Brimham Rocks.
Once a managed grouse moor in Nidderdale with a diverse range of flora and fauna, the National Trust site at Brimham Rocks is now a sea of unmanaged, rank long heather, Birch trees, scrub and Bracken which are drying out the underlying peat and releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
This moor, a SSSI site, was once home to ground nesting birds such as the Red listed Curlew's and Lapwing's, and with populations of amphibians such as the Adder and Common Lizard an important moorland habitat for many species.
It offered a fantastic open landscape for wildlife with far reaching views for visitors.
Today if you check out the NT website for Brimham Rocks it lists tree dwelling species and is no longer mentions many of our specialised moorland flora and fauna.
The open landscapes have long since gone as the woodland has grown up and blocked any views of this once magical moorland.
In 2019 the National Trust announced they would regenerate the heather moorland, prevent further growth of large trees and scrub and maintain a varied structure of heather to improve the habitat for ground nesting birds alongside increasing the sites capacity to hold water.
To do this the National Trust proposed fencing the moor to lower side of the road and using cattle to graze the site in summer.
This is open access moorland enjoyed by thousands of visitors to the site every year, many with dogs.
The proposals also stated that the fencing would be plain wire with gates and stiles for public access.
If you visit NT Brimham Rocks today you will be greeted by a new fence around not only the open access moorland to the lower side of the road, as first proposed by the Trust, but also to part of the moorland on the top side of the road.
Both these areas are now fenced in with stock fence and topped with very sharp barbed wire, not the plain wire stated by the Trust and no cattle have yet been introduced to graze.
NT Brimham Rocks is still an important site for us here in Nidderdale as it showcases how quickly a rare and precious habitat can be damaged and lost once management is removed.
Find the original C4PMC article here.