Duchy of Lancaster
“One of the biggest issues in Bowland is grouse-shooting, which reduces plant diversity”
The Duchy of Lancaster is owned by the Queen and, though it doesn’t cover an extensive area of the Forest of Bowland, there is a substantial holding at Whitewell, near Clitheroe. Bowland’s moorlands ought to be fertile territory for species, such as hen harriers and other raptors, but in recent decades they have largely failed to flourish.
One of the biggest conservation issues in Bowland is grouse-shooting, which requires
the cultivation of a heather monoculture at the expense of greater plant diversity. A spokesperson from the duchy told BBC Wildlife that game-shooting of grouse, partridges and pheasants only takes place on a “limited scale”, but to really live up to Prince Charles’s words, should it not commit to abandoning these pursuits entirely? That could have a domino effect, persuading other landowners to give them up as well.
Whitewell could look to the example of the RSPB’s reserve at Dove Stone, in the Peak District, where rewetting blanket bog by blocking drainage ditches has resulted in a big increase in nesting dunlin and curlews. Over a 12-year period, breeding dunlin numbers grew by 37 per cent, while curlew numbers doubled.
A truly rewilded Bowland would have, yes, heather, but it would share the space with bilberry, cottongrass and vast expanses of peat-forming sphagnum moss, while birch, juniper and rowan woodlands would also begin to come back. Along with waders, short-eared owls and meadow pipits would thrive, and once fully restored, the growing prey base would allow hen harriers to feed their hungry broods without competing with hedge-fund managers for red grouse.
Bowland might eventually attract golden eagles dispersing from southern Scotland, bringing this apex predator back to England after a long absence. Or perhaps the royal family could give them a helping hand, as is being considered in Wales?