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Open Forums => Open Boards Viewable By Guests => River Trusts => Topic started by: machar on November 26, 2010, 09:47:35 AM

Title: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: machar on November 26, 2010, 09:47:35 AM
A winter Newsletter of the River Don Trust's activities can be read here

http://www.riverdon.org.uk/FileLibrary/PDF%20Reports/trust%20newsletter%20nov%202010%20_2_.pdf

One of the items is particularly relevant today with American Signal crayfish being found in the River Kelvin for the first time

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11840810
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: machar on May 03, 2011, 12:04:46 PM
The Spring edition of the River Don Trust Newsletter is now available to read here www.riverdon.org.uk . If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact the Trust biologist at jamie@riverdon.org.uk
Also available is a river Don stocking protacol which I hope you will also find interesting
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Jamie on November 29, 2011, 09:26:48 AM
The Winter edition of the Newsletter is now available online please follow this link
http://www.riverdon.org.uk/FileLibrary/PDF%20Reports/trust%20newsletter%20Nov%202011.pdf (http://www.riverdon.org.uk/FileLibrary/PDF%20Reports/trust%20newsletter%20Nov%202011.pdf)
Best regards Jamie
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: machar on June 27, 2012, 09:11:10 PM
The July edition of the River Don Trust Newsletter can be read here

http://www. /pdfs/trust%20newsletter%20July%202012.pdf (http://www.%20/pdfs/trust%20newsletter%20July%202012.pdf)

We are very short on volunteers to continue and develop our programs, if you can spare some time and wish to help please contact Jamie at biologist@riverdon.org.uk, thanks

PS Our Trust vehicle died this week so if anyone has contacts for a small van or similar going cheap please contact me at iain@riverdon.or.uk
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 27, 2012, 09:58:11 PM
Quote from: machar on June 27, 2012, 09:11:10 PM
We are very short on volunteers to continue and develop our programs, if you can spare some time and wish to help please contact Jamie at biologist@riverdon.org.uk, thanks

Iain,

I have past experience spraying glyphosate  based weedkiller to control pernicious plants like hogweed, it's also safe to use near watercourses, but I really do wonder if this kind  of work might not be better carried out under some kind of structured and ongoing  plan of attack by professionals rather than by casual volunteers who may or may not turn up or be available when required.   

I had a walk along one short stretch at Kildrummy a week or so ago and frankly the place is a disaster area of giant hogweed that really needs tackled urgently.  I doubt  if the rest of the upper river is much better. This will take years of concerted effort to put right. The task is gargantuan and should not  be underestimated. It needs a structured approach.

That said I would be happy to give some time once my broken hand is better. I even have my own 10ltr knapsack sprayer.





Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: hopper on June 27, 2012, 11:42:24 PM
Should all and sundry be allowed next to the water course with weed killer, and has anyone been on a spraying course. Any spraying should be done by contractors who have the proper licenses
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: machar on June 28, 2012, 09:45:59 AM
Thanks for the replies and the offers of of help they are much appreciated. In answer to some of the points raised, as is stated in the Newsletter article all volunteers, including myself,  involved in invasive plant control are trained and have attained  the required qualification necessary . This covers  all aspects of health and safety procedures and we are working within an agreed plan and we have the appropriate licences.  If any information is required on the plan or any aspect we would be happy to supply it.
The biggest factor this year has been the weather making the program difficult to manage unfortunately. The program varies according to the species, their  growth characteristics etc. The work is not only carried out by volunteers, who are under the supervision of our fully trained biologist Jamie, but by the staff of the Don Board when their other duties allow and we are very grateful for their assistance.
Surveys of the full extent of the problem with invasive species are ongoing especially at the top  of the river with a view to working our way down, we fully appreciate this is a big problem and expect to carrying out our program for three years at least, funding and other resources being available.
There are lots of other projects that we are involved in that require assistance and if any  training etc is  required then that would be provided, we would not ask otherwise. If you require more information please email Jamie at biologist@riverdon,org.uk Thanks for your interest. 

