Lake Vyrnwy and the Cost of Conservation: Are We Getting Value for Money?

Wales is a land of breathtaking natural beauty but beneath the surface, a crucial question is being debated: how can we best conserve our precious wildlife and habitats while also ensuring vibrant, sustainable communities?

This isn't just a philosophical discussion; it's a practical challenge with real implications for our landscapes, our economy, and the future of Welsh nature.

A comprehensive report commissioned by the Regional Moorland Groups takes a close look at different approaches to land management in Wales and explores the complex situation at Lake Vyrnwy, managed by the RSPB.

It contrasts it with insights from successful commercial estates and farms, uncovering what truly works, what offers the best value for taxpayers’ money, and how we can work together to secure a thriving future for nature.

The Heart of Wales: Understanding Lake Vyrnwy

Nestled in Powys, Lake Vyrnwy is a significant upland area with a complex history and a unique management structure. It's not just beautiful; it's a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA), and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). These designations highlight its national and international importance for moorland breeding birds and vegetation.

A Unique Landscape and Its Stewards

Since 1996, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has played a central role in managing the Lake Vyrnwy reserve, though they don't own the land. The land is primarily owned by water companies: Hafren Dyfrdwy, which holds the land and water extraction rights from the lake, and United Utilities, which abstracts water for Liverpool. The RSPB operates as a long-term tenant and conservation partner, managing a very large upland farm called Ty-Llwyd, the largest organic farm in Wales.

The RSPB's management area has grown over time. Initially, in 1977, they provided advice on managing protected areas. By 1996, they took on a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) for Ty-Llwyd, a nearly 4,400-hectare upland farm, moor, and blanket bog, managed primarily for nature conservation. In November 2022, they leased an additional 2,000 hectares from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which includes afforested deep peat. This means the RSPB now manages a significant portion of the 10,000-hectare estate.

It’s important to note that Lake Vyrnwy isn't a typical "reserve with a gate". Visitors come for many reasons, and the RSPB doesn't even own a car park, making it hard to measure how many visitors are drawn specifically by the RSPB’s presence.

Instead, it’s a landscape-scale area where the RSPB, in partnership with Hafren Dyfrdwy, focuses on long-term, sustainable habitat restoration that also delivers "public goods" like clean air, clean water, and carbon sequestration.

The RSPB's Vision: Decades-Long Habitat Restoration

The RSPB’s approach at Lake Vyrnwy has evolved, shifting from merely maintaining specific bird species to a broader "whole landscape thinking model" focused on ecosystem restoration. Their philosophy is centered on achieving results over decades, not just short-term periods of three to five years. This long-term custodianship aims to continually improve habitat and biodiversity for future generations.

Key aims and actions in their management include:

• Using the farm as a tool for habitat restoration, aiming for sustainable management that supports nature while remaining productive.

• Engaging with various stakeholders, including forestry managers, tenant farmers, and the local community, to foster connections and empower people for nature.

• Reducing grazing animals from 7,500 breeding ewes under Severn Trent's management to around 1,500 Welsh Mountain breeding ewes and about 90 Welsh Black cattle currently. The goal is a more dynamic grazing approach to manage and improve habitats, including reducing bracken coverage.

• Relaunching a peatland restoration program in 2020, one of the largest in Wales, to re-create a vast area of naturally functioning blanket bog over more than 30 years. This is crucial for carbon storage and flood alleviation.

• Establishing native broadleaf trees across 1,270 hectares in valleys to create riparian corridors, improve habitat, and gradually reduce bracken dominance.

• Maintaining a dedicated team of staff, including two managers, wardens, farm workers, and a monitoring officer, supported by regular volunteers. Many of these individuals live locally.

• Improving community relations through initiatives like Vibrant Vyrnwy and active participation in the Lake Vyrnwy Stakeholders Forum, which meets monthly to coordinate efforts and address concerns.

These efforts show a clear dedication to the long-term ecological health of Lake Vyrnwy, and the RSPB has seen some positive impacts, such as an initial increase in black grouse and hen harrier numbers after sheep reduction.

More recently, increases have been noted in species like hobby, pied flycatcher, redstart, wood warbler, and willow tit, and even a golden plover was sighted in 2024 for the first time in over 40 years following rewetting efforts.

The Complexities of Conservation: Challenges and Outcomes

While the RSPB’s long-term vision is commendable, the report highlights several challenges and areas where the management outcomes have been mixed, raising questions about effectiveness and value for money.

