3,000 species at risk wildlife experts say in landmark State of Yorkshire’s Nature report

The very first State of Yorkshire’s Nature report, which uses data collected by thousands of volunteers, sets out a blueprint for conservation showing how nature can be helped to recover.

The report by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust shows Yorkshire is still "incredibly rich in nature" and two-thirds of all British species are found here - over 40,000 species.

However it also shows that there has been alarming declines, with nearly one in five species decreasing by more than 25 per cent in the last 20 to 30 years.

Overall as many species are increasing as declining in Yorkshire - but those that are being lost are rarer nationally than the increasing species, a path leading to a "duller natural world, full of common species...with fewer of the scarcer ones that make Yorkshire special".

Curlews, known for their haunting call, has been pushed to a few remaining pockets of safety in the uplands while swifts, once a common species of the summer, have declined by 50 per cent since 1995 due to plummetting insect numbers and lack of roosting sites.

Among the common species that are increasing in Yorkshire are those everybody will recognise - cleavers or goosegrass, nettles, and yellow ragwort - as well as Greylag goose and fox in the animal world.

On the rare and declining side are Birdseye primrose, Turtle dove, Willow tit and Water vole.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust CEO Rachael Bice said: “Sadly, many of the species we share this amazing county with have been pushed to the brink of collapse. It would be a true tragedy for everyone who calls Yorkshire home if we lost the haunting call of the curlew, the abundance of gannets and puffins on our coastal cliffs, and the uplifting sight of butterflies dancing across our wildflower meadows.

“We are losing what makes Yorkshire so special, and sleepwalking towards homogenised landscapes where only the most common and adaptable species can survive alongside the demands of human life.

“However, I have hope that this new analysis can direct how we can all work together to reverse declines and see our wildlife bounce back – before it is too late.”

The report sets out a "blueprint for conservation" highlighting which species need to be focused on and why, and the steps towards their restoration.

The aim is that by 2030, 30 per cent of the land is positively managed for wildlife conservation.

Currently some 15 per cent of Yorkshire is covered by statutory and non statutory protection. "If we use that as a baseline there's quite a way to go," said Sharne McMillan, Head of Nature Recovery at YWT. "That is why it is important we are all working together".

Professor Alastair Fitter, a trustee at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Naturalist’s Union, said: "The report tells us that Yorkshire is still incredibly rich in nature. So if we do get things right in Yorkshire we will be making a big contribution to wildlife recovery nationally.

"We know particular habitats (limestone, wet and marine) give real bang for your buck, there's so many rare things associated with them. This is a really a manual to get things right, it's really hopeful in that sense."

The report was created in collaboration with and using data from YWT, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Butterfly Conservation and the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.