Image caption, Hazel dormice are found in “very few places in the UK”, Shropshire Wildlife Trust saysArticle InformationAuthor, Andrew DawkinsRole, BBC News, West Midlands<\/p>\n
9 hours ago<\/p>\n
“Vulnerable” dormice will have a more favourable habitat as a new national nature reserve is opened, a wildlife charity has said.<\/p>\n
The Stiperstones Landscape reserve in Shropshire brings together organisations to safeguard heathland, ancient woodland, bogs and acidic grasslands.<\/p>\n
One of the areas within the reserve is home to hazel dormice, which are found in “very few places” in the UK, Shropshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) says.<\/p>\n
The reserve forms part of the King’s Series of National Nature Reserves, created to honour King Charles III’s coronation and his long-standing environmental advocacy, Natural England (NE) said.<\/p>\n
Dormice live in low density, with just three to four in the same hectare of woodland together, making creating more habitat “all the more vital”, SWT said.<\/p>\n
Tom Freeland, its head of nature reserves, said the sharing and coordination of resources and techniques “with our partners is a key approach to achieving this”.<\/p>\n
‘Numbers plummet’<\/p>\n
The national reserve is launching this month, and will see more than 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of rare habitats protected, NE said.<\/p>\n
As well as SWT and NE, Forestry England, The Linley Estate, Shropshire Council and Middle Marches Community Land Trust are all involved.<\/p>\n
The reserve combines existing sites with more than 1,100 hectares (2,718 acres) of additional managed land.<\/p>\n
SWT said it brought “60 years of local conservation knowledge” and five of its current nature reserves – including Hope Valley, where the hazel dormice are – to create the national one.<\/p>\n
Mr Freeland said: “Now listed as vulnerable, the loss of hedgerows and changing woodland management practices has seen hazel dormouse numbers plummet in the last two decades. <\/p>\n
“We’re carefully managing the woodland at Hope Valley to create and maintain more favourable habitat for dormice.<\/p>\n
“By working with our partners we can turn small islands of wildlife-friendly habitat into one unified sanctuary for nature that reaches across the Stiperstones landscape for the benefit of vulnerable species like the hazel dormouse and many more.”<\/p>\n
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