Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

Spring 2018

NewsletterYorkshire Dales Rivers Trust

Caring for the rivers of the Yorkshire Dales

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust8, King’s Court, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, HG3 5JW

Telephone: 07920 387544www.yorkshiredalesriverstrust.com

YORK

TADCASTER

RICHMOND

NORTHALLERTONLeyburn

Hawes

ThirskMasham

RIPON

BoroughbridgeGrassington

HARROGATE

OTLEY

River Swale

River Ure

River Nidd

River Foss

River Wharfe

River W

iske

River Swale

River Ouse

In this issueA look back and a look forwardAndy Brown and Chris Ryder on the Trust’s Past Achievements and Future Challenges.

“Facilitation”: a new buzzword for farmers in WharfedaleHow expert facilitators can bring together farmers and land managers to improve the local environment.

Director’s ViewCharles Forman reflects on his first nine months as the trust’s director.

Mid Swale tributariesMarie Taylor gives an update on the project.

Rivers 2U Mobile ClassroomCatherine Mason on our new mobile classroom.

Migratory Salmonids in the Ouse SystemSteve Axford recalls the good old days for Yorkshire salmon fishermen and what we’re doing to bring them back.

Three Weirs ProjectHow YDRT is giving fish populations a helping hand.

Dales to Vale Rivers NetworkOver 80 delegates gathered to celebrate the launch of Catchment Management Plans for the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse catchments.

New trustees

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

Andy Brown, recently retired Chair of YDRT, looks back over his time in office

My five years with the Trust has flown by. I was originally recruited by my predecessor Deborah Millward, one of the founding members

of the Trust, together with other stalwarts such as Nick Buck, John Shillcock and Tom Wheelwright. They established our founding principles –the need to operate at a catchment scale, work in partnership and start at the top of the catchment.

When I joined the Trust we had just one member of staff. Much of our effort was focused on practical improvements to rivers aimed at reducing excessive sedimentation and nutrient inputs. This work included tree planting, erecting bankside hedges, putting in “soft” bank protection and installing woody debris and sediment traps. During the last couple of years we’ve expanded our work on natural flood management (NFM) developing a demonstration area at Oughtershaw in the upper Wharfe catchment and commissioning much needed research on this topic-you can see a short video of our work there on the Trust’s web site.

When I joined the Trust one of the first things I got involved with was a successful bid by the Trust to host a catchment partnership. Now known as the Dales to Vale River Network (DVRN), this partnership has gone from strength to strength, bringing together the commitment and knowledge of more than

fifty organizations and groups. Catchment Management Plans for our main rivers were launched at an event at Fountains Abbey earlier this year (see Page 7). There are catchment partnerships all over the country but few are as large, inclusive and effective as DVRN.

One of the most significant changes during my time as Chairman was the decision to merge with the Ure Salmon Trust. This move was not without controversy because of salmon stocking. There are many studies into the pros and cons of salmon stocking but they have led people to different conclusions. However, the stocking programme was part of an approved five year recovery plan for the river and we now need to assess how to proceed in future. As part of this the Trustees agreed to commission some work to “assess the opportunities and threats to migratory salmonids throughout the River Ouse system”. This work is led by Steve Axford, a well known and respected fisheries scientist who is also one of our Trustees (see Steve’s article on page 5). The work will be completed later this year and the Trustees will then have a chance to discuss and agree the way forward.

One benefit of having local groups is the increased opportunities for fund raising. A case in point was the dinner and auction event organized by the Ure Salmon Group last spring which raised over £40,000. As the fund raising was done by the USG the bulk of this money will be spent on the Ure. During the last year the Trustees also approved the

creation of a second River Group on the Swale, chaired by Sir Anthony Milnes Coates. It is very early days for the group but I hope it develops successfully and is able to support and advise the Trust on issues of particular interest on the Swale.

As a result of the merger with Ure Salmon Trust, we gained in Dave Bamford a member of staff with particular fisheries expertise. The article by Dave and Charles Forman on page 6 explains some of the options for improving the prospects for migratory fish. After tackling various obstructions on the River Laver, the Trust is now heavily engaged on preparatory work for three large and complex fish pass projects on the Wharfe and the Swale.

