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Extinction looms for Peak District’s iconic mountain hares

New research by Manchester Metropolitan University and Queen’s University Belfast published in the journal Ecology and Evolution has warned that just 3,500 mountain hares remain in England. The study found that the iconic species which is only found in the Peak District is holding out in areas of moorlands where their […]

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The ‘giant sponge’ moorland tackling climate change and protecting homes

Re-published from Manchester Evening News: A vast area of moorland has been transformed into a ‘giant sponge’ to tackle the effects of climate change. The project on Holcombe Moor above Ramsbottom and Bury is also being credited with helping to protect nearby lowland villages from flooding during intense rainfall. Conservationists have constructed […]

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Rewet peat bogs to prevent moorland fires, says Natural England

Natural England is encouraging moorland owners to restore vast areas of damaged peatlands to help fight wildfires. The nature protection agency’s plea follows publication of a key report detailing how wet bogs helped to stop the spread of a major wildfire in 2018 on the moors above Saddleworth, on the northern […]

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Government unveils tougher rules on grouse moor burning

Burning heather on fragile blanket bog is set to be restricted on northern England’s grouse moors under new legislation announced by the Government today. The tighter rules will mean that grouse moors will no longer be allowed to routinely set fire to heather, to engineer game bird breeding habitat, on some of the […]