How do we keep the grouse calling?

Jennifer Sizeland explores how we can protect Ilkley Moor and its wildlife for future generations.

Few sounds are more evocative than hearing the red grouse call in the early morning as the mist starts to lift behind Ilkley’s famous Cow and Calf rock formations. Birders describe the sound as a repeated warning to “go back, go back, go back”, which is apt given how humans have treated this precious carbon landscape throughout the ages.

Ilkley Moor is not just an atmospheric destination, much beloved by locals and visitors who tread its pathways. It’s also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and an EU-designated South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area (SPA). It is intriguing in every way, encompassing a constellation of interests ranging from geology to social history.  

Moors like Ilkley create peatland development archives, which allow researchers to view and date climatic changes, peat growth, wetness and plant composition. But that’s not all. In a climate emergency, with recent research revealing that carbon absorption by land failed in 2023 – made worse by drought and fire – these archives are more important than ever.

In the UK, around 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon are stored in our peatlands – so it's essential we avoid releasing any more. While much of Ilkley’s peat has been removed by cutting for fuel or drained to alter land use, there is potential for restoration – and some rewetting is already in process. 

“Healthy peatlands have numerous benefits,” explains Dr Kirsten Lees, a lecturer in Zero Carbon Environmental Science at the University of Derby. “They store huge amounts of carbon, can limit flooding when heavy rainfall hits the moors and provide habitats for rare species.

“Unfortunately, many of our peatlands in the UK are in poor condition, which makes them more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”

Now the challenge is to stop them eroding, limit the spread of heather, ensure no more carbon is released and prevent tree cover, which is detrimental to wildlife that needs open moorland.

“Restoration can help to improve resilience,” adds Lees. “Much restoration work is targeted towards raising water levels, because dry peat releases carbon, while wet peat traps it.”

As well as the ubiquitous grouse, at-risk bird species like curlew, skylark, lapwing, golden plover, merlin and short-eared owls nest here. Every egg counts for them to halt their plummeting populations. Migratory birds like wheatears, redshanks, fieldfares, redwings, cuckoos, swifts, swallows and house martins also visit in different seasons. Roe deer, butterflies like the green hairstreak, common lizards, frogs and toads also shelter in the heather and scrub. In a nature-depleted country like the UK, every habitat matters, especially as peaty moorland is a scarcity itself.

While moors are considered to be completely natural areas, Ilkley Moor has been shaped by humans since neolithic times, with excavations to reveal more about its ancient heritage changing it even further. But its history is tangible to this day, as walkers occasionally happen across the carved flint of tools or arrowheads. Animals have been grazed and peat has been damaged, removed or drained with these interventions, leaving behind the bog, heath and grassland seen today.

The position of Ilkley Moor is a challenge in itself. These deserted upland expanses attract people who want to take advantage of the open space somewhere they’re unlikely to be seen. Off-roaders, for instance, have taken to driving on the moor, damaging plant life as their heavy vehicles traverse the landscape (with reports that numerous 4x4s are being abandoned after getting stuck in boggy moorland).

Signs warning walkers to keep their dogs on a lead to protect nesting birds were also vandalised this year, with some viewing the moorland more as a playground than a wildlife-supporting habitat that needs to be respected.

Authorities find it difficult to prevent damage like this as Ilkley is more easily accessible from nearby busy cities like Leeds than remote areas in places like Scotland. However, these are the simpler problems that moors face, as the climate emergency means that fires are more likely and more devastating when they happen. This is where a controlled heather management approach may work for a moor.

“Wildfires are very likely to burn into the peat, thus losing hundreds or even thousands of years of peat (carbon), but controlled fires only burn the vegetation and not the peat,” says Dr Andreas Heinemeyer, associate professor at the University of York and peatland expert. “They can actually prevent wildfires by reducing the fuel load without necessarily losing carbon long-term.”

The good news is that work is underway to protect the landscape from wildfires and further degradation as part of wider efforts to improve the “resilience of Ilkley Moor”, with a Moors for the Future Partnership, in collaboration with Bradford Council and Rebel Restoration, playing an important role.

The moor is owned and managed by Bradford Council, making it subject to the same budget constraints as every other public entity. However, the Moors for the Future Partnership has been funded to provide a “dataset for hydrology, biodiversity and carbon” alongside “monitoring and evidencing restoration measures”, which will help decide the next steps after the current action plan.

The Ilkley project also aims to slow water from the moor to Backstone Beck by blocking artificial drainage points – recreating the upper beck – and building small dams. Sphagnum moss is also being replanted with 25,000 plugs being put in the ground between 2023 and 2024. This plant can hold up to 20 times its weight in water and its antibacterial properties mean that it has historically been used for wound dressings, bedding nappies and even lamp wicks.

Even in the event that not all of the moss does return, any plant can form peat, even moorland species like heather and sedges. “It is the conditions which govern peat formation in the UK uplands, namely low pH, high water table, and cool temperatures,” Heinemeyer explains. However, sedges like cotton grass can instead allow the release of methane gas, which is worse for the climate than carbon dioxide.

Another part of the project is to remove sitka spruce trees. It might sound counter-intuitive, but they can dry out deep peat and would naturally die away as peat builds up and the acidic soil removes nutrients. They will also cut back some of the heather, as well as manage bracken and access routes.

“We need to acknowledge complexity across a landscape, consider different management options based on their benefits and trade-offs and robust evidence,” explains Heinemeyer.

“It’s also really important that local people understand why restoration work is needed, what it involves and the benefits it brings, as well as having the opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have about changes to their local landscape,” says Jane Akerman, the peatland programme manager for the IUCN UK Peatland Programme.

“Organisations like the Friends of Ilkley Moor do a great job of communicating this and representing the voices of the local community.

“Peatland restoration can be an expensive process, but the benefits in terms of the ecosystem services provided by restored peatlands far outweigh the costs. It’s important that those ecosystem services are properly valued and that this is reflected in public funding mechanisms.”