Mixed Results on Bird Populations

The RSPB’s own management plans from 2007 and 2016 provide valuable insights. The 2007 plan set specific targets for various bird species, such as five pairs of hen harrier, seven pairs of merlin, 25 lekking black grouse, 200 pairs of red grouse, and 20 pairs of curlew. While impressive progress has been made in increasing healthy blanket bog, the specific targets for black and red grouse were noticeably lower than initially set.

More critically, the report notes that RSPB’s target numbers for curlew have not been achieved in most years. Data suggests that curlew productivity at Lake Vyrnwy only reached or exceeded the population maintenance target in two years since 1996. The habitat may have become too uniform with "rank moorland vegetation and very short adjacent improved grassland," indicating that the management might not have met all the necessary specifications.

Iolo Williams, a co-author of the RSPB’s 1995 ‘Silent Fields’ report on farmland birds in Wales, has publicly voiced concerns. In 2013, he lamented the decline of the Berwyn he knew as a young man. More recently, in April 2024, he claimed that nature is in crisis across Wales’ National Parks, with only 23% of SSSIs in a favourable state. This was supported by a January 2025 Senedd report noting Wales’ failure to tackle nature decline, lacking action and investment.

Perhaps most starkly, a 2021 bid submitted by the Lake Vyrnwy stakeholders (including the RSPB) used dramatic language, stating that "curlew, black grouse and merlin will cease to appear as breeding species in this area of Wales" without serious interventions. Such wording, if an accurate account of the moorland's state, appears to be an admission of management failure.

Management Approaches and Their Effectiveness

The report delves into several specific management practices at Lake Vyrnwy and their potential implications:

• Grazing Impact: While reduced sheep numbers were intended to improve habitat, the current levels (1,500 ewes, 90 cattle) are limited in their ability to manage vegetation across such a vast area. The RSPB aims for a dynamic approach, but historical under-grazing has negative impacts.

• Controlled Burning: The practice of controlled burning on the moorland ceased in 2003. Research, like leading ecologist Andreas Heinemeyer's 20-year project, suggests that prescribed burning can be the most suitable option for carbon storage, peat growth, increasing biodiversity, and keeping peatland wet where sites are wet enough. A blanket ban, as implemented at Lake Vyrnwy, may not be the optimal way to achieve conservation goals.

• Mowing: While mowing is used, the report notes that the area mown each year is relatively small. Studies suggest that to be effective, cutting needs to be frequent and applied over large areas.

• Wildfire Risk: The RSPB’s wildfire strategy largely depends on rewetting. However, the reduction in grazing animals and limited cutting have inevitably led to an increased fuel load on the reserve. The UK Climate Change Committee’s 2023 report warns of significantly increased wildfire risk, and Fire & Rescue departments emphasize that high fuel loads make controlling fires much harder.

• Tick Management: Under-grazing contributes to an increase in tick numbers. The report contrasts the "active tick management strategies" used by many grouse moors (grazing, dipping sheep, bracken management, deer culling) with the RSPB's "laissez-faire approach" at Lake Vyrnwy. This is concerning, as tick numbers and tick-borne diseases (like Lyme disease) are rising, posing serious risks to both people and animals, including ground-nesting birds.

• Bracken Control: The RSPB's long-term strategy for bracken at Lake Vyrnwy relies on planting trees to shade it out. However, this method has not been experimentally tested. Bracken is spreading rapidly at Lake Vyrnwy, and it significantly impacts agricultural productivity and animal health. In contrast, a study of 58 English grouse moors found that 97% actively managed bracken using methods like herbicide spraying, crushing, cattle grazing, and mowing. The report suggests this "light-touch" management means ground-nesting birds will struggle to thrive.

Furthermore, an escorted tour of parts of the reserve in June 2024 revealed that many tracks were in very poor condition, overgrown with vegetation, unlike the well-maintained tracks of 20 years ago. There is also limited public access to most of the reserve, a contrast to many English grouse moors where gamekeepers maintain paths for millions of people to enjoy.

The Cost-Effectiveness Debate: Taxpayer Value

The report raises important questions about the cost-effectiveness of the current management model at Lake Vyrnwy, especially concerning the allocation of public funds.

Funding the Lake Vyrnwy Reserve

The RSPB is a very large charity with multiple income streams. In 2022-2023, its total income was £164.7 million, including £46 million from 1.14 million members, £44.2 million from legacies, and £26.4 million from grants.

Specifically, the RSPB has received over £6 million in grants from the Welsh Government or Natural Resources Wales (NRW) since 2018. While not all of this is for Lake Vyrnwy, some grants directly benefit the area, such as a £54,997 grant for the Berwyn SAC and a £122,046 grant for the North Berwyn Area. Additionally, Hafren Dyfrdwy, the landowner, was awarded £206,300 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2023 for woodland restoration and access improvements at Lake Vyrnwy.