As the scale of our work has increased we have had to recruit new staff. This has brought our total number to 8, enabling us to deliver more practical improvement projects and also to strengthen our very important education work, a key objective for the Trust. One of the new recruits was our first Director. Charles had been our catchment coordinator in the Environment Agency so he knew us well and we knew him. Charles’s account of his first few months in post is at page 3.

I think the Trust is in good health and in safe hands. We have only got this far as a result of the efforts of Trustees, staff, volunteers and members. The level of support, enthusiasm and expertise made my time as Chairman hugely enjoyable and rewarding. Thank you everybody for a wonderful five years. I wish you every success in the future.

Our new chair, Chris Ryder looks forward to new challenges and opportunities

I should like first to congratulate Andy on what he achieved during his tenure as chair of the Trust. The growing of the Dales to

Vale Rivers Network, the building of the Trust’s capacity and appointment of a Director, the merger with the Ure Salmon Trust to make an organisation that can be more than the sum of its parts, the creation of a second River Group on the Swale and our branching out into natural

flood management have, together, created a much expanded and sound base from which we can move forward.

Looking ahead, there are some stiff challenges that we’ll have to meet in order to maintain our success. The EU has been an important source of funding but that is set to dry up and it’s uncertain, to say the least, to what extent it might be replaced. National sources of funding are reducing while competition for them is increasing. Yet it remains as important as ever that we continue to win projects in order to maintain our capacity and our momentum.

However I welcome the chance to take the chair at such an important stage in the Trust’s development. I’ve been a trustee for three and half years and for much of that time have been pleased to chair the DVRN Project Board. From what I’ve seen in that time of our trustees, our members, our volunteers, our partners and our excellent staff, I know that it’s within our compass to thrive in difficult times.

I look forward to working with you all to help make that happen.

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

Charles Forman reflects on his first nine months as the trust’s director

A LOT HAS CHANGED since I joined the Trust back in June last year. We have welcomed three new

members of staff – Jack Hirst, Marie Taylor and Catherine Mason- and have said goodbye to Rita Mercer. Rita has done a great job for the Trust over the last five years and we wish her all the best for the future. An important step has been to rent our own office in Pateley Bridge which is allowing us to work together for part of the week when we are not out at meetings or on site visits. It has been great to spend more time with staff and bounce ideas off each other.

Growing an organisation does not come without challenges, so I am gradually reviewing how we work and what we can do to make us more efficient and able to cope with a larger workforce, a greater programme of projects and a wider range of funding sources. I have learnt a lot about myself as I have transitioned into the role and would like to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me. I have been very impressed by the dedication of all the staff, trustees and volunteers to the work of the Trust. I have also learnt a lot about fish since I started at the Trust, thanks to the one and only David Bamford.

One of the changes to our work has been an explosion of interest in natural flood management (NFM). Alongside our water quality and habitat projects, we now have four NFM projects on the books and have been part of a group developing an NFM guide for farmers in the Dales. Our demonstration site in Wharfedale has had a lot of interest and Dan Turner's fame has spread as far as Ireland, where he recently travelled to give a talk. The work of the Dales to Vale River Network is not always easy to measure but the launch of the catchment management plans at Fountains Abbey (see page 7) was a huge success and really

demonstrated the value of working together as a partnership. I was very energised by the amount of enthusiasm, determination and inspiration in the room.

Education and engagement is absolutely key to our work, in order to explain to people why we are doing what we are and to re-connect them with their local rivers. We have had two successful bids to Heritage Lottery Fund.

The first was the Ure River project which was about getting people engaged with the River Ure and also monitoring where pollution is coming from, through citizen scientists. We joined the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for two Wild Wednesdays and held our own river fun day at Aysgarth Falls. We had some great feedback from adults and children alike but it also hit home to me that we can't assume that anyone has any river knowledge, when one adult asked if the aim of our work was to kill of all of the nasty creepy crawlies in the river! The second successful bid was for the Rivers 2U project (see page 4).

Alongside this education work, we have been focusing on developing our presence on social media - we now have a combined following of over 1800 people, which puts us as one of the top five rivers trusts in terms of followers.

Looking to the future, I would like to provide more support and coordination to the monitoring which is carried out in our catchments. There are already several active citizen science groups and a lot of data. I have successfully bid for funding for a temporary part-time monitoring officer so we will be recruiting soon. If future funding can be secured, this will lead on to a permanent post. I am also looking into funding to consolidate the growth of the Trust and make it more resilient to any future changes.

