In November 2023 RTCT launched the Water Vole Recovery Project, partnering with Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) on their project Joining the Dots: Creating mink-free counties for water vole conservation. The project is targeting the entire Thame Catchment to monitor for remnant populations of wate vole (and other semi-aquatic mammals), with the aim to improve ecological conditions for water vole recovery and potential re-introduction later down the line.

Water vole have not been recorded in the catchment for many years. Historically thriving populations were lost due to a combination of habitat destruction and heavy predation by invasive American mink. Water vole is a species native to the UK and an important ecosystem engineer – akin to beavers, but on a smaller scale. Their burrowing and feeding behaviours play a crucial role in creating favourable conditions for other species, both flora and fauna, to thrive. While difficult to quantify, the absence of water vole in the catchment has likely led to adverse impacts on biodiversity.

The primary objective of our Water Vole Recovery Project is to eliminate the mink population within the Thame catchment. Past endeavours have revealed that successfully reintroducing water voles is innefective as long as mink remain in the vicinity. Alongside mink control measures, we remain optimistic that systematic monitoring efforts might uncover any remaining water vole populations. Although it's a slim possibility, wildlife populations occasionally endure in challenging circumstances, and nature has a knack for defying expectations! Naturally, our ultimate aim is to facilitate water vole recolonisation/reintroduce once we are confident in the effective control of the mink population.

Since launching we have engaged and trained over 33 volunteers and 17 landowners. The unprecedented flooding over winter and spring caused great delays to the project’s progress, but despite the setback, our enthusiastic volunteers and landowners have worked hard to deploy 32 rafts along the main Thame, covering approximately 50-60 kilometres. These rafts are being actively monitored every 7-10 days in search for mammal tracks, prints and evidence of wildlife. Our efforts are already proving useful as we have successfully begun to control localised populations of mink. Over the next year we hope to recruit and bolster our teams of volunteers, increase our landowner engagement and involvement, and deploy another 30 rafts throughout the remaining stretches of the river Thame.

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