Forth and Borders Moorland Management Scheme

Transcription

1 Forth and Borders Moorland Management Scheme Introduction Scotland s moorlands are a distinctive and important part of our natural heritage. They are found in upland areas throughout Scotland including parts of the south and east within the Area identified by SNH as Forth & Borders (Fife, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Lothians and Scottish Borders). This Natural Care Scheme offers help with the management and care of twelve moorland Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Together these sites cover a total of 28,000 hectares. The three largest sites, accounting for 90% of this area, are in the Scottish Borders. They are the Tweedsmuir Hills SSSI, Moorfoot Hills SSSI, and Langholm-Newcastleton Hills SSSI. All twelve sites are nationally important, and are consequently notified as SSSI, for their heath or blanket bog vegetation. This tends to be dominated by ling heather and, in the boggier areas, by mixtures of cotton grass, cross-leaved heath, blaeberry and crowberry. Three of the sites are also nationally important for their range of upland breeding birds, including for example, black grouse, curlew, golden plover and snipe. Four of the sites support moorland features of international importance and consequently have additional designations. Langholm-Newcastleton Hills SSSI and Fala Flow SSSI are classified as Special Protection Areas (SPA) for their bird interests. Moorfoot Hills SSSI and Craigengar SSSI are candidate Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) for their habitats of international importance. The special features of each site are described in more detail later in the booklet. While the size, nature and management history of each site varies, they are all thought to share common moorland management needs, principally muirburn, grazing and bracken control. 1

2 The Scheme The main aim of this Moorland Management Scheme is to maintain and improve the habitats and species for which the SSSIs are notified, that is their heath and blanket bog vegetation and breeding birds. The Scheme aims to do this by providing money and advice to land managers to support good management and by encouraging different users of the moorland to work together. We may also provide information and training opportunities for moorland managers. You can get further information from the following Scheme contacts: Lachlan Lamont, Scottish Natural Heritage, Dalkeith Country Park, Dalkeith, Midlothian EH22 2NA Tel: (for sites in Fife, Falkirk and Lothians) Janet Khan, Scottish Natural Heritage, Anderson s Chambers, Market Street, Galashiels TD1 3AF Tel: (for sites in Scottish Borders) For general information about SNH s Natural Care schemes you can our help line at natural.care@snh.gov.uk or visit our website at You may also find the leaflet Frequently asked Questions answers your queries. The Scheme Area The Scheme is available to farms and estates within the following SSSIs, which are notified for their moorland or blanket bog interests: North Fife Heaths Lacesston Muir and Glen Burn Gorge Park Hill and Tipperton Mosses Denny Muir Lammer Law Dundreich Plateau Fala Flow Craigengar Cobbinshaw Moss Moorfoot Hills Tweedsmuir Hills Langholm - Newcastleton Hills. Where there is clear benefit to the moorland and blanket bogs, areas of suitable moorland habitat on the farms and estates lying outside but next to the SSSIs may also be considered. 2

3 Who can apply? If you have a legal right to manage land within the Scheme area and expect to have that right for at least five years, you can apply. You will be able to join the Scheme even if you already have an agreement with SNH or another Government agency or department, as long as You are not already being paid for the same management activities on the land that you wish to enter in the Scheme; and the existing agreement does not conflict with the objectives of the Scheme. You should tell us if you have already applied or if you intend to apply to another scheme, for example the Rural Stewardship Scheme. 3