In summary, this is a very exciting time to be working for the Trust and I look forward to future projects and developments.

Director’s View

One of the new elements in DEFRA’s relaunched Countryside Stewardship Scheme (see our Autumn 2015 newsletter) is the opportunity to apply for funding which supports the work of expert facilitators who can bring together farmers and land managers to improve the local environment at a larger scale than is possible on individual holdings. YDRT were successful in bidding to become a facilitator and its efforts, headed by Senior Project Officer Dan Turner have led to the formation of a Wharfedale Countryside Stewardship Flood Facilitation Initiative. A Steering group consisting, besides YDRT staff, of local farmers and landowners and a National park representative was set up last year and will focus on identifying priorities for action and developing projects. The Wharfedale Project is working in conjunction with similar Facilitation Groups in Wensleydale and Swaledale.

Good scientific data will be key to spending resources in the most effective way. Accordingly YDRT, in partnership with the National trust and Yorkshire Dales National Park commissioned JBA Consulting to model the effectiveness of various natural flood management measures at different rainfall intensities. This work indicated that such measures can have a significant impact both in delaying and reducing the magnitude of peak flooding. Further work is ongoing to modify the flood impact model so that it can be used as an effective tool for planning individual flood management projects.

Farmers interested in implementing Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures can contact Dan Turner to ask for an NFM Farm Plan giving relevant advice and guidance as well as highlighting specific opportunities for action on their farms. They will also have opportunities to visit the NFM Demonstration Area at Oughtershaw to look at a number of features designed to intercept, slow down and temporarily hold back floodwater. In addition the Wharfedale Group will be holding a number of on-farm events during 2018.

“ Facilitation”: a new buzzword for farmers in Wharfedale

Earth Bund designed to slow floodwater,Oughtershaw Demonstration Area

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

Rivers 2U Mobile ClassroomThe Trusts’ Education and Engagement Officer, Catherine Mason gives an updateThe new mobile classroom is almost on the road! A Luton van has been purchased and fitting out is nearing completion (see photo). Installed equipment will include the River Table, giving an opportunity to demonstrate, in a hands-on interactive way, how river systems work. In addition workbenches with microscopes will be used to look at river invertebrates and offer opportunities to practise identification skills. One of the microscopes can be connected to a large screen, generously funded by Salmon and Trout Conservation UK.

The conversion is now in its final stage, the main job to be completed is to install steps and add a specialist tailgate which will enable wheelchair access, making the resource fully accessible to all. After the final finishing touches of adding display boards and a large map of the YDRT catchments so that we can follow our journeys, the classroom will be heading out to schools and events from the end of April.

This fantastic facility will enable us to reach a much wider range of audiences, with schools already taking up the opportunity of booking for the summer term. Practical activities linked to the National Curriculum will help engage with school groups to explore rivers in a fun and interactive way. The van will also be available to visit local community groups to support the work of the Project Officers. In addition we are planning to take the mobile classroom to several shows and open days across our area, including one from each of the river catchments, as well as larger events such as the Great Yorkshire Show.

If anyone is interested in finding out more or would like to book the van for a community event, please email: education@yorkshiredalesriverstrust.com. Once we’re up and running, you’ll be able to follow our travels on our Rivers2U twitter account, https://twitter.com/rivers2u_ydrt

The Mid-Swale Project got underway in 2015, initially focusing on Gilling and Scorton Becks. In the following year, work extended to watercourses in the Bedale Beck catchment. Walkover surveys carried out by our volunteers identified a range of issues. Problems we found in various locations throughout the catchment included point source pollution, poaching by livestock and bank erosion. Once these initial surveys were completed, the next step was to decide on priorities for action and to contact the farmers and landowners concerned.

One of our main partners on the Mid-Swale Project is the Constable Burton Estate. In August 2017, 500 metres of fencing were erected on estate land to exclude cattle from Sun Beck and thereby reduce bank-side erosion. In addition we have installed two cattle drinking points and constructed a cattle crossing using concrete sleepers. Again the aim is to decrease erosion and hence reduce sediment input into the Beck. A further 500m of fencing is due to be erected to fence off a length of Bellerby Beck this April. YDRT has also been engaging with Constable Burton to discuss options to reduce erosion

and sedimentation caused by the large flocks of ducks within the ponds on the Estate and the soil poaching they cause on the surrounding areas.

