Association elects estate owners to take up key roles

THE OWNERS of two North Yorkshire estates have been voted in to leading roles with the national Moorland Association.

Mark Cunliffe-Lister, of the Swinton Estate, near Masham, has been elected as association chairman, while Tom OrdePowlett from Bolton Castle, in Wensleydale, is taking up the position of vice-chairman.

Mr Cunliffe-Lister said there was a “tremendous opportunity” to build on the multiple habitat and biodiversity successes which moorland management has achieved.

“The UK’s moorlands are very special places and we need to do everything we can to make sure they can be treasured by generations to come,” he said.

He added that there is a “massive commitment” by moor owners and land managers to guarantee the upland landscapes are maintained and nurtured, highlighting the role that peatlands play in carbon capture and climate change.

“In generations gone by, moors were valued by land owners solely for what they provided in terms of grouse shooting but that is far from the case now with nature, environment, flooding mitigation and carbon storage all to the fore,” Mr Cunliffe-Lister said.

The association’s members look after 860,000 acres of heather moorland in England and Wales, with more than 60 per cent of England’s upland Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) being moors managed for grouse shooting.

Mr Cunliffe-Lister said the role of gamekeepers had evolved to increasingly promote conservation.

He added: “They are now modern moorland managers and their conservation and biodiversity knowledge and skills are hugely important in protecting wildlife.”