Wildfire Prevention: Why the Uplands Need Every Tool in the Box

On Friday 25 September, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation attended a meeting in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, titled “The Future Management of Our Uplands”, organised by the National Sheep Association (NSA).

The meeting brought together a broad range of people with an interest in the future of our uplands, including farmers, the Heather Trust, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, local MPs Robbie Moore and Josh Fenton-Glynn, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and Yorkshire Water.

It was particularly encouraging to see representatives from farming, conservation, emergency services, water management and politics around the same table, because if we are serious about reducing the risk and impact of wildfires, it is going to take all of us working together.

The day included two site visits, both providing a useful insight into different aspects of upland management.

The first was to the site of a significant wildfire in 2025, giving those attending the opportunity to see first-hand the impact a wildfire can have on the landscape and the challenges faced when trying to bring fires under control on sites with large areas of Molinia grass.

The second visit was to a farm where sheep and cattle grazing are being used to manage vegetation and reduce the available fuel load. This demonstrated the important role livestock can play in managing upland vegetation and maintaining a more varied landscape. We must also remember that sheep can be treated for ticks and therfore act as tick mops. Their droppings are also key for insect life, providing a food source for the many species of chicks that hatch on moorland.

There was also some welcome recognition of the work the NGO is already doing on wildfire prevention.

The wildfire lead from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service explained that the service uses the NGO’s Moorland Wildfire Risk Index, and considers it to be the most accurate platform currently available to them for assessing wildfire risk on the uplands. The index uses regular assessments from gamekeepers and land managers with detailed knowledge of the ground they manage, providing a real-time picture of conditions across the moors.

For the NGO, this is an important endorsement of a project that was developed to put the knowledge and experience of those working on the ground to practical use.

We have always maintained that there is no single answer to preventing wildfires. Prescribed burning, cutting, grazing, sphagnum planting and rewetting all have a role to play, but none of them should be seen as the solution on their own.

The reality is that our uplands are varied, and so are the conditions and risks. What works on one area of moorland may not be appropriate elsewhere.

We need to use all of the tools available to us, applying the right management technique in the right place and at the right time. This also means having a licensing and regulatory system that allows land managers to respond to the risks they face, rather than creating unnecessary barriers to sensible vegetation management.

If we are prepared to use every tool in the box, work together and make better use of the knowledge of those who manage the uplands every day, we can reduce the fuel available to wildfires and, in doing so, reduce their potential impact, severity and risk to life.

The meeting in Hebden Bridge was a positive opportunity to bring different perspectives together, and the NGO will continue to engage with farmers, Fire and Rescue Services, politicians, conservation organisations and other stakeholders to make sure that wildfire prevention remains firmly on the agenda.