England’s new 30x30 plan was published yesterday on how we get to 30% of land being protected for nature by 2030. But almost immediately, one of the country’s biggest institutional landowners, the Church of England, rejects a measurable 30% restoration target for its own estate. 🧵

7/ Reducing wildfire risk therefore has to be a priority. There are ways to do this: maintain firebreaks, ensure Fire Services and land managers have the right equipment and training, support local rangers, educate visitors, and ensure legal controlled burns are well planned and managed.

3/ The dark shape on the right is Fernworthy Forest. The large dark patch in the centre marks the aftermath of a significant fire; you can still see smoke rising from its southern edge. Here's a newspaper clipping from the time.

2/ This image dates from April 1984. The lighter-coloured area is northern Dartmoor (which may also suggest that Molinia was already widespread across parts of the moor at that time, but that's another story).

There's a great deal of discussion about wildfires at the moment. On Dartmoor, however, large fires, whether from controlled burns ("swaling") or started accidentally, are nothing new. 🧵

Oh, and while we are at it - that map of Molinia on Dartmoor that is being shared 'round is not the result of "extensive surveys" as I've seen claimed.

... it specifically refers to those areas where heather was totally absent in the Molinia sward. It did not mean Molinia covered only 1% of the moor - that's absolute nonsense.

The cremated remains of the Bronze Age "White Horse Hill Woman" were laid on a bed of Molinia. It has been found in core samples throughout the peat.

Wearying under the continued weight of nonsense from the pony lobby ... but just to say ... Despite repeated claims, Purple Moor Grass, Molinia, is NOT an invasive plant on Dartmoor. It's a perfectly natural component of Dartmoor's blanket bogs and wet heaths.

4/5 This response was under the Conservatives, which could be a defence, apart from the fact that the Labour government confirmed this remained it's position in this response from (recently ex) Defra Minister Angela Eagle on 2 June this year. www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=20...

3/5 The Government absolutely DID NOT accept this recommendation ... what Mr Pollard is quoting here is David Fursdon's original recommendation. The Government actually REJECTED this in 2024 in their formal response to the Fursdon Review as follows: www.gov.uk/government/p...

Goodness me, the pony misinformation continues, this time from Luke Pollard MP. In an op-ed for the Moorlander today he says that Gov accepted the Fursdon Review recommendation that Ponies & cattle should not be linked for the calculation of AES agreement stocking rates This is simply not true 🧵

According to my article, misinformation in this space risks creating division, undermining constructive debate, and could even threaten future financial support for the very ponies campaigners want to protect. The key lesson?

Ponies have always been included in and supported by Dartmoor's agri-environment schemes. See an example here of a few management areas in the Forest of Dartmoor commons HLS agreement.

Good to read a much more sensible, accurate and informed view on the Dartmoor pony issue from Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust this morning as opposed to the misinformation from others.

Happy #worldpeatlandsday ... who doesn't love a good Dartmoor mire, especially in winter. (Pic, Raybarrow Pool, Winter 2020)

Temperate rainforests are extraordinary ecosystems; rich in biodiversity, carbon storage, water retention, and climate resilience. Protecting and expanding them should be a national priority in this, one of our precious National Parks.

This is what long-term environmental recovery looks like: good science, practical knowledge from nature conservationists who really know Dartmoor, collaboration, persistence, and key stakeholders backing restoration at scale.

And not to forget Moor Trees, who have diligently collected acorns and skilfully grown oak saplings.

It's also great to read Natural England's renewed enthusiasm for expanding Black-a-Tor; as an NNR, they share the management with the Duchy.

🌳😊🙏Great to have support for our new campaign, including from our friends at Devon Wildlife Trust and Moor Trees - thank you. Here we are at Black-a-Tor Copse yesterday. For more details of the campaign, visit: www.dartmoornature.org.uk/rainforests (📷 🙏Fern Leigh Albert)

🌿 Dartmoor’s rainforests are disappearing. We’re launching a campaign to help bring them back — with a bold aim to DOUBLE rainforest on Dartmoor’s commons. More trees. More wildlife. A wilder future. Read more here www.dartmoornature.org.uk/rainforests

A few curlew songs/calls picked up on the Biophones out on NE Dartmoor. Not many but there is at least one, poss two birds around - maybe others in other areas. They can be elusive when they want to be. Here's a nice spectrogram of some calls picked up in the middle of the night.

Lovely early morning RSPB Dartmoor moorland bird survey up at Warren House/Headland Warren … one of the better places on Dartmoor for birds. Great to see and hear lots of Whinchat.

Going through the first batch of sounds collected last week by the Biophones ... both were located on mires on N Dartmoor, and this is a lovely example of what these places sound like at first light at the moment - the spectrogram shows a grasshopper warbler "reeling" and a "drumming" snipe.

Gave a talk about Dartmoor Nature Alliance to a very positive and upbeat West Devon Green Party today. Could it be that Greens are in with a chance at the next election in this super rural constituency with a Tory majority of just 61?

Each "Biophone" contains a couple of AudioMoth acoustic loggers, large-capacity microSD cards, and, crucially, a powerful battery. This means they will record sound 24/7 for a month at a time.

I am doing some remote acoustic monitoring on North Dartmoor to help pick up Curlew from the Duchy-led Headstarting Project. These great little bits of kit are supplied by the Wild Connect - read more here www.wild-connect.com/the-biophone/

Great to be part of this weekend's Dartmoor Tors Festival. Well done to the organisers, and thanks to Gillian from www.dartmoorwalkingtours.co.uk for helping me lead a wonderful dawn chorus walk on Saturday morning.

"By 2030, our landscapes will include a mix of different land uses, but some less productive landscapes will be making more space for nature and capturing carbon." Land Use Framework published today Browns in this map, also in the report, are less productive landscapes. #justsaying 😊