The National Trust has announced a 50-year programme of restoration for the High Peak moors. See the BBC News report for more detail.
It is great to see the problems facing our peatland being grasped in this way. As Patrick Begg comments in the BBC's report, it is no good scratching at the surface of this problem. The ecology of our uplands, and peatland in particular, is slow to respond to management change. If we want to achieve a given objective we need to agree what we want and then maintain a consistent approach over a period of many years and decades to achieve it. A succession of 3-year initiatives will not achieve this.
The ability of estate managers to deliver continuity of management over periods that are measured in generations, or even in perpetuity in the case of the National Trust, is an essential component of planning for the future of the uplands. This explains my wish to see better engagement of the land management community within the peatland debate. See yesterday's output.
The leadership being shown by this project will help. Well done the National Trust!
