Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths Lessons from the UK Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths: lessons from the UK Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths | 1 Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths: lessons from the UK by Sam Ellis, Nigel Bourn and Caroline Bulman This report would not have been possible without the significant support of the national Government Agencies: Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage and Countryside Council for Wales, as well as the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, who together grant-aided the development of most of our landscape-scale projects. We are also indebted to the volunteers who have contributed to these projects, including those from some of Butterfly Conservation’s network of 31 Branches around the UK, but also from our many partner organisations. We are also grateful to all the landowners and land managers who have allowed Butterfly Conservation, its contractors and volunteers access to their land to enable project delivery. Special thanks are due to: Karen Aylward (Natural England), Norman Baldock (Dartmoor National Park Authority), Anja Borsje (previous Two Moors Threatened Butterfly ProjectOfficer, Butterfly Conservation), Gill Barter (Countryside Council for Wales), Steve Batt (Warwickshire Wildlife Trust), Frank Berney (University of Sunderland), Richard Boles (Forestry Commission England), Rona Charles (North York Moors National Park Authority), Mike Clark, Paul Dunn (Glamorgan Heritage Coast), Mike Enfield (Kent Wildlife Trust), Scott Hand (Countryside Council for Wales), Alison Hawkins (Exmoor National Park Authority), David Heaver (Natural England), Saul Herbert (Natural England), Ian Hickman (Forestry Commission England), David Lambert (Bentley Wood Trust), Dave Liddle (Durham County Council), Andy Lees (Durham Biodiversity Partnership), Rob Petley-Jones (Natural England), John Randall (Butterfly Conservation Devon Branch), Dave Rogers (Natural England), Phil Rudlin (Forestry Commission England), Dave Sheppard (Natural England), Pete Stevens (Natural England), Dan Tuson (Natural England), Michael Walter (RSPB), Mike Williams (Butterfly Conservation West Midlands Branch), Matt Wilmott (Natural England), John Wilson (Kent Wildlife Trust), Andrew Windrum (Natural England) and Rosemary Winnall (Wyre Forest Study Group). Thanks to all the contributing authors, project staff, Martin Warren, Mark Parson and Tom Brereton for comments on the text. Butterfly monitoring data was provided and analysed by Ian Middlebrook and Tom Brereton. The Marsh Fritillary butterfly distribution map was produced by Jim Asher and Richard Fox. Thanks also to Natalie Ngo for proof reading the text. Copyright © Butterfly Conservation 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publishers. ISBN 13 978-0-9568935-1-2 This report should be cited as: Ellis, S., Bourn, N. A. D. and Bulman, C. R. (2012) Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths: lessons from the UK Butterfly Conservation, Wareham, Dorset. Each section is also individually authored. Cover images: Norman Baldock, Sam Ellis, Robert Thompson and Jim Asher. 2 | Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths Contents Foreword 4 High Brown Fritillary in the Vale of Glamorgan: saving the last site Executive summary 5 in Wales 52 Introduction: Butterfly Conservation Restoration of a Small Blue and landscape-scale conservation 6 metapopulation on the Southam Lias Grasslands of Warwickshire 58 Restoring Marsh Fritillary metapopulations on Dartmoor 10 Landscape-scale woodland restoration for multiple species Conserving the High Brown Fritillary in the South East Woodlands 66 on the Morecambe Bay Limestones 16 Delivering land management Conserving the Marsh Fritillary in advice for Marsh Fritillary Dorset: Lessons from 15 years of in Scotland 76 landscape-scale conservation 24 Targeting restoration management The impact of management on to stabilise Duke of Burgundy Pearl-bordered Fritillary populations metapopulations on the in the Wyre Forest 30 North York Moors 80 Specialist moths in Breckland: Discussion: Lessons from creating bare ground habitat on landscape-scale conservation 86 a landscape-scale 36 References 92 The Heath Fritillary in the Blean Woods: A low input large Acknowledgements 94 output landscape project 42 Restoring very small fragmented landscapes for the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in the Durham Coalfield Pennine Fringe 48 Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths | 3 Foreword Sir John Lawton to name but two. Butterflies, by conservation. It wasn’t a new insight. the way, feature prominently in