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Working in partnership
Who’s
helping the red squirrels?
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Red
Alert North West is a partnership of around 120 organisations and
individuals committed to saving the red squirrel. |
All of these
people are involved in squirrel conservation; working on research, monitoring
populations, feeding red squirrels, managing forests for reds and carrying
out grey squirrel control.
Based at Cumbria
Wildlife Trust, the Red Alert campaign employs Officers who help carry
out work directly themselves and in conjunction with local people, other
conservation groups and businesses.
Here are some
of our main work areas. More detail about our work is found throughout
this website. Follow the menus found on the left-hand side of each page.
Local
action...
Red Alert has a network of local
volunteer groups who carry out practical conservation work for red squirrels.
Woodland
management...
Red Alert provides advice to woodland owners and managers on action
for red squirrels. Many
landowners who have red squirrels living on their land are working to
provide long-term management of benefit to red squirrels. A network
of red squirrel reserves is being set up across the north of England.
Monitoring
squirrel populations...
Surveys are regularly carried out for red and grey
squirrel distribution. The public help us by sending in their squirrel
sightings. Red Alert volunteers regularly monitor key woodlands. We
use 'hair tube' monitoring to find out more about squirrels present
in a forest. Tubes with sticky pads are attached to trees and baited
with food. Squirrels using them leave telltale hairs and are very useful
to us to se which squirrels are present!
Education
and Awareness...
Red
Alert raises awareness of the importance of red squirrels to highlight
the plight of this beautiful animal.
Controlling
grey squirrels...
Red Alert provides advice on
the humane control of grey squirrels.It is important to understand that
in areas near red squirrel populations grey squirrel numbers usually
need to be controlled to allow red squirrel populations to survive.
Conservation
Research...
Research Topics being carried out on red squirrels in the
UK include: reintroduction techniques, red and grey co-existence, modeling
of population dynamics and disease.
Feeding
red squirrels...
Red Alert provides advice on
the supplementary feeding of red squirrels to help them to compete with
greys. Some red squirrel
populations are given extra food particularly during the summer months
when natural food may be in short supply.
Alleviating
threats...
Red Alert monitors and alleviates
threats to red squirrels like road mortality and disease.
All
these measure are vital and much help is needed.
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