Scotland's Moorland Forum - New Grant

I am delighted to be able to report that the Trust's grant to provide the administration for the Forum will be renewed.

I am the Secretary and Alison is the Administrator of the Forum and these roles involve a large amount of work.  This input is funded by a grant from Scottish Natural Heritage.  I had expected that the existing grant would continue until 31st March 2011, but I was invited to re-apply for a grant from 1 April 2010.  This caused a flurry of unexpected activity prior to the deadline on 1 September, and a certain amount of 'sharpening the pencil', to make our application as attractive as possible.

The less good news is that the grant will only be for 1 year, rather than the three we had applied for.  However, I am grateful for the approval, as renewal was by no means certain in the difficult financial times that SNH finds itself in.  Claims that our budget was cut tight and submitted on the assumption of being given a 3 year term are likely to fall on deaf ears! 

Discussions will now take place on how best to fund the support of the Forum after the end of our one year grant.  I hope that we will be able to retain our involvement wherever the funding comes from.

HT Facts & Figures

Trying to remember all the facts & figures that fly across my desk is an impossible task. I started to record the most interesting / most relevant a while ago and in case it is of wider interest I have now made this information available on the members section of the website.

It is an eclectic mixture of information and I have added some additional detail which can be found by clicking on the pink icon in the Details column. It is possible to search the file for keywords to help find information of particular interest.

I will add to this as time goes by and try to remove out of date information. I hope you find it useful and interesting. Comments welcome.

Forestry Facts & Figures

Do you want to know more about what has been going on in the forestry world? This could be the site for you - Forestry Facts & Figures.

The area of woodland in the UK at 31 March 2009 is estimated to be 2.84 million hectares. This represents 12% of the total land area in the UK, 9% in England, 17% in Scotland, 14% in Wales and 6% in Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, there are proposals to increase the area of woodland to 25%. This is a proposal I am watching with interest as I would not like to see the area of forestry expanded at the expense of moorland, or even areas where heather has been lost recently that could be restored.

Environmental schemes damaging upland farming

THE Tenant Farmers Association has hit out at Natural England’s ‘misguided’ policy of ‘drastically reducing’ uplands stocking densities through Environmental Stewardship Schemes. See the full article in the Farmer's Guardian.

I share the concern that the overgrazing lobby needs to be curtailed. Undergrazing is a reality in many areas already and this is likely to get worse if the 75% reduction in upland stocking levels that is quoted in the article comes to pass. Understandably, the TFA is interested first and foremost in such issues as farm incomes, home produced beef & lamb, skill shortages and food security, but I would add habitat condition, biodiversity and wildfire risk to this list. The habitat on an ungrazed moor is likely to be in poor condition, it will not have a diverse structure and the fuel loads will make it a wildfire waiting to happen.

Upland Policy Coordination Committee

I was delighted to attend a meeting of the Upland Policy Coordination Committee that has been established by the Moorland Association to consider English policy issues. This was an opportunity for organisations to share ideas and other input came from the Countryside Alliance, The Country Land and Business Association, the National Gamekeepers Organisation and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. The discussion considered a wide range of strategic issues.

I welcomed the opportunity to contribute to this meeting. There is always a danger that the organisations with an interest in the uplands will pull in different directions when there is much to be gained from a more coordinated approach. The meets the Trusts wish to see a more integrated approach to moorland management.

AGM and Weardale Meeting

The meetings in Weardale went off very well on 23 Sep 09 and I am very grateful to Mr Michael Stone for allowing us the use of his wonderful Picture Gallery at Weardale Lodge to hold our meetings. Lycetts Insurance Brokers and Smiths Gore generously supported the events and allowed us to maintain the high standards of Heather Trust hospitality. Thanks are also due to the Weardale headkeeper, Nick Walmsley, and his team for the support they provided during the day.

The Board met the night before and the meeting degenerated into a dinner for which we were joined by some guests and this allowed discussion to continue well into the night. The following morning, the AGM was swiftly completed and our numbers were then boosted to 29 for the Weardale Meeting. Sebastian Green, the Weardale Estate Manager, gave examples of the economics of an upland estate, and Lindsay Waddell, the Chairman of the National Gamekeepers Organisation, gave an insight into the role of the modern upland gamekeeper. A feature of the day was the quality of the discussion; this was enhanced by the relatively small group, but I believe that the value of the day is directly related to quality of the discussion. The Weardale meeting was a good one.

Having held the AGM in Morayshire, the Peak District and Co Durham in the last three years, I am open to suggestions or offers for 2010!