The report points out that bidding for such governmental grants is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, requiring extensive information and compliance with numerous policies. Large organizations like the RSPB are well-equipped for this, with dedicated teams.

However, the report also highlights concerns about NRW's financial management, noting a recent £19 million tax bill settlement and planned budget cuts, which raises questions about how effectively taxpayer money is being managed overall within the system.

Given these substantial investments, a local farmer's comment that "Lake Vyrnwy is a funding failure" underscores the report’s central argument: despite significant public funding and commendable efforts, the current model at Lake Vyrnwy might not represent the most cost-effective approach for widespread nature recovery.

Alternative Models: Commercial Land Management

The report argues that to get the "best value for taxpayer money," attractive funding schemes should also be available to estates and farms that can deliver high-quality, sustainable, and cost-effective outcomes for wildlife. The Welsh Government has a significant opportunity to improve nature by gaining the support and active involvement of the farming community, which means demonstrating that it understands and values farming.

The research included case studies of commercial land management regimes in Wales and the north of England, demonstrating that making a profit, improving habitats, and increasing biodiversity are not opposing aims. These commercial landowners often see themselves as "custodians" of the land, actively working to preserve and enhance it for the long term.

Consider these examples:

• Rhug Estate, North Wales: This 12,500-acre estate actively manages heather and controls bracken, employs legal predator control (e.g., mink, grey squirrels), and uses cattle for bracken control, wildfire risk reduction, and habitat improvement. Regular bird counts show good breeding populations of red and black grouse, hen harriers, merlin, and large numbers of songbirds. The estate is a major local employer (over 120 people, ten times more than RSPB Lake Vyrnwy) and contributes significantly to the local economy. They also invest in sustainable practices like renewable heat and power generation.

• Raby Estate, County Durham: Covering a significant area of mixed farmland and moorland (designated SAC and SPA), Raby Estate successfully integrates commercial farming, property management, and tourism with the preservation of rare native bird species. They recognize that effective, long-term, and targeted management is key.

• Cruglas Farm, Ceredigion: This 300-hectare livestock farm aims to demonstrate that farming can be sustainable, with wildlife flourishing alongside a viable business.

These commercial landowners, while receiving agricultural subsidies and eligible grants, also invest significant financial and human resources of their own, including the labour of gamekeepers for habitat improvement. Their practices, such as active tick and bracken management, contrast with the "laissez-faire" approach sometimes observed at Lake Vyrnwy, and are directly linked to better outcomes for ground-nesting birds.

The report concludes that the habitat improvements and biodiversity gains made by these commercial landowners are "remarkably good value for money". This evidence suggests that incentivizing farmers, especially through farmer clusters, can deliver significant biodiversity gains, particularly for mobile species like butterflies, moths, and hoverflies.

A Path Forward: Towards Collaborative Conservation

The challenges highlighted at Lake Vyrnwy, such as declining bird populations, concerns about specific management techniques like bracken and tick control and increasing wildfire risk, underscore the need for effective and adaptive management strategies to maintain the area’s SSSI, SPA, and SAC designations, as well as its capacity for carbon storage and water management.

While the report acknowledges and commends some of the RSPB’s work at Lake Vyrnwy, it suggests that its current model, characterized by intensive funding and potentially "light-touch" management in some critical areas, does not represent a cost-effective model for widespread nature recovery.

The report is not arguing that nature reserves are unnecessary, nor that the RSPB should not run Lake Vyrnwy or receive public money. Rather, it makes the crucial point that the individuals who often make the greatest efforts to counter the biodiversity crisis are those who manage their land to make a living.

The core message is a call for a more inclusive and balanced approach to conservation funding and policy. As Aldo Leopold wisely stated, “Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest”.

For the Welsh Government and policymakers across the UK, this means a significant opportunity:

• Recognize and value the crucial role of the farming and landowning community in delivering environmental benefits.

• Ensure attractive and accessible funding schemes are available to a wider range of land managers, not just large conservation organizations.

• Promote collaboration and engagement between rural communities and policymakers, avoiding a "top-down" approach that often alienates farmers.

• Focus on supporting diverse management practices that can deliver both food production and impressive biodiversity outcomes efficiently.

By adopting a collaborative approach that rewards all land managers for their conservation efforts, Wales can unlock immense potential for nature recovery. It’s an opportunity to build a future where nature thrives alongside prosperous, respected rural communities, offering true value for taxpayers and a lasting legacy for the landscape.

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