The National Lottery Heritage Fund [NLHF] is a wonderful institution. Since its inception it has been responsible for supporting many of Britian’s most worthwhile projects, including saving some of the most important artworks, buildings and cultural organistions across the country.
Saving the iconic black grouse is another worthy ambition of this organisation.
That’s why when the RSPB approached them asking for the best part of £250,000 to save the black grouse at Lake Vyrnwy, they duly agreed.
What seems to have gone unnoticed by the CEO of NLHF, Dr. Simon Thurley, and his team, is the wholly inadequate procedures the RSPB have put in place to do this. Not to mention that the reason the population of black grouse had plummeted in the first place, and therefore needed saving, was as a direct result of RSPB management.
The area where this miracle will take place is a huge swathe of the Berwyn SSSI, running east from Corwen. According to the grid references this is around 80 sq km of moorland, interspersed with blocks of commercial forestry.
The area still holds black grouse but they are a shadow of what used to be there when the grouse moors were operating. Indeed, they may only be clinging on because of the immigration of dispersing grey hens from the area’s only fully functioning grouse moor.
The Forestry Commission has driven the aggressive expansion of commercial plantation forestry, up to and including the threat of compulsory purchase of moorland. The subsequent increase in the number of foxes, corvids, buzzards and goshawks has resulted in the wholesale decline of a range of upland ground nesting birds.
Golden plover, lapwing, curlew, red grouse and, amongst several others, the poor old black grouse. This has been accelerated by a simultaneous decline in habitat quality caused by headage payments. The result has been a perfect storm for the black grouse.
Unfortunately, knowing how to save black grouse and a host of other upland ground nesting birds does not mean that RSPB will do what is needed. The evidence indicates that they would rather see the birds drift into extinction whilst they fiddle about trying to find a different way to save them – any way, other than the one that clearly works. It is the equivalent of a firefighter turning up to a house fire using only a child’s water pistol.
To be fair to the NLHF, they are increasingly aware of the failures of the RSPB and their inability to carry out the work they claim funding to do. Increasingly it has been known that donor organisations are shifting to a results-driven funding model, rather than the current approach.
The sooner other funders of the RSPB realise this, the sooner some of our country’s rarest species will stand a chance of actually recovering.