4 Joining the Scheme There are three stages to go through to join the Scheme: 1. The Application You must first get an Application Form from the Scheme contacts (see page 2). Everyone with a legal right to manage the moorland (for example a landowner, an agricultural tenant and a sporting tenant) must complete and sign the form before you send it back to us. The Scheme is open for applications from 21 April 2004 until 31 March The Moorland Management Plan When we have received and checked your application, we will write to confirm that you can enter the Scheme. You can then arrange for a Moorland Management Plan to be prepared (see page 9). You should send us a completed Plan within one year of receiving our letter. When the completed Plan has been reviewed and agreed with everyone, we will formally approve it and use it to draw up a Management Agreement. 3. The Management Agreement The Management Agreement (the Agreement) is the formal contract between you and SNH. It will last for five years from the date that you agree to start implementing the Moorland Management Plan. This must be within one year of completing the Moorland Management Plan. We will send the Agreement to you to be signed by all the parties involved. We will not pay for any work that is carried out before the Agreement is signed. Annual Record of Management You will need to record the management you carry out each year under the Scheme and send us this record. We will provide an appropriate form for you to complete. We may also require a photograph and map showing the area where work was carried out (depending on which prescriptions you choose). Some of what you will need to record is shown in the management prescription section below. Timing of Payments The timing of payments will be as follows: For writing a Management Plan: After completion, and approval by SNH, For annual management works: Each year in June or September for the year before, For other management works: After completion or each year in June or September for the year before. For regular and ongoing management, you need to give us your Annual Record of Management by the end of May or August each year for payment in June or September respectively. For other management works you will need to send us a completed claim form with an invoice or other form of evidence of it having been completed. For one-off works you will need to get three written quotations (unless you agree something else with us). 4

5 Available management prescriptions and payment rates We will pay for specific management works to be carried out. These management works each benefit particular moorland features. The management prescriptions available at each site (see Table 1 on page 7) are tailored to support and sustain the important moorland features of each site. Special Features of each Site North Fife Heaths SSSI (27 hectares) This site includes three discrete areas of dwarf-shrub heath at low altitude. The site includes examples of both grazed and ungrazed vegetation, ranging from closely grazed bell heather and heaths rich in lichens to tall ungrazed heaths mostly dominated by ling or blaeberry. Lacesston Muir and Glen Burn Gorge SSSI (101 hectares) This is the most extensive remaining area of upland heath in north east Fife, supporting heathland breeding birds and a particularly varied collection of flowering plants. The site also contains bogs fed by ground water, grassland and remnant gorge woodland. Park Hill and Tipperton Mosses SSSI (91 hectares) This site supports two types of bog: blanket bog and raised bog. It contains the only remaining treeless examples of upland raised bog in Fife. Denny Muir SSSI (198 hectares) Denny Muir is the highest point in the Falkirk area. It is important for its mosaic of upland habitats including blanket bog, dwarf shrub heath, acid grassland and fen communities. Lammer Law SSSI (991 hectares) This East Lothian site is largely upland blanket bog and heather moor with a variety of other habitats such as cleughs (small valleys/gullies), woodland, scrub and open water. It includes the largest area of juniper scrub in the Lothians. Dundreich Plateau SSSI (286 hectares) This plateau on the edge of the Moorfoot Hills is the largest example of upland blanket bog in Midlothian. Cloudberry is abundant and mosses and lichens are particularly rich. The cleughs add diversity to the site and contain a large number of flowering plants, mosses and liverworts, some of which are rare in south east Scotland. Fala Flow SSSI (323 hectares) Fala Flow is situated on the edge of the Lammermuir Hills, southeast of Edinburgh. Most of the site is upland blanket bog. It is an internationally important wetland, and consequently classified as a RAMSAR site and a Special Protection Area (SPA), because it supports an internationally important pink-footed goose roost during the winter. 5

6 Craigengar SSSI (328 hectares) This West Lothian site holds three characteristic upland habitats: dry upland heath, blanket bog and flush communities within hill cleughs. It is of international importance for its dry upland heath, species-rich grassland and its marsh saxifrage and is a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Cobbinshaw Moss SSSI (494 hectares) Cobbinshaw Moss is an intermediate bog in the western foothills of the Pentlands. It is described as intermediate bog because it exhibits characteristics of both blanket bog and raised bog. It is the largest of a string of bogs along the south-western edge of the Pentlands' watershed. Moorfoot Hills SSSI (8723 hectares) This Borders site supports extensive blanket bog on the rounded hill tops grading into dry upland heath, acid and flushed grasslands on lower slopes divided by numerous lightly wooded cleughs. It is a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for its internationally important blanket bog and dry heath. The varied upland breeding birds are an important feature of the site. Tweedsmuir Hills SSSI (8848 hectares) The Tweedsmuir Hills in the Borders are typical of the area, with extensive dry heaths and blanket bog. They also support wind clipped sedge and lichen-rich heaths. There are scarce and rare plants and mosses on the site. Upland breeding birds are an important feature. Langholm Newcastleton Hills SSSI (7679 hectares) The hills at this site support extensive, open areas of either dry upland heath or blanket bog dominated by cotton grass. The lower slopes are mostly semi-improved or boggy grassland. Woodland is found in a few cleughs and along the Tarras Water. Upland breeding birds are an important feature and the site is of international importance, and consequently classified as a Special Protection Area (SPA), for breeding hen harriers. Prescriptions and Payment Rates The management prescriptions are grouped into three levels as follows and payment rates are listed in Table 2 on page 8. Level One comprises the production of a moorland management plan for the farm or estate (whichever is the smaller). Level Two comprises primary moorland management activities. Level Three comprises various other moorland management activities. 6