In January this year the next phase of the Project began with two training days for volunteers who hadn’t previously carried out walkover surveys. Up to now approximately six miles of another Swale tributary, Brompton Beck (known in its upper reaches as Hunton Beck) has been surveyed in wintry conditions by our dedicated volunteers. Over the coming weeks we will be collating and analysing the data they have collected and again using this to target high priority areas. I’m very grateful for the time and effort the volunteers have put into this work. They have enabled the Trust to cover far more of the watercourse than could have been achieved using Project Officer time alone.

Subject to the outcome of a current funding bid, we hope to extend the Mid Swale Project for at least two years after this one. A longer life for the project would give us more opportunities to work with local farmers and landowners to implement measures aimed at reducing sedimentation and improving water quality.

Mid Swale tributariesMarie Taylor gives an update on the project

Marie explaining walkover survey proceduresto YDRT Volunteers

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

Do you live in Yorkshire and want to catch a salmon? Want to save money as well? Then why not try Yorkshire’s premier salmon river, where your chances may be even better than on the Tyne.

Where is Yorkshire’s premier salmon river? The Ouse and Ure, of course, and it is getting even better thanks to the efforts of the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, especially its Ure Salmon Group, the Environment Agency and others involved in improving the health of our rivers.

The Humber River Basin used to have a massive stock of salmon before the building of many mill weirs and the Industrial Revolution. Salmon was so abundant in the 1600s that it only cost 2 pence per kg in modern money, leading to (probably apocryphal) tales that apprentices’ articles of the time restricted the serving of salmon as a meal to no more than three occasions per week!

Salmon remained relatively abundant in the Ouse and Ure right up to the end of the 1930s. Large numbers were removed by seine nets in the upper tidal Ouse and in the lower reaches by ‘click nets’, which were like a large landing net used to catch salmon which had surfaced in distress through lack of oxygen in the polluted water. Good catches by click net could only be made in dry summers when inadequate dilution of effluents caused this deoxygenation. Despite these obstacles in the tidal reaches, many salmon made it upstream. There were many good rod catches on Lord Bolton’s Estate in the 1930s.

However, salmon numbers in the Ouse and Ure rapidly declined at the end of the 1930s, perhaps because of increasing industrial pollution related to the war effort. Severely depleted dissolved oxygen levels in the tidal reaches were identified as one of the major problems, particularly in dry summers. The largest oxygen demand came from trade effluents discharging to the tidal Ouse. Reduced dilution of effluents due to river abstractions contributed to the problem. There may also have been some reduction in base flow in dry periods due to land use changes in the upper catchment.

Continuing water quality problems meant that a salmon rehabilitation scheme that involved stocking over 1.75 million salmon fry to the upper River Ure between 1965 and 1975, caused no long-term recovery. Later, increased controls and closure of some industry in the Selby area led to improved dissolved oxygen levels in the tidal reaches in the 1990s and 2000s, and salmon started to reappear in small numbers, especially when there were wet summers.

Although there was a lot of concern about the plight of salmon, it was the review of consents affecting the status of the Humber Special Area of Conservation, particularly in relation to water quality requirements for lampreys, that helped bring about the biggest improvement in dissolved oxygen levels in the tidal reaches.

The focus was initially on the effects of Selby industrial effluents and these

were assessed in 2005/6. A need for improvements to Biochemical Oxygen Demand loads was identified and design of control measures began in 2007. Improved control was achieved by about 2010/2011. Salmon rod catches from the Ouse system increased markedly in 2011 and even more so in 2012. Catches have been better than from most of the Principal Salmon Rivers of England since then.

Since the picture of the numbers of salmon in the Ure and Ouse comes from rod catch returns and probably involves both improved water quality and releases of reared smolts, we are taking a close look at what may be behind the increasing catches of salmon reported.

Nevertheless, actions by the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency will continue to aid salmon stocks and not just on the Ure. The Three Weirs Project (see page ) will hopefully see the installation of fish passes on the Wharfe and Swale. Significant areas of potential salmon spawning and nursery habitat should be opened up as a result. In existing spawning and nursery areas there are projects that will improve their quality as salmon nursery areas. Even Natural Flood Management projects can help salmon by retaining greater base flow in the nursery areas and increasing dilution of effluents in the tidal rivers.

