AS an avid Review reader, I am mystified and saddened at the news that the future of Robin Ward's wildlife column is in doubt.

Having been forced to endure the way the Forest of Dean District Council has been airbrushing out Key Wildlife Sites (KWS) in the 187 acres of the Northern Quarter development site, we at least had the refreshingly uplifting 'Ward's Wild­life' column to read with Robin's great insight into the plight of wildlife in the Forest and his observations regarding the 'goings-on' in local government.

There was a time when Forest residents old and new fully understood that the needs of humans should not always come before those of nature. These days, it seems that few people fully understand the ways of the Forest and what a unique area we live in.

Furthermore, it seems that many people – and particularly some council members – do not understand, or perhaps do not care about, the huge effect a few new roads or a couple of developments here and there have on the our precious wildlife.

I believe we need to hear from people like Robin Ward who understand the gentle balance of living with nature, rather than always putting our own needs at the top of the priority list.

Robin has drawn up a list of the species in the Forest that will suffer by the Northern Quarter development. The list includes hawfinches, otters, water voles, lesser horseshoe bats, greater horseshoe bats, adders, grass snakes, slow worms, great crested newts, lizards and dormice.

Many of these are already classed at being on the 'red' at risk list. Surely we need easy access to this information through the media so that we can keep ourselves better informed?

The decisions we make today will naturally have a great impact on the future of wildlife in the Forest. For this reason, I would strongly urge the Review to keep Robin's column in print.

– Andrew Gardiner, Ruardean.