Those of you who attended the HNHS Autumn meeting heard Charlie (Charlotte) Bell from HMWT talk about the Living Rivers Project. Now an impressive new website has been launched to explain the new catchment management plans for two of our precious Hertfordshire chalk streams. The plan is lead by Charlie and Tim Hill of Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust on behalf of other partners.

Follow this link to visit the website and learn more about the aims and objectives and how you can get involved.

The main aims are described in four areas:

Flow: That there is water flowing along the whole length of the river at all times (excluding historic winter flowing sections) with adequate flow along the length of the river to support a ?good status? chalk stream ecology.

Water Quality, Habitats & Wildlife: That whatever the flow level, the river and its associated habitats, including banks and floodplains, are managed to support chalk stream species and that water quality, temperature and river bed quality are such that they support chalk stream ecology

People: To increase the attractiveness, visibility and public access, to enable people to appreciate the river and the unique chalk stream environment and their participation in its conservation

Status & Monitoring: To achieve the highest possible level of legal protection for the river and to monitor the status of the river and its species to gauge if its condition is improving 

Background

Most of the UK?s rivers are not as healthy as they should be. Although many have improved dramatically over the past few decades, current problems include pollution, invasive non-native species, abstraction and physical modifications such as weirs. As a result, wildlife has disappeared from many of our rivers and people are finding other places to spend their leisure time.

The Beane/Mimram Catchment Partnership is a group of people and organisations who are working to improve the rivers Beane and Mimram for people and for wildlife. The partnership was formed in 2012 and includes a wide range of organisations, from local community groups and charities to councils and government agencies.

The partnership is being ?hosted? by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, who brought the partnership together. Their role is to organize and co-ordinate the many different members of the partnership, and drive the Catchment Plan forward beyond December 2012. They are also acting as the initial contact point for any enquiries you may have.