Good morning from the Dales

Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group

How did your day begin?

One of our moorland keepers took these pics this morning looking out across the moor from his cottage. Driven grouse shooting and the conservation management that underpins it puts a special value to open moorland. This value protects it from development, afforestation and damaging exploitation.

In return it provides internationally important habitats for rare and unique moorland species. Due to their attributes many of these moorland landscapes are designated as Special Sites of Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and other classifications. It is grouse management that created and enhanced them. It’s the very same management that sustains and protects them.

Let’s hope that policy makers realise this as we progress through the challenging times ahead.