River and wetland management practices have changes significantly in the UK since the mid 1980s, owing partly to growing public concern about the environment and partly to changes in agricultural practices and incentive schemes. These issues have resulted in new ‘improved’ legislation to safeguard the environment, the most recent of which is The Environment Act (1995) which established the Environment Agency in England and Wales. This Act gave the Environment Agency three primary wildlife duties: (i) To further the conservation of wildlife and landscape when carrying out its water-management function (flood defence, water-resource management, navigation etc.); (ii) To have regard for conservation when carying out its pollution-control and waste-regulation activities; (iii) To promote generally the conservation of wildlife dependent on the aquatic environment.