7 Management Prescriptions that are available for each site Table 1 The management prescriptions that are available for each site are shown (shaded) below: Site/management prescription Langholm-Newcastleton Hills Moorfoot Hills Tweedsmuir Hills Lammer Law Dundreich Plateau Fala Flow Craigengar Cobbinshaw Moss Denny Muir Lacesston Muir & Glen Burn Gorge North Fife Heaths Park Hill & Tipperton Mosses Management Plan Muirburn/cutting Blanket Bog Management Bracken Control Fencing Shepherding Stock off wintering Stock reduction Diversionary feeding Predator control Rabbit control Scrub development/control Heather restoration Ditch blocking Key This prescription attracts payment through the Natural Care Scheme to maintain the feature(s) for which each SSSI is notified. All Natural Care Moorland Management Scheme applicants must prepare a Moorland Management Plan (the Plan) and agree it with us. Your choice of prescriptions will be led by the management needs of the habitats and species as identified in the Plan. We expect your choice of prescriptions to include all of the primary moorland management Level 2 activities which are identified within the Plan as necessary to maintain these habitats and species. 7

8 Table 2 Payment rates Level Moorland Management Prescription Payment rate Limit (if applicable) 1 Write a moorland management plan for the farm 1.50 per ha. Min 250; or estate (whichever is the smaller) (One off payment) Max 1,250 per Plan 2 Muirburn (or cutting) 110 per ha 25,000 burnt or cut over 5 years Blanket bog management 2.50 per ha per year 1250 per year Bracken control 120 per ha initial 100 ha or treatment, plus 25 per 24,500 ha for follow-up work over 5 years years Four grazing management options: Fencing to improve grazing management Shepherding Off wintering of sheep for 22 weeks Stock reduction 3 per metre 100 per gate 7 per hour per ewe or ewe equivalent per year 15 per ewe or ewe equivalent per year* (see below) 3 Diversionary feeding of hen harriers 900 per nest per year plus 500 initial payment Predator control 2 per ha per year and 3,600 /or 40 per crow trap per year Rabbit control Scrub development Scrub control Heather restoration Ditch blocking To be negotiated Fencing at 3 per metre Planting at SFGS rates To be negotiated To be negotiated To be negotiated Please note that we may review payment rates to make sure that the rates reflect the cost of taking part in the scheme. We will tell you before any review. * The stock reduction payment does not include any element of agricultural subsidies, reflecting the fact that these will continue to be paid to farmers in the Single Farm Payment from 2005, following the Mid- Term Review of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). 8

