Natural England

The Moorland Association has prepared its draft response to Defra’s consultation on Heather and Grass Burning in England. While our first and strongest recommendation is that this consultation be paused, we’ve also made sure to respond in full should the Government press ahead.

Read our advice on how to complete Defra's Heather Burning consultation.

Natural England’s new document 'Definition of Favourable Conservation Status for Blanket Bog' should be withdrawn and rewritten.

This blog post examines the decline of breeding waders within the Berwyn Special Protection Area (SPA) in North Wales, exploring the potential reasons behind it and, most importantly, what lessons we can learn for the future of our precious upland birds.

We recently asked our members to complete a short survey about Defra’s proposed changes to rules around heather burning. Here is a summary of the results.

Defra must be congratulated on its commitment to protecting our uplands, yet its actions are resulting in them going up in flames.

Since we are experiencing our worst year for wildfires and scientists are predicting climate change to increase these fourfold it’s astonishing that government policy is making the situation even worse, through rapidly increasing the vegetation fuel load.

With hen harriers beginning to settle on our moors again we must update you on Natural England’s recent decision regarding our application for a hen harrier conservation licence.

We recently sent a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, who is now responsible for handling the urgent threat of wildfire, highlighting how Government policies are exacerbating the problem.

Have you ever wondered what effect poor government policy can have on rural landscapes? Look no further.

Six months after applying for a licence, we are still waiting to hear if Natural England is interested in continuing the successful trial.

This blog provides guidance on when you can act without prior authorisation from Natural England.