The King’s Lynn Consortium of Internal Drainage Boards, of which the Upper Bure Internal Drainage Board is a member, recently completed an otter survey of the drainage district. The results were very encouraging with otter signs being recorded at over a quarter of sites surveyed. This is roughly double the amount of positive sites for the area compared to the 1996-7 Norfolk Otter, Water Vole and Mink survey. The results support other evidence from around the county that suggests otter numbers are increasing and they are re-colonising areas where they were once common.

Whilst the areas managed by the drainage board are unlikely to be large enough to support otter populations alone they provide feeding and lying up areas. Additionally they also offer safe dispersal corridors between catchments, keeping otters away from roads, which is important, as road deaths are one of the major causes of otter mortality.

The Board carries out its maintenance to an environmental standard set out in its Standard Maintenance Operations document, this involves taking a little and often approach to management to ensure that standards of flood defence are maintained and that due regard is taken of the wildlife. This has recently been adopted and is likely to increase the habitat suitability for many species including the otter, other species that will benefit are the water vole, native crayfish and some fish species as well as many species of aquatic plants. The fact that otter spraints have been found on a number of drains soon after maintenance was carried out provides support for this belief.

For further information on the role of Drainage Boards, or their conservation work, please contact the office in King’s Lynn on 01553 669500 or for specific advice on otters, or habitat management for them please contact the Anglian Otters and Rivers Project Officer at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in Norwich on 01603 625540.

Lou Mayer
Conservation Officer. King’s Lynn Consortium of Internal Drainage Boards