New heather shoots appear after a prescribed burn in March

Nidderdale Moorland Group

The first picture was sent in this week by one of our moorland gamekeepers of an area of heather that was part of a controlled, cool burn in March this year.

Already the young shoots of heather are regenerating and locking in carbon.

Moorland gamekeepers are often accused of 'burning peatlands' or 'burning peat'. These are evocative words meant to mislead the public.

Nothing could be further from the truth, as well they know, but this does not stop the cleverly worded articles or social media posts that are intended to push the agenda-led misinformation from certain individuals and charitable organisations.

Creating a mosaic of vegetation helps our managed moorlands hold the best breeding populations of many rare and endangered ground nesting species alongside our Red Grouse.

They are providing food, shelter and safety during a vulnerable time of year for many species as the threat of spring and summer wildfires continues to increase elsewhere where this type of management has been removed and high fuel loads are building.

The removal of the high fuel loads also creates fire breaks which help protect thousands of years of peat stored beneath them.

Wildfires are increasing at an alarming rate where this type of management has been removed and thousands of years of carbon stored in the peat is being released into the atmosphere as these unmanaged areas, many under conservation charity led management, continue to suffer from summer wildfires.

Controlled, consented, cool burns at the correct time of year under the correct conditions, flash quickly over the old, rank canopy of vegetation.

The smoke from these controlled burns is primarily water vapour and the particulates have been measured at beneath the permitted WHO (World Health Organisation) levels.

They do not touch the underlying mosses, seed layer or peat and radically reduce the chances of an out of control summer wildfire taking hold.

Wildfires in late spring and summer burn hot, burn deep and burn the peat as they destroy everything in their path! They are devastating events that pose serious risks to people, property, wildlife and sensitive habitats, both financially and environmentally.

It's very simple really!

If, as the public are continually told by wildlife charities and certain individuals, we 'burn peat', these plants would not be able to regenerate. We would have destroyed the whole plant from the root system to the seed layer. There would be nothing left to re-grow!