Statistical Digest of the English Uplands 2011

This document was published today and contains every statistics you might want for the English uplands, and more besides.

I was asked to comment on the scope of the work in the early stages and expressed some disappointment that there is no information about: land included in sporting enterprises, the split between land entered into HLS & UELS schemes and land that forms drinking water catchments.

Valuing Nature Network

The Valuing Nature Network is a NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) interdisciplinary network for valuing biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural resource use.  The network is open to new members and registration can be carried out from the website.

Of particular relevance to our work is the 'Assessing and valuing peatland ecosystem services for sustainable management' project which is being led by Mark Reed from The University of Aberdeen, amongst others.  I am attending a workshop set up by this project on 19 January 2012.

Heather Trust Annual Report Articles

For the first time the best bits of the Trust's annual report are available online.

Some of the Trust's annual report, which is published in August each year, is inevitably devoted to telling the world how wonderful we are.  However, every year we are blessed with some guest articles that provide width and added interest for the recipients of the report and it is these articles that, with the permission of the authors, are now available on the Trust's website.

All the articles are of a high standard but if you only have time to digest three of them, let me give you my recommendations: 'What Makes heather so Special?' by Prof Charles Gimingham, the response to the Fair Game BBC TV programme by Douglas McAdam of Scottish Land & Estates, and Prof Steve Redpath's 'A Glimmer of Hope for Hen harriers'.

The report is circulated to members and a few additional people who we think will benefit from learning about what we do. But as a trial we are making the guest articles available to everyone.  If you enjoy reading these articles, please let us know.  Alternatively, you could sign up to become a member and receive your own printed copy of future reports in August.  Membership starts from (only) £40 p.a. - follow the link for more details.

Bracken Control - The Yorkshire Post

Ian Rotherham has picked up the story about asulam in today's edition of The Yorkshire Post.  He provides a useful summary of the current position and what we are doing about it.  Asulam is banned, but long live Asulam!

Peatland Management - letter to The Scotsman

The Scotsman published a letter on Friday (3 December) suggesting that management of the uplands for deer or by burning heather was detrimental to the carbon capture & storage potential of the uplands.  Adam Smith, Director Scotland for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and I disagree and have sent the following letter to the Editor:

Sir,

Contrary to the letters on Friday, a balanced view suggests our peatland performance is not presently so poor.  The recently published findings from the IUCN Commission of Inquiry rightly identifies that enhancing carbon capture on deep peat, such as blanket bogs, is at least theoretically achievable. We are concerned that making this the key objective for all Scottish peatland systems is short-sighted. Research evidence supports the view that management carried out by landowners and managers to enhance habitats for grazing by, for example sheep, cattle, deer, grouse and hares, actually increases the ability of our hills to capture carbon and store it in the peat. And the removal of litter and dense vegetation by managed fire reduces the likelihood of peat-damaging fires, such as those seen this spring in many areas where rotational muirburn is not practiced.

Managed fire in Scotland’s hills is an internationally recognised means of delivering biodiversity, cultural and economic outcomes from our upland peatlands. Our achievable vision is integrating peatland restoration, which maximises carbon capture and water quality, with the many services our farmers and sportsmen deliver from other parts of our hills for the benefit of all people in Scotland. 

Adam Smith, Director Scotland, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, 

Simon Thorp, Director, Heather Trust

Single Environment Organisation for Wales

The Welsh Assembly has announced that the proposed merger of the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), the Forestry Commission Wales and the Environment Agency Wales will go ahead.  The single organisation will open for business on 1 April 2013.  More info.

Is this decision a sign of the future for other parts of the UK?  Will the inevitable turbulence be justified by the introduction of better management of the environment and countryside, and good relations with land managers, or will it result in happy bean counters, but leave a single organisation that is under resourced?

Mar Lodge - Independent Review

See the post of the Moorland Forum Blog about the independent review of moorland, woodland and deer management that has just been published.

The comments at the bottom of the 'read the final report' page are also worth a look, e.g. "the arrogance of those with education but no knowledge or experience is very frustrating".

The Rhododendron’s Road to Redemption

The link between Rhododendron and Phytophthora Ramorum has been established and this has made this invasive plant even less welcome.

