How does a bison cross the road?

One of the challenges in conservation is that there are a lot of “firsts”. Without decades of dedicated science, there aren’t many examples to follow so you often have to create a proof-of-concept and lead the way yourself. After all, it takes pioneers to do what is needed to reverse the effects of climate change.

We are proud to have a few firsts at Kent Wildlife Trust. For example, we were the first to introduce Beavers back to the UK at Ham Fen more than 20 years ago and we were the first to introduce pigs as a conservation tool to restore arable pasture at Nashenden Down. The bison have also been a first for us here at Kent Wildlife Trust and indeed, a proof-of-concept too. The Wilder Blean project, a joint project with Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood, aimed to pioneer the concept of ‘truly restored, wild woodland’ in the UK. We suspected bison would be a great fit for this job because of the evidence already present in Europe but the question was: “would they work in the UK?”.

At Kent Wildlife Trust, it was a challenge to get the Wilder Blean project started so we could start making that argument. One of the barriers was the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which means that bison need to be fenced in much more securely than domestic cattle. Raising the funds needed to pay for a double fence perimeter around the bison enclosure was no easy feat and we thank the People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund for making this project happen!

Bison are listed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 which requires that 'it is not contrary to the public interest on the grounds of safety, nuisance or otherwise to grant the licence (1(3)(a)) and '...[animals] be held in accommodation which secures that the animal will not escape' (1(3)(c)(i)). Defra and Canterbury City Council (the local DWA authority) required that for a license to be granted, the general public must be separated from bison via 2 fences with a gap in between unless directly supervised.

Our Chief Executive, Evan Bowen-Jones met with MPs from the Environment All-Party Parliamentary Group at West Blean and Thornden Woods to discuss issues that current legislation presents regarding the development of the Wilder Blean and later he joined a panel of experts to give oral evidence to the EFRA Species Reintroduction Committee. All of these meetings have the aim of convincing policy makers to rethink the act.

The proof-of-concept could not be done without showing that bison are different to other herbivores. So, we separated the blean into 3 experimental areas.

1. An area with the bison, horse and pigs allowed to roam.
2. An area with domestic cattle, horse and pig roaming.
3. An area managed traditionally, with machinery.

As soon as the bison arrived, they got to work debarking trees and dust bathing, habits that make them ecosystem engineers and differentiate them from other species of cattle. These habits create niches in the forest that smaller species such as insects and reptiles can take advantage of. Since their arrival, we have seen an increase in red list bird species such as the lesser red poll and flycatchers. We’ve had our first record of a crab spider, Pistius truncates in 8 years and we also found a species of sheetweb weaver spider, Walkenaeria mitrata who’s last UK recording was at the Blean in 2004.

Anecdotally, we have received messages from locals who are over the moon to hear an increase in nightingale numbers so we are positive we will be able to gather all the scientific data needed to prove that bison really can make a difference in large areas of land where manual conservation efforts are too expensive or laborious. And we know that other wilding projects, such as the Knepp’s Isabella Tree, would also like to see bison roaming wild again on their estate too. So, our work could be a vital template to future conservation projects.

In the next step of this proof-of-concept journey, we want to expand the area where the bison can roam and also bring the public closer to the bison. To do this, we have just received permission from Canterbury City Council to create bison bridges.

The bridges benefit the bison by allowing them to utilise a larger area of the woodland thereby increasing food availability and foraging range and reducing parasite load; bison will have access to sufficient resources throughout the year to sustain the herd. A larger area of woodland also allows both bison and Exmoor ponies to fulfil their ecological roles in a mixed grazing assemblage, which helps to satisfy their natural behavioural instincts and eliminates the need to capture and transport bison between other on-site and off-site enclosures - reducing the risk to their welfare.

Once introduced, the crossing points would enable the public to connect with the Wilder Blean Project and with nature more generally. Access would be less restricted and would give many viewing opportunities from the footpath network. Engineered crossings would also improve the surface conditions of the paths which can currently become muddy in winter, making it easier for some cyclists and people with accessibility issues to visit the site.

Ultimately, our goal is to restore nature to levels that will help the UK reach its climate targets and help the world re-address a balance that has, for too long, tipped in favour of humans over nature. Bison coming back to the UK and roaming more of our land helps us manage and conserve our land more effectively with less impact on the environment but it also creates more resilience in an uncertain future. We look forward to the public being able to enjoy walking in the Blean forest and seeing that impact for themselves but first, we need to raise the money needed for us to construct these bison bridges. Could you be a sponsor?

References

• Pistius truncatus recordings
• Walckenaeria mitrata recordings
• Isabella Tree on Countryfile’s the Plodcast
• The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
• UK enshrines new target in law to slash emissions by 78% by 2035