A very interesting article that Ian, a belated thanks for bringing it to my attention. I have been catching up with some reading of late after a manic 10 months at work.

Having completed bird and other wildlife surveys across the country for over 10 years (lots of these surveys to assess the impacts of proposed developments) I have witnessed, ironically, the destruction of huge swaiths of uplands by sheep farmers go completely unchallenged or even noticed. Areas supporting golden plover, dunlin and curlew drained through vertical hillside trenches, lush billberry and heather moors flattened of former black grouse leks and systmatic trampling and cutting of acid grasslands with nesting skylarks, meadow pipits and lapwings going on in broad daylight with no consequences.

It has always struck me that many of the proposed developments put in place mitigation to offset any potential issues, which has created safe havens for certain species, such as dunlin, whinchat and cuckoos to name a few. I have also visited some of the areas that I surveyed a long time ago and ironically the ones that never went ahead are now some of the poorer areas of upland, as a result of landowners not receiving funds from developers or energy companies for long term leases. They have opted to maximise their incomes through inreased densities of livestock and heavily drained vast patches of former moorlands and upland grasses.

I have raised this myself directly with the statutory agencies, but have also found it has led me up a cul-de-sac. However, it is not a lost cause, as can't be seen from coordinated opposition to the destruction of Chat Moss and it's success. This though demonstrates the power of large numbers of people and several councils against one developer who has applied through the system. The real damage to the UK's moss and peat lands is under the carpet, out of sight and done in areas where the communites are blind and the authorities do not oppose such activities!