See The Telegraph's article about how one estate has found a commercial use for rhododendron cuttings as part of a control programme.

Formation of Irish Bogs

This link takes you to an article that provides a view on how man's influence encourages the formation of blanket bog in Ireland, but how raised bogs formed without man's influence.

Raised bogs have been the main target for fuel.  800,000 tons per year of peat (called turf when cut) were extracted for fuel during the period 1814 - 1946 and this led to the destruction of half of Ireland's raised bogs.  Bord na Mona was set up to manage the extraction of peat  and there were 100,000 ha of raised bogs remaining in 1969 of which Bord na Mona owned 45,000ha.

The extraction of peat at this rate seems strange in the current peat-friendly times.

A Monthly Perspective

I have launched a new initiative today.  Patrick Laurie writes a monthly column for The Shooting Gazette but as he lives near Dumfries, I have given him the task of writing a monthly article, A Monthly Perspective, which will be his views of what we have been up to in the previous month.  It will be interesting to see what he makes of it!

You can get to the first submission through the website.

EC Pressure on Irish Bogs

The pressure from the EC on the Irish Government is increasing to stop the cutting of turf (peat) on protected Irish bogs.  See the article in the Irish Times.

While we may agree that this is correct, what about the peat extraction in the UK?  It seems odd, to say the least, that we are talking the the talk about re-wetting to conserve peat and carbon while peat extraction is still allowed to continue.  There is a site not far from here in Dumfries.

FWAG in receivership

See the Farmers Guardian article from more information about an appeal for funds.  The article refers to the UK and seems to ignore the fact that FWAG Scotland disappeared sometime ago.  Presumably FAWG Cymru is suffering the same fate, but can anyone confirm this?

Visit to Northern Ireland for the NSA

I visited Northern Ireland at the invitation of the National Sheep Association to speak at two workshops: at Glenwherry in Co. Antrim and at Hilltown, close to the Mourne Mountains.  The Glenwherry event was written up in the Irish Farmers Journal and the article can be read here.

Sustainable Uplands - Richard May

Richard, as a Board member, is not just a star, he is now a star of stage and screen.  In this video, he supports Mark Reed, the project manager, in discussing the Sustainable Uplands project.

Sustainable Uplands Music Video

This video produced by the Sustainable Uplands Project, which I have been part of, captures the artistry of 20:20 Vision and presents some stunning images and video accompanied by compelling music.  Recommended watching for all with a passion for moorlands, uplands or bogs.  It serves to remind us of why we care about such areas.

Phytophthora Lateralis

The Forestry Commission has confirmed that this diseases has been found on Lawson Cypress trees in Devon.  For more detail see the FC website.

This is another variant of the diseases P. Ramorum and P. Kernoviae which have been associated with attacks on larch trees and also on bilberry & heather.  It is something that I am keeping a close eye on as these diseases have the potential to cause the loss of heather on a large scale.

The Abbeystead Meeting

The Northern Farmer has published a report about the meeting at Abbeystead that followed the AGM on 27 September 2011.  See today's earlier post for views about sheep ticks arising from the meeting.

Tick Bites and Lyme disease

If you are seeking extra detail about Lyme disease, following the earlier post, may I draw your attention to the excellent Factsheet published by the Royal Forestry Society?

Of particular note is the photograph of the 'bullseye' rash.  If you see one of these, it is time for prompt action.

Sheep Ticks - Farmers Guardian

The meeting we held at Abbeystead on the back of the AGM, on 27 September has resulted in some press coverage about sheep ticks in the Farmers Guardian.  This is good to see as there has been little recent coverage about the threat that sheep ticks pose to livestock and upland bird populations through the diseases they spread.  We should not ignore the link to the human disease, Lyme disease.  Also, sheep ticks are closely associated with dense stands of bracken as they benefit from the deep litter.

The three articles can be viewed here:
   Why worry about sheep ticks?
   Climate change could make ticks more of a threat
   Ticks are proving a persistent problem on a Lancashire farm  Malcolm Handley is a member of the Trust.

My thanks go to Neil Ryder, who is now a freelance journalist.  He attended the Abbeystead meeting and  these articles followed.

Time to prey on predators

See the article by Robin Page in this morning's Telegraph.

"We must cull the killing machines now if we are to preserve the balance of nature in this country."