Thomson’s mission to preserve and protect the region’s wildlife

In Dr Alex Ramsay’s case, the career-defining moment came one day in 2008, in the less than exotic location of Newport in Wales. He found the Amara fusca beetle, which hadn’t been spotted in Wales since 1840. It had been keeping a pretty low profile in the rest of Britain, too.

The only other recorded siting was in The Brecks, an area of heath and sandhills in East Anglia. Dr Ramsay’s eagle eye for a rare find is helping to create jobs in Yorkshire.

He’s the principal ecologist at Thomson Ecology’s office in Leeds, which covers Scotland and the North of England.

If you ever wondered how many rare species of plants and animals can be found in the Yorkshire Dales, then Dr Ramsay should be able to provide the definitive answer by the autumn.

While walkers tramp by on their summer holidays, Thomson Ecology’s team are hard at work, ensuring habitats aren’t destroyed by poor farming techniques or thoughtless developments. The company also ensures that offshore wind farm developments don’t pose a threat to birds or bats.

Thomson Ecology has a turnover of £5m and its team of 100 ecologists can be found in remote settings, doing their bit to protect vulnerable species.

The northern office, which recently moved from Otley to Leeds, has seven staff and the company hopes to hire more as work comes in.

Dr Ramsay said: “From our office in Leeds we get involved in a wide variety of work, from helping developers to gain planning consent for the biodiversity aspects of their projects, to conservation work for Government bodies.

“Our conservation work includes assessing the condition of wildlife habitats on behalf of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

“We are also very active in Scotland and have recently conducted invertebrate surveys in Orkney.

“In the Yorkshire Dales we are checking that the wildlife habitats are in as good a condition as possible,’’ said Dr Ramsay.

“We are studying 53 square kilometres of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, including an area near Grassington. Many of these habitats had never been mapped previously. We are compiling a detailed map of flora in the Yorkshire Dales.

“It’s important to know what’s there and flag up rare habitats so that measures can be put in place to protect them.”

So far, Thomson Ecology’s flora team in the Dales has found species such as the memorably named Bloody Cranesbill, which flourishes in limestone areas.

“There are a very good range of habitats present in the survey area including upland meadows, moorland, limestone pavement, blanket bog, and fens,’’ said Dr Ramsay.

“Habitats such as traditional hay meadows may have been managed in the same way for centuries.

The places being studied have been identified as UK Biodiversity Action Plan habitats which receive some protection through being part of the National Park but are also protected under the planning process.

“Our specialisms range from botany to bats, great crested newts, water voles, reptiles, white clawed crayfish, you name it! We go in before developments start and help clients to comply with the biodiversity legislation.”

There’s a broader awareness of environmental issues in the UK, which is reflected in the amazing revival of great crested newts and otters.

Said Dr Ramsay: “We have some of the largest populations of great crested newts in Europe. Every week we do some work to protect them.”

Otters were a rarity in the 1970s, but today they are much more common because Britain’s rivers are cleaner.

“Intensive farming practices and a pesticide and herbicide regime had created sterile fields with nothing in them,’’ said Dr Ramsay.

“Now farmers are working together to create bumblebee and butterfly strips, and patches for skylarks.”

WORKING WITH THE SEASONS

Thomson Ecology will have finished its work surveying the flora and wildlife of the Yorkshire Dales by September.

Dr Alex Ramsay, the principal ecologist based in the company’s Leeds office, said: “A lot of our work is seasonally driven.

“In the winter our work is more concentrated on helping developers to plan biodiversity into their projects. The law requires that certain species must not be harmed. By planning in ecology from the start, protected species habitats can be avoided.”

As a result, developers can save time and money.

Dr Ramsay added: “As well as surveying for protected species we also carry out practical works such as pond creation, vegetation clearance and tree and hedge planting.”