the Butterfly Conservation has used evidence base summarised in Making metapopulation science to build Space, both the successes, and landscape projects that are species the ongoing declines of many once led, but which necessitate conserving widespread species. The declines whole landscapes, and habitats within fall disproportionately on the habitat those landscapes. These projects specialists that require coppiced are designed exactly to create woodland, grazed chalk grasslands, “more, bigger, better and joined” for and so on. I don’t need to spell the Lepidoptera, primarily butterflies, but issues out for this audience. also (as is clear from this report) for What is driving the ongoing moths. declines of so many species? Making The report summarizes over 10 Space concluded that there are four years of experience in delivering main reasons. First, many protected “more, bigger, better and joined” at sites are simply too small; 77% of sites across the UK. It is also timely. SSSIs and 98% of Local Wildlife The lessons learned come at a time Sites in England are less than when the landscape approach is a Sir John Lawton 100 ha, too small to prevent random central plank of the Government’s fluctuations driving local populations new Biodiversity 2020 strategy Chairing the panel that produced to extinction. Only a tiny remnant and is being rolled out on a wider Making Space for Nature between of some habitats remain, and many scale, for example in the 12 Nature 2009 and September 2010 (the surviving patches of semi-natural Improvement Areas that came out of ‘Lawton Report’) was one of the most habitat are poorly managed, or not the 2011 Natural Environment White interesting things I have done in the managed at all. And finally many Paper The Natural Choice, part of voluntary conservation sector. surviving sites are isolated in a sea Government’s response to Making It was also one of the most of inhospitable agricultural or urban Space. And last, but absolutely not depressing, because despite huge landscapes. Butterflies have played least, the report shows what can be efforts by both the statutory and a vital role in developing and testing achieved through a highly focused voluntary sectors, particularly since the science of metapopulation species-led approach. Very simply the end of the Second World War, dynamics that shows so clearly why “more bigger, better and joined” Making Space concluded that this combination of four factors can works, and needs to be rolled out England’s protected area network have such devastating consequences far more widely, because, of course, was still not preventing the continuing for species unable to easily disperse recreating, restoring and joining up declines of many species of plants and that require specialised habitats. habitats benefits not just butterflies and animals, some of them truly Although Making Space dealt only and moths, but a host of other alarming. This is absolutely not to with England, much the same creatures with which they share their say that conservation efforts have arguments apply to the Devolved habitat. been a waste of time; I shudder to Administrations. For all these reasons I commend think how much worse things would The solution? The ‘executive this excellent and timely report and have been without those efforts! summary’ of Making Space was thank the funders for their vision and And of course there have been blindingly simple. We need “more, support. some real successes. It isn’t all bad bigger, better managed and news. Red Kites are back in force, joined up” sites in a landscape Sir John Lawton and Large Blue butterflies flourish, level approach to wildlife York, July 2012 4 | Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths Executive summary 1. Butterflies remain one of the UK’s 5. The publication of this report III. Skilled project officers are an most threatened wildlife groups, with is timely as recent government essential component of effective three-quarters of species declining initiatives such as Making Space for landscape-scale conservation, in either distribution or population Nature (Lawton, 2010), have called providing the link between during the 10-year period 1995-99 to for widespread use of landscape- landowners and managers, partner 2005-09 (Fox et al., 2011). scale conservation. The principles are organisations, grant schemes and embedded in the UK Government’s other funding sources, contractors 2. The science of metapopulation recent white paper, The natural and volunteers. biology has increased our choice: securing the value of nature understanding of how butterfly and Defra’s updated biodiversity IV. Landscape-scale projects populations persist within strategy Biodiversity