Hazel Dormouse Survey and Mitigation

Hazel Dormouse Survey and Mitigation

Our licensed ecologists provide hazel dormouse survey, impact assessment, mitigation, licensing and monitoring for a range of projects.

Hazel dormice and their breeding sites and resting places receive strict legal protection.

They are associated with a range of structurally diverse habitats, including woodland, hedgerows, scrub, regenerating woodland, road and railway corridors and some areas of tall vegetation.

The absence of hazel from a site does not mean that dormice are absent. Survey and assessment should consider vegetation structure, connectivity, food resources and the wider landscape.

Survey methods

Richard Green Ecology can design and undertake surveys using appropriate combinations of:

• Habitat suitability assessment
• Nest tubes
• Nest boxes
• Footprint tracking tunnels
• Direct searches for nests
• Searches for characteristically opened nuts
• Remote cameras
• Other evidence and existing records

The appropriate method and duration depend on the habitat, season, survey objective and proposed impacts.

Nut searches may provide useful evidence of presence but are rarely sufficient on their own to demonstrate likely absence.

Some survey activities, including handling or disturbing dormice and inspecting certain nest structures, must be undertaken under an appropriate licence.

Mitigation and licensing

Where dormouse habitat is present, we seek to retain and connect habitat through the project design.

Mitigation may include:

• Retention of woodland and hedgerows
• Maintenance of canopy and hedgerow connectivity
• Sensitive and phased vegetation clearance
• Timing restrictions
• New native planting
• Strengthening habitat corridors
• Nest boxes
• Long-term habitat management
• Population and habitat monitoring

Where works would otherwise breach legal protection, we can prepare and manage the appropriate development licence application.