Red Squirrels Need Our Help.

No doubt most SWT members are well aware of the problems facing Britain's native red squirrels. Sadly, the population appears to be declining across the country due to a variety of factors including habitat loss, unsuitable habitat management, competition from non-native grey squirrel populations, disease carried by grey squirrels and deaths from road traffic accidents.

Recently, the Scottish Squirrel Group has been working hard on the Scottish Strategy for the Conservation of Red Squirrels. This document is now published and amongst other actions points the way for local squirrel groups to take action for squirrels. A couple of years ago the Central Scotland Red Squirrel Group was set up embracing Clackmannanshire, Fife and Stirling. The aims of this group are in line with the Scottish Strategy's objectives with a key task being to increase the recording of squirrel sightings whether they be reds or greys. When a more thorough understanding of the two species' distributions is gained then informed action can be taken to conserve the red squirrels where there are viable populations.

In order to support the work of the Scottish Strategy and local squirrel groups a Scottish Squirrel Survey Co-ordinator has recently been appointed. Dr Mel Tonkin works at Cramond House and she is very willing to offer support to people interested in red squirrel recording and to new groups looking to start up.

At present in Fife I have been attending some of the Central Scotland Squirrel Group meetings as a representative of the Ladybank Forest Users' Group (LFUG). In the scots pine woods around Ladybank there is a seemingly healthy population of red squirrels and we have several volunteers recording sightings in the area. We are using the squirrel recording form developed by Julie Bett at Fife Environmental Recording Network (FERN). ll our recorders send their sightings to FERN and Julie then processes all the records and can supply distribution maps. Over the next year or two LFUG hopes to build up a good understanding of the distribution of reds and greys in the Ladybank area and we shall then look at issues such as whether we need to instigate a grey squirrel trapping programme to keep them out of the woods.

I have been given space here in FAWN to emphasise how important it is to record sightings of squirrels throughout Fife. I would like to encourage you to take an active part in this work to help conserve red squirrels as I'm sure you would agree that Fife would be a poorer place without this attractive mammal gracing the woodlands. Steve Blow, our Conservation Manager is in full support of this work and is an active member of the Central Scotland Squirrel Group. FERN recording forms are available from Julie on 01592 413793. If you are

interested in taking an active part in squirrel survey work in Fife please contact either myself on tel:01337 830480 or email:eannsmuir@aol.com, or Steve Blow.

Elspeth Christie