People in Montrose are being urged to help save lizards from being crushed or buried during the construction of a £229,000 cycle path.
Trevor Rose of Friends of Angus Herpetofauna is seeking volunteers to capture any lizards which may be nesting behind the dunes at Kinnaber.
The path and cycleway stretches from Montrose to the Northwater Viaduct to create an off-road path for cyclists and pedestrians. The path will begin in Broomfield, Montrose, and will be incorporated into land at the former airfield and land at Kinnaber before joining on to the path at the southern end of the viaduct.
From the north end of the viaduct the cycleway will follow the public road to St Cyrus to become part of the designated Sustrans national cycle route and the North Sea Cycle Route.
Mr Rose said, “This is an area populated by good numbers of common lizards, a species which … is protected against intentional killing and injuring.”
Mr Rose has been in last-minute discussions with Angus Council and visited the site with Mark Davidson from the engineering and design services division.
“We have discussed mitigation measures for the lizards which involves regularly checking artificial refugia and removing any lizards found to other parts of the common,” he said. “It may also involve walking in front of the excavators when the time comes, to capture any remaining lizards which may or may not be fleeing from the disturbance.”
Mr Rose can be reached on 07778 830192.
Photo by Flickr user Squeezyboy.