Standing up for Nature
Following my blog ‘first’ thing this morning here is some more information on the damage that burning does to blanket bogs. Martin Harper’s blog today expands on the RSPB’s thinking about burning of blanket bog. More details of the RSPB’s complaint to the EU over the management (they clearly regard it as mis-management, as did…
The RSPB is getting stroppy about burning of blanket bogs – I like that. Burning heather on a rotation of 7-20 years is part of the industrialisation of the upland landscape of parts of the UK. The main reason for doing it is to produce totally unnaturally high densities of Red Grouse which can then…
There was a lot of discussion about the EA dropping their biodiversity role because of cuts last week. Everyone squealed (see here and here) that this was a bad thing – as they were meant to do because that makes the cuts more difficult. I’m not so sure. I’ve never really thought that the EA…
Natural England are in a bit of a mess over the uplands – you might say they have been bogged down. NE had to dump their vision for the uplands of England because landowners – perhaps including their Minister at the time (Richard Benyon) – didn’t like it. They went back to basics and looked…
The ‘Ban the Burn’ group is having a demonstration outside the head offices of Natural England tomorrow morning as NE staff arrive at work. It’s not only lowland flat places that suffer flooding – Hebden Bridge has had more than its fair share over recent years. Many residents there feel that poor management on the…