England & Wales: Hydropower

Six-fold increase in the number of schemes.  See The Environment Agency's news item for more details.

Can acaricide treatment of sheep control ticks and tick-borne disease in the environment?

The Knowledge Scotland website has provided a briefing about research published last year by a team of researchers at Stirling University and Macaulay.  A modelling approach has been used to investigate the effect of increasing deer populations on the ability of the 'tick mop' approach to control sheep ticks.

There is nothing new here for landowners and managers, but it is helpful to see the research supporting the techniques that have been promoted as best practice: a highly effective acaricide regime is necessary to produce a reduction in tick numbers and tick control will lose its effectiveness quickly with increasing deer numbers.

Muirburn Workshop - Candacraig Estate, Strathdon - 1 March 2011

This workshop is the third and final event under the Moorland Management: Rights & Wrongs project that is being funded by the Skills Development Scheme of the SRDP.  It will follow our usual format of 'talk & walk' with guest presentations being given by Prof Rob Marrs and Michael Bruce in the morning.  If the weather is kind, we will make smoke in the afternoon as part of a practical session on the Candacraig Estate.

More details and the flyer can be found on the website.

Heather for Cutting

For the attention of moorland owners in the Peak District.

To feed the desire for heather brash for reseeding in the Peak District, more areas of local heather for cutting are needed.  There is a financial inducement available and if anyone has anywhere that might be suitable, please get in touch with me for more details. 

Phytophthora Ramorum - update

This article provides a useful update and emphasises the risk to Larch trees - the disease is described as the 'foot & mouth' of trees.  I fear that we are going to hear quite a bit more about this disease and I am waiting for an update about its effect on dwarf shrubs, such as heather.

Happy New Year!