Monitoring

Success builds on success for newts and developers 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Development, Licensing, Monitoring, Natural England, Nature, Wildlife

By Stephanie Bird-Halton, Director - National Delivery at Natural England  The 2025/26 Annual Monitoring Report for Natural England’s District Level Licensing (DLL) for great crested newts has just been published. This blog explores the successes so far and shows that …

Tackling drought: why nature-based solutions are key to a resilient future

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Climate change, Evidence, Monitoring, Natural England, Nature, Wildfire

By Oliver Harmar, Natural England's Chief Strategy Officer This blog explains how climate change is affecting England, with a focus on drought and wildfire, while suggesting the actions that we can take to restore the natural landscapes that protect us …

Protecting the Thames Basin Heaths: evidence from 15 years of the SAMM Project

By Zoe Shorter, Project Manager for the SAMM Team, Thames Solent Area Team This blog explains the findings of an independent evaluation of the 15-year Thames Basin Heaths SAMM Project. Evidence suggests the project is successfully mitigating recreational pressure on …

Natural England publishes Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Birds, Evidence, Hen Harriers, Licensing, Monitoring, Natural England, Nature
Close up shot of a hen harrier chick 's head and neck in profile against a blurred grassy background.

By Matthew Heard, National Delivery Director, Natural England Hen Harriers are one of the UK’s rarest birds of prey. However, they are at the centre of a long-running conflict because they prey on red grouse, which are managed for grouse …

Assessing the Health of the River Wye Catchment: An Update

Pristine reach near Aymenstry. The river here is connected to its floodplain and displays classic “run-riffle-pool” habitats.

By Emma Johnson, Midlands Deputy Director, Natural England Natural England has completed a detailed condition assessment of the River Lugg SSSI, part of the nationally protected River Wye catchment. This blog sets out the findings of that assessment, explaining the …

A shared picture of progress: new Defra and Natural England evidence shows 77,638 hectares of habitat target delivery

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Habitat, Monitoring, Natural England, Nature, Nature Recovery
Planted hedgerow gaps. Credit: Peter Roworth

By Alice Howard, Senior Data Scientist Defra and Natural England have published the 2026 habitat target metric, showing that action has been undertaken on 77,638 hectares to create or restore wildlife-rich habitat across England since January 2023, nearly double last …

Defining Success for Wildlife: What Does "Thriving" Really Mean?

Pine Marten. Credit: Robert Cruikshanks

How do we know when a species is truly thriving, rather than just surviving? This is the question Natural England has been working to answer. We've now published new definitions that set out exactly what success looks like for four …

ReSCUE takes flight: Survey campaign to address gaps in seabird flight height data.

Wind turbines in the North Sea. Credit: Andrew Harwood

By Rachel Mewes – Marine Ornithology Specialist and ReSCUE Project Support, Eddie Cole – ReSCUE Project Lead and Andrew Harwood – Senior Marine Ornithology Specialist and ReSCUE Technical Lead Offshore wind expansion is critical to the UK government’s ambitions to …

Royal Assent: Natural England and the Planning and Infrastructure Act 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Development, Growth, Monitoring, Natural England

By Marian Spain, Chief Executive, Natural England The Planning and Infrastructure Bill received Royal Assent today. The new Act is central to the government's Plan for Change, representing one of the most significant planning reforms in a generation. The Act also represents a milestone for Natural England, giving more opportunities to to …

Natural England’s Chief Scientist reflects on the Science, Evidence and Analysis for nature recovery

By Professor Sallie Bailey, FICFOR, BES On 4 December, the Royal Armouries in Leeds hosted some leading voices in nature recovery. Thought leaders and innovators from environmental NGOs, academia, finance, infrastructure and local government joined Natural England at our Science, …