Regards
Iain
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 28, 2012, 10:54:25 AM
The wet weather is a problem Iain.  Glyphosate-based herbicides need to dry on the plant  after spraying as even a shower of rain will wash  much of it off. That and spraying until run-off wastes the product and wastes time and effort. This is one problem with relying on volunteers of course, having them available to be able to get the timing right. I would suggest that if the wet weather is continual, as looks likely, it would be a good idea to get a squad up there in July to chop off the umbels before seed can be set. This is  more dangerous work than spaying  and skin and eye protection should be used. It is nasty stuff.

The banks of the upper river have suffered much neglect, dumping of rocks and other rubbish by farmers,  and the physical effort and sheer distances that need to be covered on foot, carrying all that gear, should not be underestimated.  The Don is a very long river.  The task is colossal and frankly, I would be very surprised if there is  much cooperation forthcoming  from the various estates and farmers who own the banks. I do not envy your task having to organize and coordinate this.  Good luck and be sure the volunteers sign a disclaimer!     :D

I'll help if I can.
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: machar on June 28, 2012, 11:29:59 AM
Thanks for the reply Fred, Jamie will post further information shortly but we have been in touch with all the effected landowners and have been in touch with SEPA in a number of instances about unauthorised works etc and we are currently considering a  campaign, perhaps national? regarding this. I can assure you we do ask volunteers to sign disclaimers and full risk assessments are held. Thanks for the Forums continuing support.

Iain
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Jamie on June 28, 2012, 11:32:42 AM
Dear all
May i just add to Iain's comments

The Trust has taken the approach of utilising volunteers to control invasive in order to secure funding for this novel approach, we were very keen to establish a group or river custodians with various skill sets and this we felt was a great opportunity to get people involved. It is difficult to source funding for contractors alone to control invasive plants and the Trust simple doesn't have the funds to pay for the control without external support. Several proprietors are undertaking their own control in conjunction with us and assisting where possible and using trained volunteers will enable the Trust to utilise their time to assist in the control whilst providing these volunteers with a recognised qualification.

The Strathdon to Alford control programme is a rolling programme phased over four years and working down the catchment, we are aware that the GH population is unlikely to be completely eradicated by this time due to the seed bank present, but with assistance from the Don District Fishery Board and by maintaining the volunteer group it is hoped that we will have a legacy of control for some years to 'mop up' the remainder, which we would not have with contractors alone.

As Iain has mentioned we have been unfortunate with the weather this season which has held us back. Set volunteer days have been restricted by this and the availability of volunteers. Our intention is to overcome this by having a larger pool of volunteers to draw from in the hope that a portion will be able to assist on any chosen day, hence the request for new volunteers.

Fred thanks for your suggestion of cutting the umbels off, whilst a potential technique is not one that the Trust i think could condone nor get volunteer to carry out safely, certainly not in the dense stands you've mentioned around Kildrummy. However it is a method which I will look into along with the disposal of this contaminated waste.
We will try and spray these areas assuming we have some decent weather days over the coming weeks. The Trust is looking to purchase an adjuvant a Codacide Wetter which 'sticks' the chemical to the plant and allows for shorter windows between dry periods which may help given our current weather patterns.

If you have any further queries or wish to volunteer for this or other Trust activities then please get in touch with me on
biologist@riverdon.org.uk. 
Best regards Jamie
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 28, 2012, 12:52:02 PM
Actually the requirements are not too onerous and there are a few get-outs.

Under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (COPR),
operators must have had relevant training and be competent for
the duties they are to perform. Operators born after 31 December
1964 or who will be spraying as a commercial service must hold
the appropriate Certificate of Competence (see Table 1) issued by
the National Proficiency Tests Council (NPTC) or Scottish Skills
Testing Service (SSTS), unless they will be under the direct and
personal supervision of a person who holds such a certificate. If
born before 31 December 1964 and working on their own or their
employer's land, operators still need to be able to demonstrate
competence and show proof of appropriate training.

