Mike Blackmore

Winterbournes are rivers that dry in the summer and start flowing again in the winter. Chalk winterbournes are super rare but mostly degraded.
Here's one being restored...

Travelled up to Birmingham again to help workshop the governments long-term beaver management plan.
Super interesting stuff

Morning all! ☀️
#Wiltshire #Woodland #WessexWandering

Early start to head up to Birmingham. Talking about a national strategy for beavers with ⁦DEFRA

The true pros!

We don’t really do “leaky dams”!

Tricky commute this time of year...

De-silting vs Dredging.
They're not the same thing!

Isolating a section of river to remove excesss fine silt and restore natural channel dimensions and habitat. #river #restoration #ChalkStream #conservation

Interesting time at the River Guardian Summit with @paulpowlesland.bsky.social and @lawyersfornature.bsky.social over the weekend.

Amazing venue, passionate people, great food and great conversations

Presentation slide showing a beaver-shorn tree on one side and a similarly fuelled tree with a man weilding a chainsaw

@blacky-himself.bsky.social seeing you bested by a beaver at the @colnecan.bsky.social conference 😜

If AI doesn't make me redundant, aquatic rodents will!
Maybe I should take up thatching...

"Supplimenting" a species.
Helping expand the endangered white-clawed crayfish population of the upper River Itchen
#ChalkStream #conservation #crayfish

Fish live in trees. Sometimes fallen trees need managing, but every bit we can keep in the water is valuable habitat

“Glamorous”

The Test with Mike Blackmore and Neil Swift Podcast Episode · The Fly Culture Podcast · 30/07/2025 · 1h 5m

Un-stocked, un-manicured, proper wild catch-and-release fly fishing on the (restored) River Test!
We very happily explained this approach on the Fly Culture podcast.

Apple podcast
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Spotify link
open.spotify.com/episode/6Kgu...

#flyfishing #ChalkStream #trout

Final report into 'broken' water industry says regulator Ofwat should be scrapped - live updates The major review led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe was issued by the government to

So long Ofwat, and thanks for all the (dead) fish!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4...

I think BBOWT have done some good river restoration. They might share some case studies

Restoring a dredged river.
Awesome result!
#RiverRestoration #ChalkStream #conservation #habitatrestoration

Is a good question! Some of us are trying to pull together just that. The currently available guides are now horribly dated.
There are places you can go for free advice though. What river is it for?

Flashback to 2015 when a community restored their local river with almost no budget.

An Environment Agency and Wild Trout Trust partnership project
@wildtrouttrust.bsky.social

A few tickets left:
www.orvis.co.uk/products/uk-...

Out yesterday with @fishtwitcher.bsky.social and came across something private 😳

Thanks for coming down Jack. And thanks to Dan and Kirsty too! Sorry I had to dash off so quickly

Yeah… well… why not?! #TikTok
www.tiktok.com/@blacky_hims...

Out today doing my “other job”, managing the River Wylye. Seems like every work party we come across new signs from our wild #ChalkStream beavers 🦫🌳🐟

I hold a license but so far haven’t encountered a single problem requiring intervention.

Before ☠️ and after 🐟🌱:
This is what makes the job so worthwhile #ChalkStream #RiverRestoration

Recommendations from a @wildtrouttrust.bsky.social report, followed up and delivered by Wessex Rivers Trust

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…
Delighted that the 2 main water companies in the Wessex region, Wessex Water and Southern Water are banned from issuing executive bonuses this year.

However this is just one step on the journey, with further reform required from the industry and regulators

Without a ‘complete’ ecosystem we’ll always have winners and losers…

Project Officer The Project Officer will be responsible for developing, preparing and delivering a range of projects, from concept to completion. Projects will range from small, community-led habitat improvements ...

We’re #hiring!
Join a team creating and restoring some of the rarest habitats in the world, the iconic rivers and chalk streams of the Wessex region.
environmentjob.co.uk/jobs/105833-...