9 Detailed information on management prescriptions LEVEL 1 Writing a Moorland Management Plan All Natural Care Moorland Management Scheme applicants must prepare a Moorland Management Plan (the Plan) and agree it with us. Where the land is managed by more than one person, for example by a landowner, an agricultural tenant and/or a sporting tenant, the Plan must be written jointly. Joint applicants must agree and record in the Plan which of them is the lead, and who we should pay for each prescription. The Plan is key to deciding how management for the natural heritage, farming and sporting interests of a moorland are to fit together. Your Plan needs to include enough detail about the past, present and proposed management of your moorland for all involved to see and understand what is being done and why. You will probably need specialist help to complete your Plan. We can help you to find a consultant. Any contract for preparing the Plan will however be between you and the consultant. We will give you or your consultant a Plan layout with guidance, information on habitats, birds and other wildlife and lend you aerial photographs. Your Plan needs to: describe the land accompanied by a map; state who is responsible for the management of the land; identify all designations and describe why they are notified for example: o SSSIs, o Natura 2000 sites (Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), o Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), o Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs), o Wildlife Sites, and o Scheduled Ancient Monuments. describe the current and past agricultural, conservation, sporting or other management of the land, describe the condition of moorland habitats based on a habitat condition assessment, state the farming, sporting, natural heritage and any other objectives for the land, consider how these objectives can be achieved, how any problems will be overcome and state the targets for the five years of the Management Agreement, list the management actions required and the relevant scheme prescriptions and monitoring, include an action timetable; and show specific areas of interest or activity on one or more maps. Guidance on further details required is provided in the prescription details. Payments Since you may need specialist help to prepare your Plan, we will make a single payment for the cost of the Plan when we approve it, according to the rates and limits set out in Table 2. 9

10 LEVEL 2 Primary moorland management activities Muirburn or Cutting on Heather Moorland Fire is probably one of the most useful, and oldest, land management tools and has been used to manage heather moorlands for hundreds of years. It is a powerful tool, which needs to be used with skill and understanding at appropriate locations if it is not to do more harm than good. If your land is of special interest for its open, dry heath or for the birds or other plants and animals that depend on this habitat, and is shown as eligible in Table 1, you may apply for the muirburn (or cutting) prescription. 1. You will need to provide a muirburn/cutting plan. This should describe how much (estimated in hectares per year), where and how you intend to carry out muirburn or cutting. It should describe the appropriate burning rotation length, proposed burn sizes, the labour available, and methods to be used to carry out the burning/cutting and to control fires. A map will be required to show where burning would be beneficial, identify fire-free areas and differentiate between areas which may require different rotations. 2. Muirburn and cutting will be carried out following The Muirburn Code (1) In particular: At most, 10% of the suitable heather area can be burnt or cut in any one year and/or up to 50% over five years, unless otherwise justified in the Plan and agreed with us. Individual fires or cuts to be between 0.4 ha (approx 20m by 200m) and 1.0 ha (approx 30m by 330m) in size. Larger or smaller fires or cuts will not be included in payment calculations unless justified in the Plan and agreed with us. Burning or cutting should not be carried out on: o areas of blanket bog with less than 75% cover of heather, o steep and/or rocky ground, o areas of wind clipped heath, o areas of older heather used by nesting raptors or of interest for other fire-sensitive habitats or species. Muirburn and cutting should not lead to any areas of bracken expanding and must be kept more than an agreed distance from existing areas of bracken. If bracken does show any evidence of spread into burnt areas, then it should be controlled. For safety purposes, fires must be manned by two or more people. Payment and Monitoring We will pay you for muirburn/cutting each year, for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management. If you are responsible for muirburn, you will need to show the individual areas which were burnt or cut during the previous season on a map and give us a copy of this with your Annual Record of Management. 10

