THE TWEED FOUNDATION

Tweed Riparian Habitats Project

The Tweed Riparian Habitats Project has been undertaken in two phases as part of a catchment-wide Tweed Rivers Heritage Project from 1999 to 2005. The total expenditure has been £722,000 of which the main funder was the Heritage Lottery although more than half was raised from other sources including substantial local and private interests.

Land use practices, such as agriculture, drainage, river crossings and commercial forestry, both historical and contemporary, have had a very profound effect on the flora and fauna of the rivers and burns within the Tweed catchment. Overgrazing by livestock and dense forestry cover have degraded much of the natural stream structure, the bankside and aquatic vegetation upon which many species of plants and animals depend to maintain sustainable populations.  A wide range of manmade in-river structures have prevented migratory fish from utilising significant areas of potential spawning and nursery waters at the head of the catchment. In partnership with landowners, community groups and many other agencies, the Tweed Foundation’s habitat enhancement works has aimed to reverse this decline by restricting livestock access to riverbanks, allowing natural habitat regeneration, supplemented at appropriate sites with the planting of native trees and shrubs; restoring natural stream structures and bankside margins within forestry developments; protecting, extending and linking areas of good habitat to provide an extended network; raising awareness of the importance of the fishery resource and the habitats on which it depends; promoting the uptake of agri-environment grants and other sources of funding; and encouraging the widespread development and deployment of positive land and water management practices.

The aim of the work has been to continue to carry out widespread riparian habitat enhancements in the upper reaches of the catchment, to maximise the river systems natural productivity and biodiversity by removing or easing obstacles to spawning fish and by re-establishing the best possible environmental conditions in the headwaters; to improve the river environment for wildlife and river users through habitat, access and educational improvements and to provide demonstration sites of best practice as an educational tool for aiding the understanding and need to protect and enhance riparian habitats.

The work furthered the habitat enhancement work first begun by the Tweed Foundation in 1993 and complemented and directly supported many of the other projects within of the Tweed Rivers Heritage Project. Experience since 1993 demonstrated that the benefits and impacts of employing dedicated habitat enhancement officers extend far beyond the direct spend, through the value of demonstration and pilot projects, through the provision of advice, support and encouragement to others to take the appropriate action, and through the development of partnerships to achieve these goals.  The rivers and streams of the Tweed are a vital recreational and educational resource for local communities and touch the lives of all the local people in some way.  Many people use riverside walks for informal recreation and the work has built on this to develop the educational resource for local schools to provide an appreciation of the natural world on their doorstep.  Other groups such as local angling associations and naturalists wished to enhance the habitat along the rivers and streams in their own area to benefit a wide range of flora and fauna whilst promoting managed access to some of the most beautiful areas of the Scottish Borders.

One of the major partners in this collection of projects was the local angling clubs which have the greatest interest in the river at the community level. The angling clubs have very limited resources in terms of cash contributions but such is the commitment to the river they are prepared to supply a great deal of in-kind contributions in terms of skills, labour, materials and equipment. Many of these projects represented grass roots level aspirations of local communities and the high degree of their involvement helped create a feeling of responsibility and informed people of the wider issues.

The primary objectives were to carry out widespread riparian habitat enhancements in the upper reaches of the catchment, to maximise the river systems’ natural productivity and biodiversity, by removing or easing obstacles to spawning fish and re-establishing the best possible environmental conditions in the headwaters; and to improve the river environment for wildlife and river users, through habitat, access and educational improvements.

Overall the two phases of the project exceeded original expectations. A large number and range of practical improvements were undertaken, in conjunction with landowners, community groups and agencies, to improve fish access to the entire river system and to protect and restore natural stream structures and degraded riparian habitats. The monitoring undertaken throughout the project have clearly demonstrated the positive physical improvements generated and more recently in the substantial improvement to fish populations which have been measured by the Foundation. The benefits of the project have however extended far beyond that direct impact by raising awareness and appreciation of the international importance of the fishery resource and the habitats upon which they depend. The establishment of large-scale demonstration sites and the provision of practical advice and education, has promoted the widespread development and deployment of improved land and water management practices, both within the catchment and much further afield.

