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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.

02/11/2026

A shoot-day staffing gap cannot always wait for a conventional recruitment process.

Rural Serve offers a way for rural employers to look beyond their usual contacts when a be**er, driver or other worker becomes unavailable at short notice.

Its Quick Cover feature allows estates to post urgent opportunities. Interested workers can respond, and when both sides want to proceed, they can message each other directly to discuss the job. Quick Cover is available through eligible memberships.

The UK-wide platform also covers longer-term recruitment for gamekeepers, underkeepers, estate staff and rural contractors. Workers can create basic profiles and apply for standard vacancies free of charge.

Moorland Association members can now receive 30% off Rural Serve employer subscriptions.

Read more - link is in comments:

01/11/2026

Land abandonment was linked to growing wildfire concerns in European rewilding case studies, according to a Horizon Europe-funded report.

Researchers reviewed 269 scientific papers and examined eight case studies, drawing on 40 stakeholder interviews. While published research often focused on wildlife conflicts, disputes on the ground also involved farming, forestry, livelihoods and competing uses of land.

In Portugal and Spain, stakeholders associated shrub and forest regrowth following abandonment with greater fuel accumulation and fire risk. Management responses across the case studies included grazing, mechanical vegetation removal and fuel strips; prescribed burning featured in Sweden.

These are reported concerns and local findings, not proof that rewilding increases fire risk everywhere. The researchers recommend involving communities early and being precise about proposed land-use changes. Active management may still be needed to meet restoration and safety goals.

01/11/2026

Controlled burning is absent from England’s new wildfire measures, despite the Government’s own code recognising that it can help reduce wildfire risk.

Following the 23 October Wildfire Summit, ministers announced plans to support firebreaks, grazing, scrub removal and other fuel management through Environmental Land Management funding. They also pledged an additional £25 million for peatland restoration and improvements to firefighting.

These measures are welcome. But the 2025 Heather and Grass Management Code recognises both cutting and burning as ways to manage wildfire risk. Under regulations introduced last year, burning specified vegetation on peat deeper than 30cm in less favoured areas generally requires a Defra licence. Only 2 of 24 applications have been successful in the last year.

Burning is not suitable everywhere. The Wildfire Action Plan should explain where it can be safely authorised and used alongside cutting, grazing and peatland restoration.

31/10/2026

Defra has left unanswered whether fire chiefs still warn that England’s tighter heather-burning rules could increase danger to firefighters and the public.

The National Fire Chiefs Council raised that concern in its May 2025 consultation response. Asked in Parliament whether the advice had been withdrawn, Defra minister Jenny Riddell-Carpenter said on 19 October that it had been considered and officials had engaged with the Council. She did not answer the question.

Other parliamentary replies confirmed that Defra and MHCLG are developing a cross-government Wildfire Action Plan. Ministers also ruled out a dedicated wildfire category in fire-service incident records, saying a new data platform would identify wildfires using information recorded across incidents.

Before the Action Plan is finalised, ministers should establish whether the fire chiefs’ warning still stands and explain how burning restrictions affect practical wildfire prevention.

31/10/2026

BBC Wildlife has removed red grouse from an online list of “ecosystem killers” after the Moorland Association challenged its accuracy.

The entry appeared on the Discover Wildlife website alongside animals portrayed as destroying habitats. Yet it acknowledged that red grouse were neither invasive nor especially destructive in their own right. It also made sweeping claims about heather moorland, biodiversity, carbon storage and erosion without distinguishing between habitats or management practices.

We complained on 14 October, citing NatureScot guidance and the Scottish Government’s Werritty Review. Two days later, the editor agreed the entry could mislead, removed it and published a correction.

The revised article accepts that red grouse should not be characterised as animals that destroy ecosystems. Moorland management warrants scrutiny, but claims about its effects must reflect the evidence and the differences between sites.

30/10/2026

Gamekeepers have named a golden eagle chick after his mother, Beaky.

Beaky Junior is the first chick to fledge from a new golden eagle nest on managed grouse moor in southern Scotland. The charity Restoring Upland Nature (RUN) asked the gamekeepers on that moor to name him, in recognition of the help they have given golden eagles in the area.

Beaky came from a Highland estate in 2018, one of the first three young eagles brought south by the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project. During the first Covid lockdown in 2020 she became the project's first eagle to cross the Border, flying about 90 miles south to the Pennine Hills.

People who have watched her talk about her formidable nature and how quickly she learned to fend for herself. The gamekeepers chose the name to honour that.

They have asked to stay anonymous so the nest site stays protected.

Read the full article — link in the comments:

29/10/2026

Farmers, landowners and rural communities have received a heartfelt thank you from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service for helping tackle this summer’s wildfires.

They brought tractors and water bowsers, ploughed firebreaks and moved crews across difficult ground. Chief Fire and Rescue Officer Callum Faint says their contribution helped bring fires under control.

His letter recognises the time and expertise people gave while their own livelihoods were at risk. He shares credit for the summer’s successful outcomes with everyone who helped.

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29/10/2026

Moorland estates are being sought for further trials of a garlic-based grouse grit, following encouraging early observations on Scottish moors.

Ecospray Ltd and Denis Brinicombe Ltd have developed the product using Ecospray's patented garlic polysulfide technology.

During a one-year pilot on Scottish grouse moors, feedback received by Ecospray suggested grouse consumed the garlic grit more readily than standard medicated grit.

These observations concern uptake, not proven effectiveness. The companies now want to assess how the product performs through larger trials under practical moorland conditions.

Moorland owners, managers, agents and gamekeepers interested in helping can discuss monitoring requirements, grit supply and trial arrangements directly with the companies.

The Moorland Association welcomes opportunities to strengthen the evidence base for moorland management.

Read our latest blog for further details and information on how to get involved - link is in comments:

28/10/2026

England’s new wildfire measures promise practical help for prevention. But they omit one long-established method: controlled burning.

Following England’s first Wildfire Summit, ministers announced support for firebreaks, grazing, scrub removal and other fuel management measures, alongside an extra £25 million for peatland restoration.

This is welcome. Reducing the vegetation available to burn can help limit the spread and intensity of wildfires.

Yet controlled burning is not mentioned. That is difficult to reconcile with the Government’s own Heather and Grass Management Code 2025, which recognises that burning and cutting are used to reduce wildfire risks.

We are not calling for burning everywhere. Sensitive habitats must be protected, and any burning must be properly authorised and safely managed. But where the evidence and conditions support it, land managers need a workable route to use it.

England’s Wildfire Action Plan must explain how practical fuel management will work alongside existing burning restrictions.

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28/10/2026

Abandon farmland and the scrub that grows back can become wildfire fuel.

That was the experience in three of eight rewilding case studies examined by wildE, a Horizon Europe research project. Around Barcelona and at two Portuguese sites, Antarr and Baixo Sabor, stakeholders linked abandonment and regrowth to a build-up of fuel.

The researchers reviewed 269 scientific papers, interviewed 40 stakeholders between 2024 and 2026 and held workshops in four of the study areas.

Wildlife dominated the papers. Wolves alone appeared in 63 of them. In the case studies, disputes often turned on farming, forestry, housing and other uses of land.

For land managers, the relevant finding is plain. Reducing human intervention does not always remove the need for active management.

How much management to keep is likely to depend heavily on local conditions and on the knowledge of the people who manage and live on that land.

READ MORE - link is in comments.

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0845 458 9786

Website

http://www.moorlandassociation.org/

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