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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

##ChalkStream #RiverRestoration restoring a hiddeous old "fish stew" back to a thriving chalk stream. River Test, Hampshire

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

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...

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

We don’t really do “leaky dams”!

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Tricky commute this time of year...

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

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

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Reposted by Mike Blackmore

Dr Wendy Morrison @hillfortian.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

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

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

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

podcasts.apple.com

The Test with Mike Blackmore and Neil Swift

Podcast Episode · The Fly Culture Podcast · 30/07/2025 · 1h 5m

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

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.

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

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

bbc.co.uk

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

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

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Do you want to work restoring beautiful, iconic, and globally rare chalk streams? Join an innovative, creative, supportive and committed team at the cutting edge of freshwater conservation. Become a Wessex Rivers Trust Project Officer! www.wessexrt.org.uk/vacancies.html

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Another year, another UK River Restoration Centre conference. I think will be my 15th. I must be getting old! 😂 River people… ASSEMBLE!

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Standing on a buried riverbed! The previous landowner went to staggering efforts to gain a fragment of extra farmable land. But water is relentless, and this field (and the road downstream) are collapsing back into a steep valley. The river always wins

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

This is why the way government subsidises farming matters. Farmers don’t want to lose their valuable topsoil any more than we want it polluting nearby watercourses. Both have economic impacts. It’s not “woke” to pay for nature-friendly agriculture, it’s a sensible investment.

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Humans are rubbish at joining watercourses to the sea

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

The treasury are meeting with the Environment Agency and Natural England today to discuss cutting red tape and streamlining environmental permits. Hopefully that includes better processing of Flood Risk Activity Permits (FRAPs) for habitat restoration projects - which is currently a disaster!

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

I was pleased to help out and feature some of my excellent team’s work in the recent CaBA Chalk Streams Restoration webinar: youtu.be/VlEHqsUAg7g?... #RiverRestoration

youtu.be

Chalk Stream Restoration Webinar

YouTube video by Catchment Based Approach

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

The Chalk Stream Recovery Pack is a DEFRA document outlining the policy roadmap to protect and restore England’s unique chalk streams. It exists. It was set for publication in 2023. The government shelved it. Now there is a petition to publish it: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71... Sign up 💙

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Some New Forest streams are literally eroding into trenches before our eyes; stripped of gravel by historic straightening work 😢 Today I met the unsung heroes who’ve been steadily restoring them despite fierce opposition in one of the UKs most politically charged landscapes 👏🏻

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Out today with the Wild Trout Trust checking up on another wilding #ChalkStream #RiverRestoration on the iconic Bourne Rivulet, delivered in partnership with Wessex Rivers Trust River adapting well, salmonids spawning. Can’t wait to see it when the plant life returns!🌱🐟

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

I was recently given the opportunity to explain river restoration on the Rewilding the World podcast. What do people think? Anything missed? Apple podcast link: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r... (Spotify link to follow)

podcasts.apple.com

Repairing and restoring Britain's rivers with Mike Blackmore

Podcast Episode · Rewilding the World with Ben Goldsmith · 01/01/2025 · 32m

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

What a year! Back to the office next week to reset the clock and start the race to deliver 2025’s river restoration projects #RiverRestoration

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

A tree falls in the woods… And a geology lecture ensues! x.com/blacky_himse...

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Some guy made this floor into an Alaskan river and I want an English chalk stream equivalent! #Salmon #ButWhy

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Sometimes… It has the gradient, It has the gravel, It has the potential, It just needs some random complexity! #ChalkStream #RiverRestoration #WhatWouldAStormDo

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Before/After 1 month apart 🔹Un-straightened 🔹Un-widened 🔹Bank lowered 🔹Self-cleansing flows restored #ChalkStream #RiverRestoration on the River Test, Hampshire.

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Fallen Tree Analogues (FTAs) Whether it’s the icing on the cake of a large-scale restoration, a bit of habitat enhancement, or just plain river management, there’s no more cost-effective and impactful an intervention. Go big, go brave, go complex! #RiverRestoration #FishLiveInTrees #GoBigOrGoHome

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

A brand new river! A 400m new channel bypassing a (now redundant) weir, and replacing a (now in-filled) heavily degraded channel. Winter floods will bring the seeds, spring will bring plant growth. Nature will finish it for us! 🌱💧 #ChalkStream #RiverRestoration #FishPassage #WillTravelForGravel

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Mike Blackmore @blacky-himself.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Hi Bluesky! Joining the great X emigration in search of what Twitter used to be (fingers crossed). I’ll be posting all things related to my river restoration/conservation work. Let’s talk…

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