BASC is urging members to help promote shooting as a force for conservation by taking part in the latest annual Green Shoots Mapping review.
More than 1,400 individuals and shoots use the Green Shoots Mapping software – recently revamped to work on smartphones and tablets – to create bespoke maps of their shooting grounds and to record species and habitat information.
This data provides evidence of the importance of shooting’s contribution to conservation and ultimately informs national conservation policies.
Ian Danby, BASC’s head of biodiversity projects, said: “We are asking everyone who uses Green Shoots Mapping to log on and review the areas they have mapped and for new users to start on the system.
“The review provides a snap shot of species and habitats present on shooting land. This snap shot can be compared with the review in 2015 and reviews we do in the future.
“Monitoring change in habitats and species is of high importance to nature conservation planning and action. We can use this information to demonstrate the conservation value of shooting, as well as to find conservation projects that fit well with shooting and biodiversity targets. This demonstrates that shooting is an active force for conservation.”
The review is open to anyone who already has shooting land mapped on Green Shoots Mapping or adds it before 15 May. A snapshot of the information will be taken on that date to provide baseline information.
As a further incentive to members, each shoot reviewed online will be entered in a prize draw for a pair of Bauer 8 X 32 HD binoculars.
The ‘Review Your Shoots’ link, including BASC’s new video is here. Green Shoots Mapping is here.