the SORP Officer

The Farming and Wildlife Group (FWAG) can also provide information and advice on improving the efficiency and sustainability of farm management

Free advice sheets are available to download below:-

General

Farming and Wildlife Pack - Succinct factsheets advice on farm management for a range of species and habitats.
SORP leaflet (pdf 1.3MB) - Otters and Water Voles
Natural England advice on grants, farming, wildlife licences and the environment for farmers and land managers
Best Farming Practise - Environment Agency
Managing a Smallholding for Wildlife (pdf)
What are Environmental Services? (pdf)
What is the Water Framework Directive? (pdf)

Water voles

There are a number of things you can do on your land to help water voles. Click here for copies of our leaflets on

Water vole Conservation Handbook - Second Edition (link)
Advice on wildlife friendly weed clearence and vegetation management in watercourses (pdf)
Restoring Water voles and other Biodiversity to the Wider Countryside available from WildCRU website
Water vole guide for landowners (pdf)
Managing land for water voles - a guide for landowners (pdf)
SORP leaflet (pdf 1.3MB)
Know your vole (pdf 250KB)

Mink Control

Habitat destruction has isolated and fragmented many populations of water voles and made them vulnerable to chance events (like drought) and predators such as mink. Mink (Mustela vison) are an American species, introduced in the 1950's as escapes and releases from fur farms. They are now common throughout Sussex and the UK. Mink are a voracious predator on water voles and their presence in an area can often be the last straw for an already struggling population. Landowners can help by controlling mink on their land.

Otters

Encouraging otters does not need complicated management. If you would like to know how to improve your land to help otters you can find out more in the SORP leaflet, for some ideas. Please download our advice sheets. They may help with Environmental Stewardship Grants.

Managing your land for otters (pdf)
SORP leaflet (pdf 1.3MB)
Guidance for Land Managers regarding Otters (pdf)
Monitoring the otter
Otter breeding sites
Ecology of the european otter

How to Build an Otter holt

Otter holts can be built artificially. Please click here if you would like more information on how to build :-

- A concrete chamber holt (pdf)
- A recycled plastic holt (pdf)
- A log pile holt (pdf)
- A floating otter holt (pdf)
- A living otter holt (pdf)

or contact the SORP officer

Otters and Forestry

Forestry Commission - Following the amendments to the Habitats Regulations (Aug 2007), the Forestry Commission have developed guidelines on what to do to prevent harm to otters and otter habitat during forestry operations.

Black poplar

SORP works with the Sussex Black Poplar Working Group to help landowners plant and care for this rare tree.