However, one thing is already clear – your prospects for catching a salmon from the Ouse or Ure are now better than on most other salmon rivers in England.

Migratory Salmonids in the Ouse SystemSteve Axford Recalls the Good Old Days for Yorkshire Salmon Fishermen and What We’re Doing To Bring Them Back

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS humans have been involved in impounding and redirecting water. The Romans diverted whole river systems for irrigation, fisheries and transport purposes. More recently, dams and weirs were constructed for potable water supply, for navigation and to provide power for mills, electricity generation and industry. This has fragmented some of our river systems and impacted heavily on fish populations and other aquatic life. On the Yorkshire Ouse System during the latter part of the 19th century, authorities regulating the river fishery realised that barriers to fish migration were beginning to have a negative effect on fish populations. Various attempts were made to improve matters which usually involved notches or short sections being cut out of weirs in an attempt to aid fish passage. These may have helped a little but the breakdown in longitudinal connectivity together with ever increasing industrial and domestic pollution caused further decline in migratory fish numbers. Around the time of the Second World War things took a further significant dip and migratory fish, once abundant in the Ouse System, nearly vanished.

As the fishery declined, fish passes were installed at Naburn, Linton on Ouse and Boroughbridge. These did help some of the remaining fish to move upstream to spawning and nursery areas but pollution in the lower River Ouse and Humber was at the same time creating a biochemical barrier to fish migration that was even worse than the physical barriers of the industrial revolution.

Many studies have shown that nearly all species of fish need the flexibility to change location in order to successfully complete their life cycles. Fragmented rivers systems lead to isolated fish populations which are by definition more at risk from pollution events, poor recruitment and genetic isolation. Many of our river systems have been heavily modified with straightened channels and high flood banks. Generally speaking there is much less complexity within modified river channels and therefore fewer places for fish to hide when extreme flow events occur. As we all know these events are happening more and more frequently and we can expect to see this trend continue as global temperatures continue to rise. Many Lowland Rivers in the UK have also been largely disconnected from adjacent land by high flood banks. This has exacerbated the problem even further, preventing fish accessing the

natural flood plains which formerly provided the best refuge areas within river catchments. The net result of all this is that many young fish and some older ones of all species get displaced downstream by high flow events. If there are impassable barriers to them moving back upstream then the population as a whole could be severely impacted.

Baffle Fish PassesA Belgian civil Engineer named Denil developed the first true baffle fish pass in 1910. The principle is to place baffles on the floor and/or the walls of a rectangular flume with a relatively steep slope (10 to 25 percent) to reduce the mean velocities of the flow. These baffles, in shapes of varying complexity, cause secondary helical currents that ensure an extremely efficient dissipation of energy of the flow. This basic design was simplified and improved by Michel Larinier in the 1980’s and this remains the preferred design solution for most low head obstructions.

We’re building three large Larinier fish passes on Dales Rivers at the moment. Until recently, these passes on big main rivers cost anything up to a million pounds to construct and usually circa £500k. With the use of local contractors and novel design ideas, build costs have come down considerably. Rivers Trusts in particular are well placed to deliver good value for money builds with their local knowledge and contacts. These passes have a guaranteed lifespan of 100 years plus. So although the initial construction costs are high, they can work out at less than £10 per day over their lifespan.

On smaller weirs (usually on minor river tributaries), with less head drop and less river energy, modular, metal Larinier passes can be used and can be built for under £100k or even less. These are single flight passes that don’t require a

Three Weirs ProjectDave Bamford and Charles Forman explain how YDRT is giving fish populations a helping hand on the Yorkshire Ouse System

Continues on the next page

Boroughbridge Weir Fish Pass

Decline in Migratory fish numbers after the start of WW2

Salmon and Grilse catches OuseNo. offish

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2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

3,000

3,500

190

0

‘03

‘06

‘09 ‘12 ‘15 ‘18 ‘21

‘24 ‘27

‘30 ‘33

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‘39 ‘42 ‘45

1948

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

Catchment Management Plans launchedEarlier this year over 80 delegates gathered at Fountains Abbey to celebrate the launch of Catchment Management Plans for the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse catchments, all grouped under the banner of the Dales to Vale Rivers Network. YDRT led this initiative and the Plans were developed following a series of community meetings to pool knowledge and ideas from interested parties right across the catchments concerned.

