Good Management Principles
The Trust promotes active management of moorland to achieve objectives that take into account the need for effective management and the sensitive nature of many moorland areas. The key management issues can be summarised as:
- Appropriate vegetation management and heather burning / muirburn using best practice techniques
- Sensitive management of grazing pressure, avoiding over- and under-grazing.
- Positive but legal predator control
- Management of grouse populations by shooting
Inappropriate moorland management can result in:
- land dominated by mature or degenerate heather
- a build up of litter, and an associated increased fire risk
- too many foxes or crows predating on the chicks of all moorland birds
- diseases transmitted by infected sheep ticks, such as louping ill in grouse and sheep.
- strongylosis in grouse
- encroachment of mat grass or purple moor grass coupled with a loss of heather
- too many sheep causing damage to heather by over-browsing