More info here.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag202.pdf (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag202.pdf)

It also looks like anyone born before 31 December 1964 is less formally regulated for some reason.
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 28, 2012, 12:59:02 PM
Quote from: Jamie on June 28, 2012, 11:32:42 AM
Fred thanks for your suggestion of cutting the umbels off, whilst a potential technique is not one that the Trust i think could condone nor get volunteer to carry out safely, certainly not in the dense stands you've mentioned around Kildrummy. However it is a method which I will look into along with the disposal of this contaminated waste.

Jamie, you are right to be cautious the phototoxins in hogweed sap are not nice, but do  you really have to remove the plants you cut down? This seems a bit odd as the material  will  be there and be at least as much of a hazard  if you don't cut it down and will also set seed. Removing cut off material from the site will add enormously to the workload.

You can contact me here by PM if you require assistance and let me know what your plans are.  I am out of action right now with a broken hand, but would be willing  to give some time when able once more.
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: hopper on June 28, 2012, 06:42:33 PM
Last year on the North Esk the contractors had the same problem with the weather they ended up cutting the hogweed and  left the stems. We have found the best time to spray knotweed is September.
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 28, 2012, 10:29:43 PM
The most effective time to spray giant hogweed is April / May and most certainly before it flowers and sets seed. It's also far easier to see the smaller plants before the rank vegetation that defines much of the banks gets too high, so there is less likelihood of missing them.  It's also easier to spot the many physical  hazards – holes, dumped rocks from fields, old barbed wire  etc that are there. Its just easier and all round more efficient to work the banks in springtime.

The boat has probably been missed again this year, due to weather or whatever,  so chopping off the inflorescences might make more sense than spraying expensive herbicides until next spring.

Common sense dictates you start at the source of the problem and work downstream.  Seeds will not float upstream. There is little point spraying the plants at Kildrummy if there are untouched plants further upstream.

I don't know if a proper detailed survey has been carried out on The Don, but it would seem likely that the original  infestation started at some of the "big houses" , possibly such as  Candacraig that had big and  famous gardens. Anyway I'd expect there would be some kind of survey / plan, somewhere and it would be interesting to see it and know the strategy.

Here is some info from Ireland. Some of the photos of injuries are horrific. This is nasty stuff. Lots of good control information there too. Mr Google will find you lots of it.

http://www.conservationvolunteers.ie/images/buttons/submenus/news_and_advice/downloads/naa_bpmg_gh.pdf (http://www.conservationvolunteers.ie/images/buttons/submenus/news_and_advice/downloads/naa_bpmg_gh.pdf)
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Fishtales on June 28, 2012, 11:01:25 PM
This might be useful too.

http://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/20497522/kaempe_bjorneklo_eng.pdf (http://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/20497522/kaempe_bjorneklo_eng.pdf)

I also came across a paper that states it is found from sea level up to 213 metres on the Don, that was dated 1996.
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 29, 2012, 10:24:59 AM
Quote from: fishtales on June 28, 2012, 11:01:25 PM
I also came across a paper that states it is found from sea level up to 213 metres on the Don, that was dated 1996.

I first saw giant hogweed on the Don in the 1980s, both at Persley and below Strathdon.

It's had a while to get a grip. 

The Don seems to have some real problems that might not be easy to put right.

Issues like abuse of the PO resulting in difficult, expensive  or practically impossible access helps to keep these things below the radar. Who sees them?  Why would anglers who do not feel welcome or are blatantly excluded give their  money or time to help tackle these matters and others?  This is the real world we live in.  What is the RDBTIA doing to tackle these impediments and to make the river more inclusive?    I heard the other day that if you wish to fish at Kildrummy you have to get a permit from the Marcliffe Hotel in Aberdeen. Really, what the hell use is that to a visitor in Strathdon even if they have the information, which of course they won't.  No wonder hardly anyone is fishing there. The average angler cannot  see the hogweed for the hurdles.

These  issues cannot be separated, take a holistic approach and sort them all out, get ordinary anglers on-side, make them feel they have something to gain from spending their money and giving their time.  If that can't be done then I do not envy the task of the very well-meaning River Don Trust, frankly it looks impossible unless there is a root and branch change in attitude from some landowners and others  that will make many more ordinary anglers feel they have a stake in what happens on this river.  I of course would exclude the ADAA from any criticism, they do a great job.

Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 29, 2012, 06:51:48 PM
Just in case there is anyone reading who is vaguely interested and has not got a grasp on the scale of this problem, this is what it actually looks like out there in the real world in Strathdon.

Here are some photos taken this afternoon on a short stretch at the foot of the Kildrummy water. Each of  these plants will shortly produce and shed  an least 10,000 seeds each. Upstream of here and downstream, all the way to the bridge of Alford, flowering  hogweed, from singles  to groups of plants, are visible from the main road without even getting out of your car. You only need one plant to set seed, they are hermaphrodite, no cross pollination  required. 

Perhaps some head lopping should be considered sooner rather  than later. Looking at the scale of this it  is a job for professionals, not volunteers. I certainly would not go near that lot anyway. It would be nuts.

When Gus looked  after this beat (up until a  few years ago)  there were always some plants but he did his best to deal with them. Anglers like us  used to tell him about hazards we came across  and he dealt with them. There was NOTHING like this, I used to walk down through there, but then there are no, or precious few,  anglers there anymore!     What a disgrace. 


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Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: hopper on June 29, 2012, 09:19:26 PM
Sad to see that amount of hogweed, too late to spray that lot cutting would be the only answer. The Trust could just leave it until next season and have twice as much.
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 29, 2012, 10:26:38 PM
The area in those photos  is tiny and there must be 1000s of plant in it. The photos were taken along the stretch indicated by the red line on this map.   

[attachimg=1]

I could scarcely believe what I was seeing. The deterioration  in just the  few years since Gus departed is astonishing. The man is a massive loss to that part of the river.  The going is very rough there, hard to access  and the hogweed has made parts of it impenetrable and dangerous.  It is everywhere up the beat if not always in those numbers.

I'm very sorry if this is standing on anyone's toes, but in my view this is so serious it overrides other considerations, the extent  of it should be known and something has to be done  about it.

If this lot is allowed to seed goodness knows  what things will be like in a year or two. Giant Hogweed is a monocarpic perennial, it seeds once and dies. Mononcarpic plants tend to produce masses of seeds as a survival strategy. All the plant's energies go into seed production. Without going down there and looking I'd suggest there are probably 1000s of young plants growing there that will flower in the next year or so after that lot dies off.

At least if these umbles of flowers could be removed the adult plants may  die off anyway, (but they may not if seed is not set). At least this would prevent 100,000s of seed being spread down the system. Spraying these mature plants is pointless now, they are not so vulnerable at that stage will just "panic" and set seed anyway. They are programmed to survive. Cutting hogweed on this scale is dangerous work that really should be done by professionals.



Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 30, 2012, 12:24:02 PM
Lots of it down the Haughton beat this morning, but no flowering plants on the council's bank, loads of 1 year plants though. I think  the council do make an attempt to contain it with their limited resources, but as I have not fished there for years I can't say for sure. The out-of-bounds private syndicated water on the other bank is a different story.

[attachimg=1]
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 30, 2012, 01:25:59 PM
Amidst all the doom and gloom, it's easy to forget that this statuesque plant is a born survivor, is very attractive and  has inspired some  excellent prog. rock!   :D

A brief history according to Genesis.

Genesis-The Return of the Giant Hogweed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x64WVv25UZs#)
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 30, 2012, 04:54:34 PM
[attachimg=2]
Monymusk

[attachimg=1]
Monymusk

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Bridge of Alford
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Inchlaggan on June 30, 2012, 05:07:20 PM
Still not converted my early Genesis to digital yet, but the early '80's "music centre" (radio, turntable, twin cassette decks and CD all in the one black tower!) is in the workshop and still works. Genesis session followed, all the way from the first live album to "Mama". I still know 90% of the lyrics- how can the brain do that when I can't find the screwdriver I had in my hand 30 seconds ago?
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 30, 2012, 05:11:05 PM
I've had no success finding any prog. rock track about Japanese Knot Weed...........   :lol:

As an aside I met the river Don head bailiff  today, Jim Kerr, while out walking the dug. He saw my car parked at The Brig and investigated. Luckily I was not fishing.   :lol:   Good to see such attention to duty. Jim's a fine bloke.  We had  a long chat.  I had not realized  The Don  Board remit covered poachers out at sea too. That's  one hell of an area these guys have to cover. These guys have a lot of water to cover on the river alone 90 miles source to sea - x 2 banks!

