Detailed studies over the last few years have shown that the Access proposals would have a large impact on Wirebirds particularly from Deadwood Plain to the airport itself.  DFID has recognised the importance of the Wirebird to St Helena and the importance of the pastureland on which it mostly is found and have now started developing a programme for mitigating for its impacts.

The four partners who will be delivering this project are ANRD, who lead on it, the SHNT, the cattle owners and graziers and the RSPB.  The fundamental logic behind this project is that by improving pastures both the people will benefit and the economy of St Helena can be strengthened.  At the same time the Wirebird population on these areas can also be increased.  Wirebirds need good quality pastures.

Several research and management projects have been undertaken since 1988, but especially over the last eight years, have shown the way.  Firstly, there is the work by Dr Neil McCulloch on the habitat requirements of the Wirebird which is now being expanded by a research student, Fiona Burns, to look at factors affecting their breeding success.  Then there was the OTEP management project undertaken in 2006/7 by SHNT and RSPB with the Deadwood Cattle Grazing Syndicate to show that it was practical to manage pastureland successfully for Wirebirds.  These studies provide confidence that we can achieve our objectives and enhance pastures and provide for the Wirebird.

The mitigation project has six main themes.  All are important as they go together to provide a whole, sustainable package.  Those themes are:-

• To improve the licensing system for Government grazing land
• To help to strengthen the livestock sector on St Helena
• To develop management plans for mitigation sites and implement them
• To monitor the numbers and breeding success of Wirebirds and the vegetation in the pasturelands
• To provide a long term, sustainable pasturelands for Wirebirds impacted on and displaced by the Access proposals
• To further widen the awareness of the Wirebird and importance of good pastureland to tourists and the people of St Helena.

The first stage of the project started in August when Dr Tony Prater from the RSPB, joined partners in ANRD and the Trust to help with the project development.  Discussions on the mitigation sites, monitoring programmes (these are being undertaken principally by Eddie Duff, the Trust’s Wirebird Conservation Officer) and the management plans are advancing.  But we are not expecting practical work on the sites to start before the New Year.  Not all of the sites have been fully defined at present but the project will be looking at dry pasture in the sweep from Woody Ridge to Deadwood Plain – this is the area surrounding Prosperous Bay Plain and where birds are most likely to relocate.

The main work on pastures will be improving fencing, developing wider paddock grazing, clearance of invasive woody plants from the pastures, in some cases it will be possible to extend areas of grazing into unproductive areas and, where relevant, re-seeding with grasses to further improve grazing.  Some vegetation surveys have been undertaken to add to the Trust’s Wirebird monitoring programme and there have been walks over some of the probable sites for the initial phase of practical management with all partners in the project.  Many of the other themes of the project are slightly longer term and will have to be completed by 2011, which is the end of the first stage of mitigation project.

This is a long term project and we are all convinced we can achieve what is needed to help both St Helena and the Wirebird.

Dr Tony Prater

Related Information

Conserving the Wirebird - Project Page

How do Wirebirds behave?