Scottish Consultation - Electronic ID

The implementation options in Scotland for EID of sheep and individual recording of sheep and goats arising from EU Regulations that will come into force on 01 January 2010 are open for consultation. See the Consultation document.

The consultation period closes on 02 November 2009.

Heather Trust Meeting with Natural England

The Chairman, Ian Condliffe, Marion Thomson and I met with Martyn Howat (Director Uplands), Mick Rebane, Jon Barrett and Chris Reid from Natural England in their Newcastle office. the aim of the meeting from our point of view was to explaore ways that the Trust might be able to help Natural England achieve its objectives.

Natural England used the opportunity to update us on the progress of the development of their Vision for Uplands in 2060 and to invite our support. We will be pleased to do this and will attend the launch of this vision that is planned for November.

We proposed several areas where we thought we would be able to assist NE using our unique position in the market and our ability to engage with all sides of the various debates. It was a useful discussion and while we were not expecting to come away with any promises, I hope that Natural England will consider our offers to work in partnership with them in key areas. I would like to think that we can help them gain the support of those who actually manage the uplands.

Carbon Conference

Marion Thomson and I had a meeting yesterday with the Southern Upland Partnership (where I am a Director) and the Carbon Crichton Centre to discuss the possibility of holding a conference early next year to discuss carbon issues that affect upland management.

There is a lot of talk about carbon but one of the aims of the conference would be to de-mystify the science and explain to landowners, occupiers and managers what they need to know about carbon management and how thay can take advantage of the opportunities that carbon management is introducing.

The title proposed for the conference is: Carbon in the Uplands: Opportunities and Threats and it is likely to take place at the end of March or in early April; New Lanark is being considered as the venue. The format is likely to include a 1/2 day site visit, followed by a dinner and then a full day's conference the following day.

I will circulate more details as they become available.

Hen Harrier Tracking

Biochar

The production of charcoal may come back into fashion under a 21st century of name of Biochar. There are suggestions that biochar, which is produced by pyrolysis (a process of controlled burning in a low-oxygen atmosphere) can be used to enhance soils and also lock up carbon.

See the article published in The Economist for more information.

This may not have a direct application for the uplands but it supports the view that increased carbon storage in peat is a possibility and it might also provide a boost for the carbon trading concept.

Scotland - Wildlife & Natural Environment Bill Consultation

The full consultation and details of how to submit a response is available to download from the Scottish Government's website .

I will be responding to several sections of this consultation before the closing date of 4 Sep 09. The section that covers Muirburn is of most relevance to our activities and a first draft is available for anyone to use as a basis for their own response. Please contact Alison Young (alison.young@heathertrust.co.uk) if you would like a copy. The response will be made available to download from the website in the next few days.

If time is short it would do no harm to submit a written response commenting on one particular issue, or you could offer support for the whole of the Trust's submission. The analysis of the Consultation Responses is very much a numbers game and more support for the Trust's views would be helpful.

Please contact me if I can help with your response or if you want to tackle me about anything in my draft response.

Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae

Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae are exotic plant pathogens that have been identified in UK recently: P. ramorum in 2002, and P. kernoviae in 2003. It is not a name that rolls off the tongue easily and for those struggling with pronunciation try – ‘fy-toff-thora’!

Both species represent a threat to ornamental and wild shrubs, and trees, but of more interest to the Trust is that Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus has been found the be severely infected by both pathogens. Other heathland species and their wider ecosystsems may also be under threat.

A Defra-funded Phytophthora spp Disease Management Programme has been approved, beginning on 1st April 2009 with funding of £25m over 5 years. The programme will address the problem through three workstreams: disease management, awareness and behavioural change, and research.

In England and Wales, there have been over 250 outbreaks of P. ramorum or P. kernoviae outside of nurseries of which about a quarter have been eradicated so far. In May 2009, outbreaks in Scotland were reported to be 29 largely centred around the west coast heritage gardens and nurseries from Portpatrick to Poolewe, but there have been 25 outbreaks in other areas.

The principal leaf host is Rhododendron R. ponticum which appears to drive epidemics. Research to date has shown that the eradication of rhododendron is the single most effective control measure to reduce pathogen and disease spread in the wider environment (woodland, heathland, gardens and parks) and protect vulnerable trees and heathland plants.

For more information and photographs see the guidance available on the Defra website.

Defra appears to have adopted a sensible approach to the Phytophthora problem, but in this season of heightened awareness about heather beetle, the effort being put in place to combat Phytophthora spp serves to highlight the apparent complacency about the damage that heather beetle can cause to moorland and heathland. Am I missing something?

