If Moscar Moor Is ‘Trashed’, Why Do the Curlew Keep Coming Back? Our Letter to The Sheffield Star

Dear Claire Lewis

The Duke of Rutland and Bob Berzins might agree on more than either would care to admit. Both recognise that Moscar Moor is vital habitat for curlew and lapwings. Both accept it’s a cherished green space for walkers. And both understand that beneath the heather lies a vast reservoir of carbon, safely stored in deep peat (Environment, 17 June 2025). So why, then, does Bob Berzins describe this same moor as “trashed”?

Perhaps he wandered onto the wrong estate. Because even the RSPB’s own data shows that driven grouse moors support five times more curlew and lapwings than land managed under so-called rewilding. And golden plover? They actually prefer nesting on ground that’s been cool-burned in winter - something Bob opposes without evidence.

Let’s be clear, Natural England established the UK’s only long-term scientific study into traditional winter heather burning. That work, run independently by the University of York, found after ten years that cool burning, when done properly by trained gamekeepers and hill shepherds, locks up more carbon, raises the water table and boosts biodiversity.

As an active member of the Sheffield Green Party, Bob must also know that the Australian Greens, his political counterparts, explicitly support prescribed winter burning as a tool to reduce wildfire risk and maintain ecological balance. Yet Bob never mentions that. Nor does he acknowledge that the UK has just signed up to the G7 Wildfire Charter, which commits us to using local knowledge and controlled burning to protect people, landscapes and carbon stores.

At a time when the Climate Change Committee warns of soaring wildfire risks in Britain, Bob and his allies at Reclaim Our Moors have offered to buy the Duke’s moor for £1. Perhaps they’d make more impact if they offered to buy the keepers a box of matches. Because while Bob clings to failed theories, wildfire reality is already here.

This year has seen record-breaking burns across the uplands. Peat scorched. Wildlife displaced or killed. Nearby communities choked in smoke. You can’t argue with ash. The truth is simple, “fantasy conservation” has collided with the real world - and the real world is burning.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Gilruth

Chief Executive 

The Moorland Association

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