BASC has worked with the Moorland Association to produce a briefing note for MPs outlining how the effective management of grouse moors can help prevent flooding.
The document seeks to address articles which appeared in the national press last month and prompted further statements in parliament.
The three-page briefing note counters claims that moors have been drained to produce more grouse, which in turn contributed to flooding in Northern England.
The note explains that far from seeking to create drier moors, managers appreciate that on a grouse moor “wetter is better” and that flooding can be inhibited by techniques such as blocking historical drainage ditches, restoring areas of bare peat and reintroducing sphagnum mosses.
Ian Grindy, a member of BASC’s council and chairman of the game and gameshooting committee, said: “Grouse moor managers understand the importance of building long-term resilience into their land and a vast amount of work is undertaken to protect these landscapes.
“One of the undeniable benefits of such work is that water run-off is slowed. Rather than contributing to flooding, grouse moors are improving outcomes.”
Moorland Association director Amanda Anderson said: “The Moorland Association manages one million acres of the uplands of Northern England and Wales. We are fully engaged doing all that can be done though consensus and innovation to help flood alleviation.
“We are determined that MPs, journalists and the public at large understand what is happening on the ground and are not influenced by flawed and damaging claims which have increasingly been levelled at grouse moor management.”
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