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<u>BBC</u> (London, UK) 11 November 06 Newts get £300k re-homing project
A rare species of newt has won a victory for Britain's amphibians as Highways Agency bosses put their duty to nature above road-building.
The agency is spending about £300,000 to capture a colony of great crested newts near a £51m road project.
The newts have been relocated to make way for work on the Deeside Park junction of the A5117 in Cheshire.
Officials said a number had been caught so far but refused to confirm reports the figure was 15 - or £20,000 a newt.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "The work is currently ongoing and a number of great crested newts have been trapped.
"It is not possible to give a final figure because the work is still under way.
"We have a duty to ensure newts are protected and moved to the safety of nearby ponds to avoid them being harmed during the construction of the road scheme."
The money has been spent installing 15 miles of special fencing near the junction to trap the newts, which are then re-located to the safety of nearby ponds.
Newt expert Dorothy Wright, from the Herpetological Conservation Trust, said: "When a lot of money is spent and only a few newts are saved it would be great if that money could have been spent to increase the viability of local populations."
Latest figures suggest there are about 100,000 great crested newts left in the UK, with the population falling by about 20% in the last 50 years.
The newts, which are a protected species under European legislation, breed in ponds but spend part of their life cycle on the land.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6138956.stm
<u>THE SUN</u> (London, UK) 11 November 06 Newts worth more than gold (Guy Patrick)
Photo: Special fencing ... used to trap newts
Taxpayers have coughed up a whopping £312,000 ($US 597,600/Eur 464,500) — to move 15 newts away from a new road junction.
It works out at a little under £21,000 to relocate each of the 200 gram Great-Crested amphibians.
That makes them worth almost twice their weight in gold.
The Highways Agency moved the newts because they are a protected species. They were relocated to nearby fields.
First plastic newt fencing was erected across farmland and 3,060 newt traps were placed along its 15 and a half mile length.
Conservation workers checked these daily and required a five-day newt-free period at the end of the project. The work ended on October 13.
The cost and installation of the newt fencing came to £153,000, maintenance of newt traps came to £52,000, and the cost of checking the traps daily was £107,000.
An Agency spokesman said: “Great Crested Newts are a protected species. The Highways Agency has a duty to ensure the newts are moved to the safety of nearby ponds to avoid them being harmed during the construction period.
“The cost of these measures is a very small portion of the overall project budget of £51.41 million.”
But even conservationists criticised the rescue of so few newts.
The Herpetological Conservation Trust’s newt officer Dorothy Wright said: “Sometimes it would be nice if we could use the money to enhance or create a really good habitat.
“Their numbers are declining quite badly. Making another population is more viable but that’s the way the law works.”
A resident who lives close to the proposed junction improvements in Saughall, Chester, said: “We never stop hearing about the lack of funds for schools and the NHS — and then we blow a fortune on newts. The world has gone mad.”
2-2006520510%2C00.html,http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006520510,00.html
A rare species of newt has won a victory for Britain's amphibians as Highways Agency bosses put their duty to nature above road-building.
The agency is spending about £300,000 to capture a colony of great crested newts near a £51m road project.
The newts have been relocated to make way for work on the Deeside Park junction of the A5117 in Cheshire.
Officials said a number had been caught so far but refused to confirm reports the figure was 15 - or £20,000 a newt.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "The work is currently ongoing and a number of great crested newts have been trapped.
"It is not possible to give a final figure because the work is still under way.
"We have a duty to ensure newts are protected and moved to the safety of nearby ponds to avoid them being harmed during the construction of the road scheme."
The money has been spent installing 15 miles of special fencing near the junction to trap the newts, which are then re-located to the safety of nearby ponds.
Newt expert Dorothy Wright, from the Herpetological Conservation Trust, said: "When a lot of money is spent and only a few newts are saved it would be great if that money could have been spent to increase the viability of local populations."
Latest figures suggest there are about 100,000 great crested newts left in the UK, with the population falling by about 20% in the last 50 years.
The newts, which are a protected species under European legislation, breed in ponds but spend part of their life cycle on the land.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6138956.stm
<u>THE SUN</u> (London, UK) 11 November 06 Newts worth more than gold (Guy Patrick)
Photo: Special fencing ... used to trap newts
Taxpayers have coughed up a whopping £312,000 ($US 597,600/Eur 464,500) — to move 15 newts away from a new road junction.
It works out at a little under £21,000 to relocate each of the 200 gram Great-Crested amphibians.
That makes them worth almost twice their weight in gold.
The Highways Agency moved the newts because they are a protected species. They were relocated to nearby fields.
First plastic newt fencing was erected across farmland and 3,060 newt traps were placed along its 15 and a half mile length.
Conservation workers checked these daily and required a five-day newt-free period at the end of the project. The work ended on October 13.
The cost and installation of the newt fencing came to £153,000, maintenance of newt traps came to £52,000, and the cost of checking the traps daily was £107,000.
An Agency spokesman said: “Great Crested Newts are a protected species. The Highways Agency has a duty to ensure the newts are moved to the safety of nearby ponds to avoid them being harmed during the construction period.
“The cost of these measures is a very small portion of the overall project budget of £51.41 million.”
But even conservationists criticised the rescue of so few newts.
The Herpetological Conservation Trust’s newt officer Dorothy Wright said: “Sometimes it would be nice if we could use the money to enhance or create a really good habitat.
“Their numbers are declining quite badly. Making another population is more viable but that’s the way the law works.”
A resident who lives close to the proposed junction improvements in Saughall, Chester, said: “We never stop hearing about the lack of funds for schools and the NHS — and then we blow a fortune on newts. The world has gone mad.”
2-2006520510%2C00.html,http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006520510,00.html