Last year, we were introduced to the specially-trained dogs sniffing out invasive crayfish in Devon reservoirs – called ‘River’ and ‘Sid’. These species [the crayfish and not the wonderfully-named dogs] are considered ‘invasive’ party due to human preference, but really because they were never in this part of the world in the first place.
In these parts we have plenty of unwanted invasive species – including the dreaded Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed along much of the Sid and its tributaries.
Meanwhile, the government has committed to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030 – and perhaps the River Sid holds the potential to increase its natural riches.
After a lot of serious citizen science happening along the River these last years [as related at the talk during the Science Festival] the initial findings from three years ago showing the health of the Valley’s waterways are now pretty much well-established.
However, the consensus also holds that ‘heathy’ does not necessarily mean ‘biodiverse’ – and we can indeed lament the lost wildlife of the Sid Valley compared to a century ago.
This includes the pine marten, reintroduced to Devon earlier this month, with The Story So Far from the DWT, who wax lyrical about ‘species recovery and species restoration’ – of ‘a member of the woodland family that has been missing for 150 years on Dartmoor’.
Looking to another headline species, back in 2020, the SVA’s river warden talked of the possible return of the beaver to the River Sid:
So it seems that we have a river that could sustain the beaver, with food, woodland, and a natural river environment, and for most part is quite ‘private’ (excluding the Byes). The flow in the river can reduce in dry weather, and may not be enough to sustain a beaver family, but with the success of the River Otter families, they may well start to look elsewhere for their next home – who knows? If we could persuade them to eat Himalayan Balsam that would be great.
Finally, what we are looking to is the encouragement of migrating fish up what is, then, an essentially healthy habitat – and as the past, present and future of trout on the Sid proves, they need a helping hand rather than obstacles, which is a much-anticipated ‘next step’ for the River.
Watch this space for more species recovery on the River Sid.
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