How does the National Park Authority help to look after moorland?

The National Park Authority provides advice and money to farmers and landowners to help them care for the moors and keep the sheep and grouse healthy.

For example, a farmer could apply for a grant to build new sheep dipping facilities. A sheep dip is a bath full of water and chemicals which kill ticks and mites. It is  important to try to reduce the numbers of ticks on the moor as these tiny, blood sucking creatures can pass diseases from one animal to another. 

Farmers could also apply for a grant towards bracken control. Bracken is a tall fern that can spread rapidly in moorland areas and take over from heather and native grasses. Many years ago bracken was cut and used for animal bedding but now it is not used for anything and can cause problems if eaten by sheep and cattle. Controlling bracken is difficult as it spreads by thick, underground rhizomes or stems. The most effective method of control is to spray it with chemicals using a helicopter and this is very expensive.       

Over the last 100 years nearly a third of the moorland in England and Wales has been lost. Some has been turned into grassland to feed more sheep and some has been planted with fast growing, coniferous trees.

Some of the birds that live on the moors such as merlin and golden plover are internationally important and our remaining moorland is now protected to help the numbers of these birds to increase.

Today 96% of the moorland in the National Park is managed in ways which fit in with the Park Authority’s conservation aims.