Grazing is part of multi-prong answer to severe wildfires, says NSA

Successive government policies that have reduced livestock grazing across large areas of the uplands have unintentionally increased the severity of wildfires by allowing huge fuel loads to build up, the National Sheep Association (NSA) is warning.

As firefighters continue to battle major moorland fires, including a recent fire on Tintwistle Moor, Derbyshire, NSA says the conversation must move beyond how fires start and focus on why they become so destructive.

Over the past two decades, Agri-environment schemes have encouraged significant reductions in sheep numbers and grazing pressure across many upland areas. Combined with increasing restrictions on other management practices such as controlled burning. Significant areas of moorland have accumulated mature, dry vegetation that acts as fuel when fires occur. 

NSA is not calling for a return to the heavy stocking levels of previous decades but instead is calling for a more balanced approach that gives experienced upland farmers greater flexibility to determine appropriate grazing levels for the landscapes they live and work in.

NSA Policy Manager Michael Priestley says: "The intensity and frequency of recent wildfires is concerning. Although wildfires are not a new phenomenon, the warmer, drier weather we are experiencing is a factor in increasing incidents.

“Government policy has spent the last 20 years reducing grazing across many upland landscapes. While those policies were introduced with good intentions, they have often tipped the balance too far, leaving large areas with little or no grazing and an ever-increasing build-up of combustible vegetation. Grazed grass initially grows back green and lush, and is far less flammable.

“Grazing is not the whole answer to wildfires, but it is undoubtedly part of the solution.”

Mr Priestley stresses that sheep grazing should be viewed as one part of a wider land management strategy.

"NSA acknowledges overgrazing is a problem, and payments in the 1980s and 1990s saw too many sheep on some hills. We want to see well-managed grazing alongside cutting and controlled burning and other appropriate management techniques, creating a mosaic of vegetation heights rather than large expanses of ageing heather and dead molinia grass. This benefits a wide range of wildlife while also reducing the volume of combustible material available during dry weather.”

The organisation warns that unmanaged fuel load increases the threat to rural communities, firefighters, livestock, wildlife and important peatland habitats when fires occur.

He continues: “Hill farmers have managed these environments for generations. They should have a greater voice in deciding what level of grazing is appropriate for their land, rather than being constrained by blanket prescriptions that do not reflect local conditions.

"We have focused for years on reducing grazing but have paid far less attention to the unintended consequences. If we are serious about making our uplands more resilient to climate change and extreme weather, we need policies that support active land management, not discourage it.”

Growing concern has led to:

• An EFRA (environment food and rural affairs) committee call for evidence on wildfires, which closed in May.
• The creation of the All Party Parliamentary group for wildfire prevention in June.
• Investment in wildfire response capability for England.
• Fire incidents reporting being upgraded through the Fire and Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP).
• A major public awareness campaign by the National Fire Chiefs Council and local fire services intensifying messaging to public to avoid disposal barbecues.
• MP for High Peak, Derbyshire, Jon Pearce has campaigned with Derbyshire retailers to stop selling disposable barbecues.