Moorland Association

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Moorland Association The Moorland Association is a members organisation who collectively manage over a fifth of the uplands in England and Wales.

Over the last 100 years, considerable areas of heather have been lost through over-grazing, afforestation and bracken encroachment, and since its formation in 1986 Moorland Association members have regenerated and recovered 217,000 acres, smashing the Government’s 2010 conservation target by 170%. Where there has been grouse shooting, heather loss has been lower (70%) than in upland areas not managed for grouse.

24 burning licence applications in twelve months. Two approved.Those are the Minister’s own figures, recorded in the EFR...
25/10/2026

24 burning licence applications in twelve months. Two approved.

Those are the Minister’s own figures, recorded in the EFRA Committee’s wildfire report published on 21 October. MPs conclude the licensing system is working less effectively than intended.

England’s burning restrictions start at 30cm of peat. Scotland’s start at 40cm. The Committee wants the Government to explain the difference, and to say what wildfire assessment, if any, came before the 2025 regulations. If there was none, MPs want one published within three months.

On restoration, they are blunt. Its benefits can take decades to arrive, and the fuel on the hill needs managing now. Burning, cutting, grazing and rewetting all have a role.

Almost 70% of submissions to the inquiry came from individual land managers. MPs now want gamekeepers at the Prime Minister’s wildfire summit, and a Defra and Natural England roundtable within six months.

The Government’s response is due by 21 December.

Neighbouring moors burned while a Peak District application for temporary fire restrictions waited 38 days for a decisio...
24/10/2026

Neighbouring moors burned while a Peak District application for temporary fire restrictions waited 38 days for a decision.

Section 25 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act allows access to open moorland to be restricted when fire risk is high. The application went in on 11 August. The National Park Authority sent its application form a week later, visited on 21 August and refused on 18 September.

On 19 October the Authority asked the Planning Inspectorate to dismiss the appeal because the fire risk has passed.

It has since rained. The time taken to decide is now the argument for closing the appeal without testing whether the decision was right.

Two other Peak District applications were also refused. Natural England has partially upheld our complaint, accepting that its July response did not explain how to apply.

If a land manager identifies an exceptional fire risk tomorrow, can they find the rules, submit the evidence and get a decision before the fire starts?

A Yorkshire Dales gamekeeper asked visitors to put a dog on a lead and was reportedly met with abuse and threats of viol...
24/10/2026

A Yorkshire Dales gamekeeper asked visitors to put a dog on a lead and was reportedly met with abuse and threats of violence. One visitor cited a Friends of the Dales webinar before calling gamekeepers “all evil criminals”.

In March we put that incident to the charity’s trustees, asking how its “Eyes on the Skies” campaign checked claims and weighed the risk to local workers.

On 30 April the Chair replied that the Board was satisfied and rejected any foreseeable rise in hostility. We asked how that conclusion was reached on 1 May, and again after a further webinar on 12 June. Neither letter has had a substantive answer.

Professor Simon Denny’s 2025 report recorded more than 1,000 threats and 30 assaults against keepers on 58 English grouse moors in one year. Those figures predate the webinars, but they are why the risk deserved an answer.

We have now asked the Charity Commission to examine what evidence the trustees relied on, and what checks came before the May webinar.

23/10/2026

“Wildfire risk is increasing now, and peatland restoration alone does not address the immediate challenge of managing hazardous fuel loads in the short-term.”

Paragraph 160 from the new EFRA Committee report on wildfire.

Ahead of today’s Wildfire Summit, the government has said that along with using military aircraft to fight wildfire, it ...
23/10/2026

Ahead of today’s Wildfire Summit, the government has said that along with using military aircraft to fight wildfire, it will pay farmers to fireproof their land, including by removing burnable material in high-risk areas.

We have three questions for ministers:

- Will prescribed burning be recognised alongside cutting and grazing?
- Will moorland managers be able to apply for this funding, or only farmers?
- Will the new Wildfire Action Plan follow the EFRA Committee’s recommendations on burning restrictions, licensing and vegetation management?

Peat beneath wet bog domes averaged more than four times the depth found on the heather slopes surveyed.The figures come...
23/10/2026

Peat beneath wet bog domes averaged more than four times the depth found on the heather slopes surveyed.

The figures come from a new Environment Agency report: about five metres beneath very wet, Sphagnum-rich domes, compared with 1.2 metres on heather slopes. Both fall under the broad heading of blanket bog.

The researchers identify six different types, based on how water moves through the peat. Their guidelines are intended to help shape Defra's developing peatland restoration standards, which could affect the targets set for moorland estates.

The report has not been peer reviewed. Although it cites historical burning, drainage and grazing as causes of damage on some bogs, the study did not test those practices or compare burnt and unburnt ground. Nor does it say how much actively managed grouse moor was included.

The Moorland Association wants the proposed categories tested on working moors before they inform national restoration targets.

Read more - link is in comments:

Interesting letter published in the latest Private Eye.
22/10/2026

Interesting letter published in the latest Private Eye.

MPs back moorland managers and demand action on wildfire riskThe EFRA Committee has just published its wildfire report, ...
22/10/2026

MPs back moorland managers and demand action on wildfire risk

The EFRA Committee has just published its wildfire report, and it's good news for the people who manage our uplands:

• It supports several arguments the MA and our members have been making.
• MPs agree peatland restoration alone can't manage dangerous fuel loads right now, and burning remains one of the main tools available.
• They want the wildfire effects of burning restrictions properly assessed, and the struggling licensing system improved.
• They want gamekeepers and land managers listened to, including at the Prime Minister's wildfire summit and a Defra roundtable.

Those who work the land every day know how to keep it safe. It's good to see MPs recognise that.

Link to full story is in comments:

Almost 70% of submissions to the MPs’ wildfire inquiry came from land managers.Thank you to every member, gamekeeper and...
21/10/2026

Almost 70% of submissions to the MPs’ wildfire inquiry came from land managers.

Thank you to every member, gamekeeper and family who gave up time to respond, and to the Regional Moorland Groups and partner organisations who supported them. We know how often you are asked to answer consultations.

The EFRA Committee published its report on 21 October, and your experiences are prominent in it. MPs recognise the emotional toll wildfires take on families, and the voluntary effort of the people who prevent and fight them.

Committee Chairman Alistair Carmichael MP has called on the Government to start listening to, and respecting, the communities directly affected by wildfires. Our members have been sharing that experience for years.

The Government’s reply is listed as due by 21 December. We will examine it against the Committee’s recommendations and keep members informed.

Read the full article — link in the comments:

A Peak District land manager asked for an urgent wildfire restriction on 11 August. The National Park Authority refused ...
21/10/2026

A Peak District land manager asked for an urgent wildfire restriction on 11 August. The National Park Authority refused it on 18 September, 38 days later.

Fire conditions can change within hours or days.

The request was made under Section 25 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. It sought a temporary restriction on open access for no more than 31 days, ending sooner if conditions eased.

11 August: application submitted
18 August: the Authority first supplies its application form
21 August: site visit
18 September: refused

On 19 October the Authority asked the Planning Inspectorate to dismiss the appeal. It has since rained, and the Authority argues the immediate risk has passed and no meaningful remedy remains.

The weeks taken to decide have become the argument for not examining whether the refusal was justified. The Inspector has not yet ruled.

Three Peak District applications were refused this summer. We want an urgent process that decides in hours or days, and a review route that can settle a dispute before the danger has gone.

Read more — link in comments:

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