News

MOORLAND ASSOCIATION GETS CASH TO BASH BRACKEN

20th May, 2003

Visitors to the moors of Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty should enjoy improved walking and more open vistas this Summer thanks to six landowning members of The Moorland Association and funding of nearly £17,000 through the Rural Economic Recovery Project following Foot and Mouth.

Now is the time when new growths of bracken begin to show, and these can quickly swamp delicate heather as the plants rocket up to six feet high by mid summer. Not only are bracken beds carcinogenic and the plants poisonous, but they hinder the gathering of sheep. Furthermore, the litter left by dead plants harbours ticks, a menace to sheep and grouse alike.

The Government money, secured by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Nidderdale AONB, funded up to 50% of the costs involved for grouse moor managers to spray a specialised safe chemical last summer, which cleared over 200 acres of bracken. Hence a big reduction should be seen on open moorland this year, for the benefit of wildlife, farmers and walkers alike.

Due to the economic consequences of Foot and Mouth to Nidderdale, the ongoing programme of moorland restoration carried out by Moorland Association members received a set-back, and without this valuable grant, they would have been forced to delay their costly bracken management programmes. Bracken needs to be treated every year for up to ten years to completely control it, and skipping one lot of treatment could have put the work back by two years or more.


Said Simon Bostock, Chairman of the Moorland Association and Nidderdale moorland owner: “ I applaud our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, for both playing their part to help moorland management back on its feet. Controlling bracken on open moorland is a costly process, and though it benefits farmers, walkers and wildlife, it has been primarily the revenue from grouse shooting which has paid for it. Grant aid in recent years has become very limited, and if we are to keep this invasive weed in check, it is vital that funds are again made available by Government through its agencies. The Association is actively seeking to achieve this and hence we are delighted to hear of this particular success story.”

-Ends –


Notes to Editors

In addition to the bracken, nearly 50 acres of rushes were also treated under the scheme.

The recent final report on the Northern Upland Moorland Regeneration Project made eight key recommendations for the future survival of heather moorland - external financial assistance to help landowners control bracken on open moorland was one. The full report and further information on moorland management can be found at www.moorlandassociation.org

75% of the heather moorland left in the world occurs in Britain. Of the estimated 800,000 acres of heather left in England and Wales, the Moorland Association members are responsible for the management of 750,000 acres. Over 60% of this area carries European designations such as SSSI, SPA and SAC for plant and animal life.