11 We will also inspect the quality and extent of muirburn on some areas each year. You may use our payments as best suits your management needs. For example, you may: supplement the wages of existing farm and estate workers, employ additional workers or invest in mechanical aids. We will work out your payments on the area of moorland burnt following The Muirburn Code. Blanket Bog Management Maintaining peat-forming plants is essential for the long-term survival of blanket bogs. When they die, these plants only partially decompose due to the wet, acid conditions. This results in the formation of peat. Perhaps the most characteristic of these plants are the Sphagnum bog mosses that are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment and can easily be damaged or destroyed. If all or part of your land is of special interest for blanket bog, and is shown as eligible in Table 1, you can apply for this prescription to manage the peatland in a sustainable manner. 1. Grazing Trampling by livestock can dramatically reduce or even remove Sphagnum, expose bare peat, and make it more prone to erosion. Grazing pressure should, preferably, be between ewes per ha and it should not exceed 0.5 ewes per ha, To avoid poaching as well as enrichment through supplementary feeding and dunging, feeding sites should be moved around annually and should be sited on areas with little wildlife interest. They should not be sited on, or within, 100 metres of dwarf shrub heath, blanket bog, calcareous grassland or wet, flushed areas. If there are only these habitats available on which to place feed sites, a rotation timetable should be agreed with SNH, and included in the Plan, Stock should be moved around, to distribute the grazing pressure evenly, To avoid damage through stock trampling and repeated vehicle use, gates should be located on drier slopes or knolls, To avoid damage through animal tracking, fences should be aligned to avoid wet areas/deep peat. 2. Burning Muirburn is not recommended on blanket bog because controlling fire is difficult. Either too much is left unburnt and heather regeneration is poor, or the effects are too intense and the underlying peat is exposed, leading to erosion. Muirburn on bogs can also reduce the amount and variety of lichens and can destroy the natural surface pattern of hummocks, tussocks and hollows. Avoid muirburn on blanket bog habitat, Muirburn may be carried out on any drier, heather dominated ground within the area of blanket bog (with more than 75% cover of heather), following the Muirburn Code. 11

12 3. Using vehicles Low ground pressure vehicles, for example quad bikes or Argocats, have become an important land management tool but they can lead to significant erosion problems. Only use vehicles when really necessary. Choose routes that follow drier crests and slopes; avoid going straight up and down slopes and making sharp turns. Avoid crossing wet areas wherever possible - once the surface layer is broken it will take a long time to recover. Do not drive through or close to pools. Do not over-load vehicles. Avoid taking vehicles out after excessive rain. Avoid damage or disturbance to any of the habitats or species for which the site is notified. Payment and Monitoring We will pay you each year, for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management. This will ask you to confirm that you have followed the above requirements, and provide a summary of the grazing and supplementary feeding regime in the previous year. Bracken Control Bracken can provide a valuable habitat for certain plants and animals and often plays an important role in the landscape. It can, however, spread rapidly and cause the loss of grassland and heathland habitats of natural heritage interest, as well as agricultural and sporting value. If the spread of bracken on your land within the SNH Natural Care Scheme area is threatening a habitat of special interest, or species of special interest found on that habitat, and is shown as eligible in Table 1, you may apply for the bracken control prescription. 1. Bracken control should be carried out following Bracken control- A guide to best practice (2). 2. In your Plan you will need to describe: Where the bracken is on your land, What condition it is in, for example, sparse/dense/advancing, The threat this is posing to its special natural heritage interests. A map and photographs will be required. You will identify areas to be treated, how and when they are to be treated and how follow-up treatment will be carried out. You will describe the vegetation that you will seek to replace the bracken with. Your Plan will also identify areas to be avoided, and buffer areas, for example around sensitive non-target plants and along water courses. 3. You must send us details of your bracken control with your Annual Record of Management. 12

13 4. Treatment can be by machine or manual swiping or crushing, backpack spraying or aerial spraying as appropriate and agreed with SNH. Aerial spraying will only be carried out in areas identified in your Plan. Aerial spraying will be carried out in suitable wind and weather conditions. All bracken spraying will use herbicides approved for the purpose. You must still get the necessary permissions from, or give notice to, other relevant authorities such as SEPA and Scottish Water. Payment and Monitoring We will pay a set rate for implementing bracken control over areas agreed in your Plan. There is a rate per hectare, for initial treatment, and a yearly rate per hectare, for additional management and any follow-up work needed. We will pay each year, for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management. In your Annual Record of Management you must record the areas treated and the method used. Your Annual Record of Management should set out how successful the control has been and should include photographs of the treated area. Photographs should be taken; one immediately before bracken treatment and one from the same place between 15 July and 15 August in the year after bracken treatment. Grazing management options Grazing pressure and timing requires careful management on moorlands. Sheep can be responsible for heavy heather losses during the winter months, particularly when they are being fed on the hill. Excessive grazing of heather regenerating after burning can lead to the loss of heather to bracken or grass. Your moorland habitat condition assessment may show that the current stocking of sheep or cattle, in terms of their numbers or the timing of grazing, is damaging the habitats or needs to be adjusted to fit with planned changes to other aspects of moorland management. There are four grazing management options: Fencing, Increased shepherding, Off-wintering of stock, Stock reduction. 1. Your Plan will describe current and past grazing regimes and will consider the grazing impacts of sheep, cattle, goats and deer on the moorland habitats. It should include the following details: Stock: type and number of sheep, cattle, goats and deer if appropriate, for the last three years, Hirsels/hefts: locations (shown on a map) and average stock numbers per hirsel/heft, Timing of grazing: the months each type of stock is moved on to and off the moorland, Supplementary feeding arrangements locations of feeding stations and how often they are moved. 2. Your Plan will recommend an appropriate grazing regime that will sustain the moorland habitats and, where appropriate, allow them to recover. Details should be provided on the aspects listed above. 13

