Moorland owners and their staff work hard around the calendar to conserve and improve the heather, which forms such a crucial habitat for ground nesting birds and other wildlife.
No other prime wildlife habitat in England and Wales can match heather moorland for its sheer scale and quality. It is a landscape maintained without the use of fertilisers and without widespread disturbance of the soil. As a result, moorlands are a stable home to a range of wildlife. Some species, such as the Merlin and Golden plover depend heavily on the moors for their survival.
The Moorland Association was formed in 1986 to halt the loss of heather moorland and to secure its future. Members are responsible for 750,000 of the estimated 800,000 acres of heather moor remaining in England and Wales.
Heather moorland is a semi-natural habitat which has been managed by people ever since clearance and grazing started thousands of years ago. It is not a natural environment - like a rainforest which can sustain itself - heather has to be looked after. If not managed, heather grows into a dense mass of long woody stems that support very little wildlife, has no grazing or economic value and is very hard to walk through
The red grouse - a completely wild bird only found in Britain, where its habitat is managed by gamekeepers, is a gourmet's delight. To celebrate the start of the 2006 shooting season, Moorland Association members and their wives have opened their private recipe books to share some of the most favourite and well tested recipes.