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| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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Moorland owners urged to follow burning code
MOORLAND owners and keepers
have been urged to follow the
new heather and grass burning
code.
Martin Gillibrand, secretary of
the Moorland Association, said
the authorities were trusting
them to be responsible.
But if that trust was broken,
the "light touch" approach
adopted by the Defra and Natural
England would change.
Mr Gillibrand was addressing a
well-attended meeting organised
by The Heather Trust at The
Bridge Hotel, Walshford, near
Wetherby.
He is a member of the Moorland
Burning Working Group,
which advised Defra on the new
voluntary code, which took effect
on October 1 last year.
The meeting was held to explain
the background to the code
and gather feedback on its first
season.
Mr Gillibrand said burning
had been carried out for hundreds
of years and offered huge
benefits when done responsibly.
"I start from the view that we
have nothing to apologise for," he
said.
"Mosaic burning was the best
way of keeping heather of value
to sheep, grouse and all the other
life that is so dependant on it."
He despaired when he heard of
no burn policies.
"If we do not burn heather, we
will lose what our forefathers
spent so much time creating," he
said.
That had resulted in 70pc of
the heather moorlands managed
for grouse being designated sites
of special scientific interest.
The increase in public access
and climate change had increased
the risk of wild fires, particularly
where heather was left
to grow tall and rank.
One such fire on the North
Yorkshire Moors had taken the
county's fire brigade days to put
out and caused great damage.
Another wild fire on a nearby
moor, where controlled burning
was regularly carried out, was
put out by keepers in an afternoon.
Mr Gillibrand said burning
must be done correctly as bad
burning could cause damage.
He warned the code would be
kept under constant review and
appealed to all those concerned
to use it.
"If we do not justify the trust
put in us, there will be plenty of
people saying we told you they
could not be trusted and we will
have a regime run by people who
do not know what they are talking
about," he said.
"It is vital that we all observe
the letter and spirit of the law."
2:02pm Friday 9th May 2008
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