Ecologists from Yorkshire Water, the Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust and River Connections, together with university researchers from Sheffield, Manchester and Stirling, have been monitoring vole activity.
The trust’s species officer, Luke Nelson, said: “As well as recording new vole sites in the uplands, we’ve been improving habitats by creating new pools and slowing the flow of water in upland streams.
“Surveys have show that the water voles are quickly colonising these new habitats, hopefully leading to a more resilient and better-connected population.”
The Waterlife Recovery Trust, a charity set up to humanely remove mink from the British countryside, has also been working with Yorkshire Water.
The charity aims to eradicate mink within five years.