Wild Justice’s legal challenge of gamebird releases has forced Defra to agree to a review of this activity and its impacts on sites of nature conservation importance (Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas for birds). It is fairly important to note that this review would not apply only to gamebird releases inside the…
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This Saturday, 1pm
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The Glover review (5) – overall
The Glover review is, I repeat, a serious, imaginative and important document. I would suggest that it should be widely and often read and re-read. But it is an inherently conservative view of National Parks and AONBs and their future. When reading a report like this one it is easy to read more into the…
The streets of London
I’m in London for a few days. It’s been raining hard now and again. I never imagine the future with rain – my thoughts are always of sunny days. Does that make me an optimist? Do pessimists imagine rainy days? Or does it make me a fantasist? But walking along familiar pavements in or just…
Wales leads way on general licences
This announcement from Natural Resources Wales on the future of general licences in Wales is very sensible and very welcome. https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/news-and-eventsc/news/nrw-announces-new-licences-for-wild-bird-control/?lang=en It doesn’t mean that bird species causing real problems can’t be killed but it limits the species and situations where the licence to do this is general. General is often, wrongly, taken to mean…
The Glover review (4) – it’s a culture thing
Whenever I hear the word culture applied to the landscape I reach for my Manchester Rambler rather than my Wordsworth. Talk of cultural landscapes is usually code for ‘landowners know best and always have done’ and an argument against necessary change. And so it seems to me to be here in the Glover review. Natural…
The Glover review (3) – disappointing on wildlife
How can I possibly be disappointed with the Glover review when it gives nature top-billing (depending on how you read the report) and contains many useful passages such as those below? In our call for evidence, the message was clear: more than any other single thing, people and organisations agreed that our landscapes should do…
The Glover review (2) – the National Landscapes Service
The fairly new idea of a National Landscapes Service is poorly sketched out here – I’m attracted by the idea but I’m mostly attracted by my idea of what it should be as I am not at all sure what this report is recommending. In various places (see most particularly pp138-39) the NLS is setting…
Remarkable Birds published in Russian
Comments Off on Remarkable Birds published in Russian
For the same wonderful images, and the same words in English…
The Glover review (1) – worth the wait
The much-awaited Glover review into protected landscapes was published on Saturday morning and is a serious, imaginative and important document. The review is well worth a thorough read, and several re-reads (that’s what I have already done) but can be summarised in part by these two paragraphs from its summary; Our country is changing fast….