The Wye and Usk Foundation is an environmental charity based in

Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

which seeks to secure and improve the natural environment of the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

and

River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...

for the benefit of local communities, anglers and others. Founded in 1995 in response to a decline in

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

, it is a member of The Rivers Trust and operates both in the Welsh and English parts of the catchments. The foundation maintains webcams on the two rivers and on the Wye's major tributaries, the River Lugg and the

River Monnow The River Monnow () marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of Monmouth. The ...

. The Trust carries out

habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in ter ...

work such as managing riparian vegetation and fencing out grazing animals to decrease trampling, not just on the main rivers but also on numerous tributaries. Other work includes construction of fish passes around weirs, litter clearance, re-gravelling of sections of river depleted of their natural supply and dealing with invasive non-native species such as

giant hogweed ''Heracleum mantegazzianum'', commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. ''H. mantegazzianum'' is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsb ...

and American signal crayfish.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteOfficial website of umbrella organisation, The Rivers Trust
Rivers of England Rivers of Wales Waterways organisations in the United Kingdom