14 3. Where your Plan recommends fencing to achieve benefits from more controlled grazing by sheep or cattle: The Plan must identify the design and location of the new fencing on a map and describe how you expect the natural heritage to benefit, The fencing design, location, and alignment should be sympathetic to the landscape character and recreational use of the land and have minimal visual impact, Any proposal should comply with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (ie it should not introduce inappropriate restrictions to responsible public access) (3), Fences should be designed and located, where possible, to avoid the risk of bird strike which can kill birds, particularly grouse, The fencing must be erected within the first year of the agreement unless otherwise agreed with us, You should take a photograph to record the work and submit this with your claim form. 4. Where your Plan recommends increased active shepherding: We will consider paying for extra shepherding where you need to encourage your sheep over more of the moorland or where a localised overgrazing problem has been identified which is not caused by feeding locations, The Plan must first consider whether the forage value of the less grazed areas can be improved without harming the conservation interest, for example, consider the effects of a more appropriate muirburn programme or increased bracken control, The Plan must also consider whether fencing would provide better value for money than increased shepherding, as long as there would be no damaging impact on the habitats or species, such as black grouse, The level of payment will depend on the number of hours throughout the Agreement which are considered reasonably necessary in the Plan to achieve the appropriate grazing across the Land, Your Annual Record of Management must include a record of the additional shepherding work undertaken. 5. Where your Plan recommends off-wintering of stock: The agreed number of ewes or hoggs must be removed from the SSSI for at least 22 weeks during the winter, We will pay for every ewe or ewe equivalent, or where over-wintering off the hill is already a part of livestock management, every additional ewe or ewe equivalent that is wintered elsewhere, Your Annual Record of Management must include details of the numbers and timing of sheep off-wintered. 6. Where your Plan recommends stock reduction for the duration of the agreement: You must reduce the ewes or ewe equivalents on the Scheme area by at least the agreed number. You must not increase total stock numbers on the Scheme area during the Agreement, 14

15 We will only pay for a reduction of stock beyond any reduction required to rectify an overgrazing problem identified under the SEERAD subsidy schemes. Liaison with SEERAD may therefore be required in cases of heavy grazing, Your Annual Record of Management must include confirmation of the number of stock removed and the date of removal. Payment and Monitoring We will pay you each year, for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management, for shepherding, off-wintering and stock reduction. We will make a one-off payment for any fencing work, when we receive your claim form and a photograph of the fence. For all grazing management options, you must include a summary of the grazing regime for the past year in your Annual Record of Management. We may also inspect the effect of grazing management on some areas each year. LEVEL 3 Other moorland management activities Diversionary feeding of hen harriers Recent trials have shown that diversionary feeding during the nesting season can significantly reduce the number of red grouse chicks brought to hen harrier nests. Together with appropriate habitat management, diversionary feeding could aid the recovery of red grouse numbers. You can apply for this prescription if your Plan identifies a possible conflict between grouse moor management and hen harrier predation of grouse chicks and this prescription is shown as eligible in Table 1. You must carry out feeding strictly following the practice described in "Substitute Feeding of Hen Harriers on Grouse Moors" (Moorland Working Group 1999). You must allow SNH staff or authorised agents reasonable access to monitor breeding birds. You should also record the annual breeding success of red grouse. A copy of the estate s red grouse counts should be supplied with the Annual Record of Management to determine changes in population over the course of the Agreement. Payment and Monitoring We will make a contribution to the costs of feeding each nest. We will pay you each year, for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management. There is a start up payment of 500 and this will be included within the first annual payment. You must record, in your Annual Record of Management, details of the nests being fed, the periods in which you put out food and what food you put out each day. 15