38 fencing projects were undertaken at sites throughout the catchment, to restrict stock access to riverbanks and allow natural habitat regeneration, supplemented at appropriate sites with planting of native trees and shrubs. The priorities were to target areas of the upper catchment known to support fragile stocks of early running salmon mostly in the Ettrick & Yarrow but also other headwaters of the Tweed and Eye catchment; to link previously improved sites or existing good habitats so as to generate extended networks of good habitats; to support community angling associations in protecting trout spawning and nursery streams and to establish demonstration sites on all major tributaries of the catchment. These objectives were all achieved and 67.5 Km of fencing was erected in total. A continuous stretch of almost 20 Km of the Upper Tweed was fenced and all priority sites in the Ettrick & Yarrow valleys were completed providing extensive linkages with previously enhanced sites, thereby providing maximum benefits from the spend. Approximately 35 Ha of riverbank was planted. This was reduced slightly from the original target as natural regeneration within a number of sites was found to be far more rapid and effective than originally anticipated. Substantial savings were made within the planting budget through the use of in-house labour and increased volunteer help. The savings were redirected to fencing to achieve targets and maximise long-term benefits.

12 obstacles were eased in the catchment, improving fish access to 711 Km of river. The completion of this project meant that all significant obstacles have been removed or eased and fish now have access to all the major rivers within the catchment for the first time in almost 200 years. Monitoring has confirmed that fish rapidly and naturally re-colonised all the newly available areas.

Bank protection and instream improvements were undertaken at 11 sites in conjunction with fencing and planting schemes, enhancing 9.4 Km of the river environment. 5 vortex weirs, 7 log deflectors and 2 cover shelves were constructed in addition to bank protection at particular stress points.

1.9km of an important tributary of the Gala Water was restored to its original course having been diverted through “old-style” coniferous woodland with many obstacles. Conifers were cleared 20m back from the watercourse clearing 0.48 Ha. Windfirm, broadleaved trees were retained, the windblow and debris was cleared from the watercourse and the cleared banksides were replanted with Red Squirrel friendly native broadleaves and protected with tree shelters.

2 Fish traps were built in conjunction with community angling associations. The traps augment a network of similar facilities elsewhere in the catchment.

900m of footpath were facilitated on the Teviot, in association with bank protection work. In addition 300m of access track in the upper Tweed provided access from a public right of way to a fish trap & educational/interpretation site. One of the fish traps referred to above was relocated to provide easier access without having to construct a bridge. 2 sets of steps were built on the Whiteadder to provide access to an enhanced stretch of riverbank.

On the Slitrig Water a survey was conducted by Tamar consulting to establish if the extensive bankside alder growth required coppicing to ensure the correct balance of shade to light. The result of this was a coppicing protocol being established for fishery benefit for the first time in Scotland. The protocol is now available to all river managers and takes into account not only the requirements of fish but also those of protected species such as otters and bats. Riparian survey of the Slitrig Water including guidelines for coppicing for fishery benefit (1,272kb)

The Foundation has been heavily involved in the “Bridging the Border” education project, in the preparation of the education pack and supporting video, which have now been circulated to all primary schools in the catchment, and in running field visits each summer for the schools. Almost 500 pupils took part in visits to their local streams in 2002 to be shown the electric fishing process and to experience at first hand the kinds of fish and other aquatic species live in their part of the river system. The Tweed Foundation continues to provide school children and others with electro-fishing demonstrations each year.

Talks and presentations have been given to an extensive range of groups, at local, national and international levels, throughout the duration of the project, including schools, colleges & universities, community groups, river and environmental interests and policy makers. A major conference, “Tweed into the 21^st Century”, was held in May 2002 at which the results of this project and the TRHP as a whole were presented and at which the award of HLF funding for phase 2 of the project was announced.

As part of an additional project to improve the Foundation’s educational & interpretation opportunities (funded within the original budget) an electricity supply was installed to the interpretation shelter at the Philiphaugh cauld on the Ettrick Water. This has enabled the continual use of the fish counter installed in the cauld, without the costs and labour requirements of replenishing expensive and heavy batteries, and now allows us to take VDUs out on site to show groups of visitors fish actually passing through the fish ladder and on upstream to the headwaters to spawn. Interpretation panels explaining the work the Foundation have been installed at this and other key sites in the catchment. Latterly a video camera has been attached to the counter which takes short films of each fish passing up the Ettrick and allows the Foundation to exactly identify up to 70% of fish passing upstream. This latter development is part of a public Fish Viewing station in conjunction with the local Estate landowner.

An advisory leaflet has been produced on riparian habitat enhancement, demonstrating examples of good and poor habitat, how improvements can be achieved and what benefits accrue for fish and other riverine flora and fauna.

The project has received extensive media coverage throughout, has significantly raise awareness of the importance of the river environment and of positive land use practices and has attracted accolades from international as well as local and national audiences.

The conclusion of the Riparian Habitat Project has been the production of a short DVD film which explains the environmental benefits of river bank enhancements not just for fish but for all wildlife and conservation interests. This film is targeted at farmers and other land managers with the aim of encouraging them to continue the work on Tweed that the Foundation has started.