Poachers watch out. They are watching you and locals  like me who care about the river DO REPORT WHAT THEY SEE.  I have all the Don Bailiff numbers in my phone and I use them from time to time.   What a bastard eh.  :lol:
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Inchlaggan on June 30, 2012, 05:17:48 PM
Quote from: admin on June 30, 2012, 05:11:05 PM
I've had no success finding any prog. rock track about Japanese Knot Weed...........   :lol:
Move up, move on, get with the street, get out of prog rock and into hypnotic techno dub

http://www.knotweed-records.com/ (http://www.knotweed-records.com/)

(I think I get the prize for the "Most Off-Topic Post"!)
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 30, 2012, 09:33:51 PM
[attachimg=1]
Kemnay

The one on the left is a particularly fine specimen, about 8 or 9 feet tall. Any fashionable Victorian country gentleman would have been proud to have that plant in the Scottish Estate Lodge garden.   :lol:
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on June 30, 2012, 11:15:01 PM
Incidentally the other flowering plant seen in many of these photos (white to violet)  is yet another non-native from Eurasia. Hesperis matronalis - dame's violet - a short lived perennial. It's everywhere on many rivers. Harmless enough (although  classed as invasive in some states in the US), certainly prolific, but does not seriously out-compete the native vegetation, very attractive with a wonderful scent most noticeable  on those warm, balmy summer evenings so common in Aberdeenshire.  :lol:  . Not all non-native plants are  a problem.  A few can actually enhance the environment and are a useful food source for  bees especially in areas like this where modern farming has wiped out just about everything except neeps,  tatties and barely.   :roll:
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: corriekiller on July 01, 2012, 10:45:52 AM
fekin hell am no  fishing there thats fekin frightnin  :shock:
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on September 15, 2012, 06:32:59 PM
Hogweed Update

I returned to Kildrummy this afternoon to check on what had been done about  the phenomenal  giant hogweed infestation pictured earlier in this thread during the summer. In short, it looks as if sod all has been done. The many 1000s of plants are still standing, have set seed and no doubt their 100s of 1000s of offspring will be troubling the river farther downstream in the years ahead.  This is an absolute disgrace, no other words for it,  and those responsible   for allowing the banks of the river to degrade  into this state should hang their heads in shame.

It is difficult to see how this can be tackled now, it should have been done years ago. Four years ago  I was told by the then ghillie at Kildrummy that government environmental agency funding had been obtained for a programme of eradication stretching  over a number of years.  Was it ever granted? If so what  happened to this money and why on earth is nothing being done about this?

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Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: machar on December 17, 2012, 09:33:42 PM
Initially, on behalf of the River Don Trust can I take this opportunity of wishing you the compliments of the season. The Trust has had a very busy time in this our last year of the current Fishery Management Plan. The preparation of the 2013/2016 FMP is current underway as is the analysis of all the data we collected over the last three years and that will be shared with you in due course.
In order to keep you up to date we have taken the opportunity of preparing a winter 2012 newsletter a copy of which is attached to let you know what has been happening and an outline of what we hope to achieve next year. As usually if you have any questions, comments or feel you can assist in any way to achieve the Trust's aims please do not hesitate to get in touch and feel free to pass the Newsletter onto friends who may be interested. Can I also take this opportunity to thank Jamie, Jim, Martin, Stephen, Dave and all the volunteers for their sterling efforts in 2012 .

Best Wishes

Iain

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47917317/trust%20newsletter%20Dec%202012finalpdf.pdf (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47917317/trust%20newsletter%20Dec%202012finalpdf.pdf)
Title: Re: The River Don Trust--Newsletters
Post by: Wildfisher on December 17, 2012, 09:55:15 PM
Good stuff Iain. Keep up the good work. Although I am moving onto pastures new the Don will always be a special place for me and I'll still be up to fish it from time to time.  :8)