16 Legal Predator Control As there remains a lack of hard scientific evidence of the direct benefits of legal predator control for ground nesting birds, this prescription is available on a trial basis only between 2004 and We will then consider whether or not it would be appropriate to continue with this prescription. Scotland s Moorland Forum recognises that legal predator control is viewed by many people as part of good integrated moorland management. There is widespread agreement that legal predator control effort is best directed at the nesting season when ground nesting birds, notably their eggs and chicks, are most vulnerable and when bird predators are most territorial. Control efforts at this time are most likely to have a beneficial impact. Accordingly, SNH will support legal predator control within the key seasons of spring and early summer. If your land is within an SSSI which is notified for its breeding bird interest, and is shown as eligible in Table 1, you may apply for this prescription. This prescription will only be available where it is carried out in conjunction with management which strives to provide a high quality moorland habitat. 1. The Plan must describe any predator control effort in the past (up to five years if possible), and describe the existing predator problem. 2. The Plan must identify: priority areas for control where breeding birds are vulnerable species to be controlled (limited to foxes, crows, stoats and weasels) legal methods that will be used, for example, lamping most appropriate period in spring/early summer. You will, of course, be free to carry out legal predator control outwith this period but without funding from this Scheme. 3. Control will be carried out in a legal and humane manner. 4. You will comply with all appropriate legislation and Codes of Practice including the Open General Licence as issued each year by the Scottish Executive, BASC Codes of Practice on Shooting, Trapping of Pest Mammals and Trapping of Pest Birds. 5. Crow traps will be operated following Trapping Pest Birds - A Code of Practice (4). In particular: traps will be of a legal design and operated legally; you will provide all decoy birds with shelter, food and water at all times; you must have enough staff to inspect traps every day; captured crows will be killed quickly and humanely; and all non-target species will be released immediately and unharmed. 6. For general legal predator control support, we have assumed that the equivalent of 60 days effort will be carried out over 1800ha. You will be expected to show that you have carried out a similar proportion of effort across your moorland, for example the equivalent of 20 days effort would be required over 600ha. 16

17 Payment and Monitoring For general legal predator control support, we will pay you each year, for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management. You must record, in your Annual Record of Management, for the period specified in the Plan: details of the methods employed, time spent on predator control across the specified period, number and species of predators controlled and date of control, and location of effort. A summary of other legal predator control effort in the remainder of the year will also be required, if any is carried out. For crow traps, we will make a one-off contribution only towards the purchase or manufacture of each trap to be used in the Scheme area, when we receive your claim form. You will need to tell us how many days traps were operated, the location of the traps and the number of crows killed each year in your Annual Record of Management. For both, you must allow SNH staff or authorised agents reasonable access to monitor breeding birds in order to judge the impact of the legal predator control. You should also record the annual breeding success of red grouse. A copy of the estate s red grouse counts should be supplied with the Annual Record of Management to determine changes in population over the course of the Agreement. Rabbit Control This prescription is only available at North Fife Heaths SSSI where overgrazing by rabbits is a particular problem for the heath. The Plan must: describe the current problem, suggest how to control the rabbits, and estimate how much this will cost. Payment and Monitoring We will discuss your specific circumstances with you to work out what payment would be appropriate. We will pay you each year for the year past, when we receive your Annual Record of Management. You will have to provide details of the rabbit control carried out throughout the year in your Annual Record of Management including; the location and timing of effort, methods used and the number of rabbits controlled. 17