Farm Practices Survey 2009

For those in need of some light reading, here are some statistics for you!

The 2009 Farm Practices Survey of uplands and other Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) in England was released by Defra on 30 June 2009. This release shows the attitudes and intentions of upland farmers. The key results are:

• 60% of upland farmers classify their farms as full time commercial businesses

• Almost two thirds of farms (64%) were long established family farms and 25% were first generation family farms.

• Diversification: 25% of upland farms have some form of on-farm and 48% have some form of off farm diversification or other income.

• Approximately half of upland farmers are debt free.
  

• 71% of upland farmers currently have land within environmental schemes.
  

• A quarter of upland farmers not currently in ELS would like to join the scheme. 30% of farmers not currently in HLS would like to join the scheme. 50% of farmers with land in Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDA) expressed a wish to join the new Uplands Entry Level Scheme, covering some 63% of land.

• 27% of upland farms graze moorland.

The full report can be found here on the Defra website

Heather Beetle Press coverage

I have been taking the message into the public domain. To see some of the press coverage follow the links below:

Sunday Telegraph
Scotland on Sunday
Scottish Daily Express (the photo is not a heather beetle - is there an entomologist out there who would like to identify it?!)

The Heather Trust's 25th Annual Report

This year's Annual Report will be sent to members and the carefully selected circulation list on Monday, 10 Aug 09. As ever, I hope it will be an interesting read in addition to bringing Members and supporters up to date with goings on at the Trust.

I will be delighted to receive any feedback about the format and contact of the Report or the views I have expressed in it. Like this Blog, I would like to develop a two (or more) way flow of ideas and information.

Heather Beetle (again)

The visit to Langholm showed the heather beetle attack to be most impressive. This is an attack that has affected almost all the heather on the moor, the exception appears to be the very young heather regenerating from stems or seed following fires earlier this year.

At the same time, I have started to pick up reports from south of the border that are beginning to indicate that this might be a bad year for heather beetle. To take 'advantage' of this to raise the profile of the risk to heather posed by this beetle, I need more information. If you have seen a heather beetle attack please could you let us have details so that we can get some idea of the scale of the attack this year.

The first Heather Beetle sightings

I was called yesterday from Blairgowrie Golf Course, which is a heathland course. They were worried about the state of some rank heather under Scots pine trees. It appeared to be showing the classic signs of heather beetle attack that can be expected to appear in late July. The heather had turned a foxy red colour and was not flowering.

This report was backed up by a request for a visit to Langholm Moor where a large area of heather has been hit by what is reported to be heather beetle. I have agreed to visit the moor tomorrow and I will report further. With such a high profile location it is an opportunity to raise once again the issue of heather beetle especially as a high level visit from the Scottish Government takes place next week.

I hope owners of moors will look at their own heather over the next few days and weeks and let me know if they see any sign of heather beetle. Only by collating data that shows the extent of heather beetle attacks can we hope to raise the profile of this scourge of heather so that funding can be obtained to sort out what drives the attacks and how best to restore damaged moorland. In the meantime the best advice is contained in our guidance that is available from our website.

Members may be interested in the MSc project that has been written up for the Annual Report. This is being funded by the Trust and when completed it will provide a summary of all research that has been carried out into heather beetle to date. The early findings of this work support the need, as outlined above, for more research into the ecology of the beetle and how to best manage heather after a beetle attack.

Apologies for the Gap

I am sorry that the flow of Blog posts has dried up recently. This was triggered by my unexpected re-admission to hospital to sort out an infection and then it has been difficult to get back into the flow since. I have been busy setting up a Board telephone conference, writing discussion papers for a Moorland Forum Meeting and a meeting of the Muirburn Group in Scotland and preparing the Annual Report which is due for publication in early August.

I will try and do better, but as always I will welcome feedback about earlier posts or suggestions for future topics to cover.

Electronic Identification

Brussels has listened to farmers concerns and a concession has been agreed. Farms will not have to buy expensive tag readers as animals will be scanned at markets or abbatoirs. This news appears to have satisfied the farming organisations with the exception of NFU Scotland who believe that it should not be necessary to tag sheep until they leave their holding of birth.

For more information see the articles from: Farmers Weekly Interactive or The Farmers Guardian

Although it will still involve more work for sheep farmers this news is a significant step in the right direction. It is interesting to note that the proposals came from Scotland to Defra but the concessions will apply to all UK.