80 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
firebreaks and reducing the ‘fuel load’ of
combustiblematerialonthe moor.Recent
drysummershaveincreasedthelikelihood
ofwildfires,whichcandestroythepeat.Gill
said,“Wewereterrifiedlastyear.Wehave
a headof heatherthat sticks outinto the
valley.Ifwehada wildfire,it wouldtravel
formilesovertheadjoiningmoors.”
Williamston isa Site ofSpecial Scientific
Interest,SpecialAreaofConservationandSpe-
cialProtectionAreaandtherestorationwork
hasseenthemoor’sstatusmovefrom‘unfa-
vourable/nochange’in 2000 to‘unfavourable/
recovering’today.Blackgrouseareamonga
rangeofthreatenedbirdstobenefit–along
withwaderssuchascurlew,lapwing,golden
plover– aswellasraptorssuchasshort-eared
owlandmerlin.Gillsaid,“Weseemanybirds
ofpreyonthemoorandwouldnevertolerate
thekillingofanyprotectedspecies.”
Part-timekeeperandfarmmanagerBen
Staleycarriesoutlegalpredationmanage-
ment,includingfox,stoatandcorvidcontrol,
which isessentialforthe survivalof both
adult andfledging black grouse. Breeding
successdependsonthefactthatWilliamston
is surroundedbymuchlargergrousemoors,
such asWhitfield andKnarsdale,with fox
control coordinated across boundaries.
Blackgrousehenscantravellargedistances
andtheirsurvivaldependsontherightcon-
ditions being present on a landscape scale.Withoutagri-environmentschemes,the
restorationworkwouldbeimpossible.Hav-
ing been anearly adopter of the original
Countryside Stewardship in 1992, Gill has
extensive experience of such agreements
andhasbecomeanexpertinmakingthem
workable, which is often challenging. His
recentapplicationforthenewCountryside
Stewardship(CS)HigherTierschemetooka
yeartocomplete,was 200 pageslongand
includeda 30-yearlong-termplanforthe
moor.Hesaid,“Itgoesthroughfieldbyfield
andit’sallimportantstuff,butto some farm-
ersit maywellbedaunting.”
Althoughtheprocessofapplyingforthe
newschemeis complex,manyoftheoptions
lackflexibilityandtherearecurrentlyseri-
ous problemswith delayedpayments.Gill
would still encourage other land manag-
erstoapplyanddevelopa long-termplan.
Theagreementwillhelpsecurethefuture
ecologicalhealthoftheestateandensures
it cancontinueasa goingconcern.Thisis
particularly important on remote upland
estateswhereCSpaymentsmakeupa large
proportionoftherevenue.Intotal,CSand
Basic Payments comprise 36% of income
with another 41% coming from holiday lets.CONSERVATIONSUCCESS
BYDRPHILWARREN,
GWCTSENIORSCIENTIST
InEngland,blackgrousearenow
restrictedtothePennines.Here,
followingtheinstigationofconservation
measuresata landscapescalejoint
ledbytheGWCT,includinggrazing
reductionsonthemoorfringesand
creatingpocketsofscrubbywoodlands,
numbersalmostdoubledfrom 773
malesin 1998 to1,437in2014.Despite
theseencouragingincreases,black
grouseremainseverelyvulnerabledue
totheirsmallpopulationandrestricted
range.Ourresearchhasshownthat
adultsurvivalis generallyhigh,except
inharshwinters,butpopulationgrowth
is limitedbypoorbreedingproductivity.
Poorbreedingis linkedtohighrainfall
whenchickshatchinJune,lackof
insectsandchickpredationbystoats.
Toincreasenumbersandrange,we
needtomaintainhighsurvivalratesby
providingpocketsofnativewoodland
asemergencyfoodsourcesaswellas
doingfurtherresearchintoincreasing
insectavailabilityforchicks.Range
expansionmaybelimitedbytoofew
newrecruits,butalsobythefactthat
malesdon’tmovefar.Inrecentyears,
wehaveshownthattranslocatingbirds
intosuitablehabitatsonthefringe,can
help increaserangeaspartofa package
ofmeasures.
TojointheGWCTandsupportour
blackgrouseresearch,
visit: http://www.gwct.org.uk/joinAbove:theoldshepherd’shutsurroundedby
heatheronWilliamstonMoor.Aboveright:today,
black grouse are found only in the PenninesI came up with a planting plan toALAMY; NEVILLE GILL; LAURIE CAMPBELL; BRIDGEMAN ARTS LIBRARY; GETTY IMAGEScreate the scrubby woodland they love