18 Scrub development This prescription is available on three SSSIs in the Borders that are important for their upland cleugh woodland, and also Lammer Law SSSI, which is important for its upland juniper scrub. Areas of short scrub can also increase the variety of moorland habitats for birds and other moorland wildlife. In particular, scrub can improve the quality of habitat for black grouse, provide cover for small birds, and provide nesting and foraging habitat for hen harrier, short-eared owl and merlin. It is SNH policy that the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme (SFGS), run by Forestry Commission (Scotland), should remain the principal source of funding for woodland management on SSSIs. Before your application for this prescription is approved, you may be asked to obtain written confirmation from Forestry Commission (Scotland) that your scrub development proposals are not eligible for funding under the SFGS. The Plan must describe the proposed management work and show the areas for development on a map. If planting is proposed, the Plan should say why natural regeneration is not likely to be sufficient. Where your plan recommends fencing to encourage scrub development, the conditions described for fencing under the Grazing Management prescriptions apply. The agreed management work must be completed within the first year of the agreement, unless otherwise agreed with us. Payment and Monitoring SNH will make a one-off contribution towards any fencing and planting work, when the work is finished and we receive your claim form. You should take a photograph to record the work undertaken and submit this with your claim form. Your Annual Record of Management should describe the extent to which scrub is developing each year. Scrub Control Invading scrub, for example gorse, is a problem at North Fife Heaths SSSI. Scrub removal is needed to protect the remaining low altitude dwarf shrub heath (a local habitat in southern Scotland which is decreasing). The Plan must identify (and show on a map) how much scrub there is and which habitats it is affecting. The Plan must suggest how to control the scrub, together with an estimate of how much this will cost. Payment and Monitoring We will discuss your specific circumstances with you to work out what payment would be appropriate. We will make either a one-off payment or a payment each year as appropriate to the work specified in the Plan. Your Annual Record of Management should describe the extent to which the control has been successful each year and should include a photograph of the treated area. 18

19 Heather Restoration There was a significant national loss of heather moorland during the 20th Century to forestry, bracken and through conversion to grassland. This prescription may be available to support action agreed with SNH to restore heather through, for example, heather seed harvesting, scarifying and reseeding. This prescription is available at Moorfoot Hills SSSI and Langholm- Newcastleton Hills SSSI. Restoration of bracken-dominated areas is covered by the bracken control prescription. The costs associated with this prescription can be high and SNH may have to limit the extent to which it can be made available. If you are considering this option, contact your local Area Office before completing your Plan. The Plan must provide details of the proposals, together with an estimate of how much this will cost. Payment and Monitoring We will discuss your specific circumstances with you to work out what payment would be appropriate. We will make a one-off payment or a payment each year as appropriate to the work specified in the Plan. Your Annual Record of Management should describe the effects of the restoration work each year. Ditch blocking Bogs are dependent on a high water table. Blocking ditches that are draining the bog can enable the water table to be maintained or restored. This should encourage peat-building plants such as Sphagnum moss to grow. This prescription is available at Cobbinshaw Moss SSSI, and Park Hill and Tipperton Mosses SSSI. The Plan must describe the current drainage and set out a programme of ditch blocking work that will raise the level of the water table, together with an estimate of the costs. You must maintain any dams installed and record maintenance work in your Annual Record of Management. Payment and Monitoring We will discuss your specific circumstances with you to work out what payment would be appropriate. We will make a one-off payment or a payment each year as appropriate to the work specified in the Plan. Your Annual Record of Management should describe the effects of the restoration work each year and should include photographs of any dams installed. 19

20 (1) SNH can give you a copy of "The Muirburn Code" on request or you can find it on The Scottish Executive s website at (2) SNH can give you a copy of "Bracken Control A guide to best practice" (Southern Uplands Partnership, 2001) on request or you can find it on the SEPA website at (3) You can see a copy of "A Proposed Scottish Outdoor Access Code" (SNH, Jan 2004) on the SNH website at Parliamentary approval for the final Code is expected later in (4) "Trapping Pest Birds A Code of Practice" ( BASC). Copies are available from SNH or direct from BASC, Croft Cottage, Trochry, Dunkeld PH8 0ED, and Tel Scottish Natural Heritage 2004 ISSN W Photography: Laurie Campbell P1, 16, 17, Lorne Gill/SNH P4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, Patricia and Angus Macdonald/SNH P2, 3, John MacPherson/SNH P10, 11, David Whitaker P6, 7. 20