Rita Mercer, Senior Catchment Partnership Officer for the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust explained the origins and development of the DVRN then speakers from both national and regional agencies and local community groups gave details of projects promoted or facilitated through the Partnership. Some of these projects are still under development but others are already delivering in terms of water quality, environmental enhancement and natural flood management.

In his closing remarks, David Dangerfield, Northern Regional Director for the Environment Agency thanked the National Trust for its splendid hospitality at Fountains and said that it gave him great satisfaction to see how much progress had been made since the regional launch of the Catchment-based approach in 2013. Since then, the Dales to Vale Network had developed into a highly effective vehicle for encouraging and coordinating the efforts of an impressively wide range of partners.

After the formal end of proceedings, delegates had the opportunity to study the information behind individual Catchment Management Plans in more detail, including the chance to experiment with interactive Geographic Information System data as well as to admire (and taste) a splendid River Cake baked in honour of the occasion.

The individual Catchment Management Plans can be viewed at www.dvrn.co.uk Rita cutting the River Cake

  Continued from the previous page

Westwick Larinier Fish Pass

Modular Single Flight Larinier Fish Pass

Pass under Construction, Boston Spa

deep resting pool. Passes like these don’t have the long life spans of reinforced concrete constructions.

YDRT fish passes are built to strict Environment Agency Fish Pass Panel specifications and typically on main Rivers that means a large two flight reinforced concrete Larinier pass with a deep resting pool between the flights and a hundred year plus lifespan.

We hope that the construction of these new and very efficient fish passes will open up huge new areas to migratory fish. On the River Swale at Topcliffe the whole river system will once again be accessible to migratory fish, benefitting not just trout and salmon but also lamprey, eels and coarse fish. On the Wharfe the construction of passes at Tadcaster and Flint Mill near Wetherby will allow all species of fish to move in to the middle and upper reaches of the river. Other projects currently underway and managed by our partners at the Environment Agency will restore the connectivity of the whole Wharfe System.

Taken together, our work on these three new fish passes amounts to the most complex and expensive project yet undertaken by YDRT. However it offers the prospect of major environmental gains, encouraging fish populations to expand and consolidate, enhancing river ecosystems and providing benefits to all anglers both in the short to medium and the longer term.

Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust newsletter | Spring 2018

For more information on the Trust and its activities and on the Dales to Vale Rivers network please see our expanded and updated website at:www.yorkshiredalesriverstrust.com

or contact us at: Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust8, King’s Court, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, HG3 5JW

Telephone: 07920 387544Registered in England No. 5220147 | Registered Charity No. 1107918

Caring for the rivers of the Yorkshire Dales

GEORGE F WHITE

With special thanks to our main partners and sponsors:

New trusteesDavid Marx

Having been born and bred into a food manufacturing environment, I’ve spent my career developing and building business with the UK’s leading high street retailers. My

last role within speciality bakery concluded with the sale of the company to Warburtons, and at that point I decided to move to North Yorkshire to be closer to my passions of fishing and shooting. As a very keen salmon angler, I’m now Chair of the USG, and want to help continue with the great work done by my predecessors in re-establishing Salmon, Sea Trout and Lamprey in the Yorkshire Ouse and its tributaries. Opening new spawning grounds, removing obstacles to migration, and improving water quality, are my key interests, and I’d like to use my skills to encourage more people to join the YDRT and USG, and share the incredible work being done to bring life back into North Yorkshire’s rivers.

Professor Sir Anthony Milnes Coates, Bt, MD, FRCPath, FRCP

I have lived by the River Swale on the Helperby Estate from the age of four. I am a medical scientist, a professor of medical microbiology (at St George’s, University of London) and founded

and am CSO of Helperby Therapeutics Ltd which discovers and develops new antibiotics.

My interest in YDRT derives from the fact that the Helperby Estate regularly suffers flooding.

In addition I have always been fascinated by stories that hundreds of years ago, the Swale was full of salmon. Recent meetings with the riparian owners of the Swale revealed that flooding and reintroduction of migratory fish were widely considered to be high priorities. I set up the second of our local groups, the Swale River Group in 2017 with the help of YDRT and the Ure Salmon Group.