Southern Uplands Moorland Group

A group set up by the lads and lasses that live and work on our areas of managed moorland here in the Southern Uplands

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

🔥 My thoughts on @scribehound on the RSPB’s emergency fundraising appeal following the #Cannich wildfire, & whether the charity could be doing more to manage #wildfire risk on its landholdings. ⬇️ @ScotLandEstates @ScotRMG @ScotGamekeepers https://t.co/2p56bPClXL

[C4PMC @c4_pmc]

RSPB were warned many times of the need to carry out controlled burning for wildfire mitigation.
It ignored those warnings & led a national campaign to have the practice banned. Now as 90 sq/km of precious peatland burns will it finally wake up to reality?
https://t.co/xeKDuvS7w2

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

A fantastic few days in @ScotParl with the @giftofgrouse campaign - championing the benefits of moorland management for climate, biodiversity & communities. Useful to discuss the Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill with MSPs too. Thanks to @JimFairlieLogie for sponsoring. 1/2

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

⬇️ @scottishgreens HQ tried to undermine our exhibition in the press, but we still engaged extensively across the political spectrum - including with 2 party leaders. One green MSP even took some honey (from a Highland grouse moor). 🤷‍♂️

Overall a great few days. 2/2

[Scottish Gamekeepers @ScotGamekeepers]

@c4_pmc @MoorlandAssoc @sumgroupuk @ScotRMG @NationalGamekee @giftofgrouse @SJLaing @ScotLandEstates @NFUStweets @AndrewMccornick @MartinKennedyVP @ScotCroftingFed @GWelfare @RogerDowald1 @cairngormsCEO @SteveGrant67 @NatureScotCEO

[Scottish Gamekeepers @ScotGamekeepers]

NEWS. Without fuel load management you 'may as well start burning pound notes'. SGA calls for mandatory Wildfire Prevention Plans in Scotland as Cannich fire continues to challenge emergency services. https://t.co/anSDYgK3jw

[Southern Uplands Moorland Group @sumgroupuk]

@NicolaJSwinney @nicomorgan Horse..”quick look a photographer “…

[C4PMC @c4_pmc]

The environmental & economic consequences of wildfires are devastating, yet the risk of them occurring can be significantly mitigated by proper management and controlled burning....which @Natures_Voice seeks to have banned.

This is what the alternative looks like. @BeccyRSPB

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

Sorry @RSPBScotland, but your position is at best confusing & at worst inconsistent. The highlighted para says something quite different to your tweet & subsequent evidence. You appear to be content for licensable purposes for preventing wildfire to be removed - can you clarify?

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

Hi @RSPBScotland. Happy to make a donation, subject to:

1️⃣ Seeing a robust plan for wildfire mitigation, employing all effective tools for mitigating risk (inc. muirburn)

2️⃣ Investment in ATVs, fogging units & leaf blowers

3️⃣ Training staff to use fire for land management

[Rachael Hamilton Scottish Borders @Rachael2Win]

No wonder the police were called in to find the SNP’s “ring-fenced” referendum fund.

They removed all the money from a supposedly ring-fenced rural budget 🤦‍♂️

The SNP make it up as they go along 👇

https://t.co/jYjXmbBX25

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

Here is an extract from a recent RSPB submission to @SP_RuralAffairs - at odds with the view of land managers & firefighters, while a recent evidence review said there is a “plausible mechanism” through which muirburn can influence wildfire intensity. Time to wake up. 2/2

[Ross Ewing @RossEwing97]

Devastating. Perhaps now is the time for the RSPB to rethink its position on #muirburn? Fuel load management is going to be of growing importance as the climate warms - we need all tools at our disposal to manage fuel load, create resilient landscapes & reduce #wildfire risk. 1/2

[Rachael Hamilton Scottish Borders @Rachael2Win]

Pleased to see more stands at Holyrood that reflect the issues affecting people living in remote and rural areas of Scotland. 💪 @giftofgrouse @BASCnews @ScotLandEstates @sumgroupuk

[Southern Uplands Moorland Group @sumgroupuk]

@DeeWardRottal Agree there’s good numbers this year..we’ve got a tiny cottage and there are 20 nests built/under construction..great to see

[Dee Ward @DeeWardRottal]

@ArianeBurgessHI @MaxWiszniewski @ReviveCoalition @RSPBScotland Would it perhaps have been a good idea when talking about grouse moors, muirburn, deer management, carbon sequestration and green lairds to actually have some upland owners and managers and green lairds involved in the debate? Just a thought! Or maybe you prefer echo chambers?

[Ariane Burgess @ArianeBurgessHI]

🎙Final episode on Landscape Scale Land Management is out!
👥With @MaxWiszniewski from the @ReviveCoalition and Duncan Orr-Ewing from @RSPBScotland, we're discussing grouse moors and muirburn, deer management and carbon sequestration, and the rise of the green lairds.

[Scottish Gamekeepers @ScotGamekeepers]

Why do #Curlew choose to nest in recently burned heather? Statistically, it is proven but why a preference for this habitat above other moorland habitats? Photos from Perthshire trail cam. #wildlife #nature #biodiversity

[Southern Uplands Moorland Group @sumgroupuk]

@jimthekeeper @ScarecrowNeste1 Possibly have..but it’s a certainty that we (the general public) won’t get to see survey results in 5/10 years time..it will be a complete embarrassment..

[BASC Scotland @BASCScotland]

🎉 Thanks to @DAJCameron for raising the issue of gamekeeper abuse during @Rachael2Win's debate on rural mental health in the @ScotParl.

BASC has continually called for a Gamekeepers' Taskforce to tackle the issue & for more local support for gamekeepers and rural workers.