Conservation charities blamed for record number of wildfires in 2025
- C4PMC
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
The Campaign for the Protection of Moorland Communities (C4PMC) has rolled out an advertising campaign in the Peak District, criticising landowners including the National Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and United Utilities for a series of more than 30 wildfires in the national park between the months of March and May.
The digital adverts feature on the side of a van which set off from the outskirts of Sheffield on Tuesday, passing through the towns of Bakewell, Ashford in the Water, Bradwell, Castelton, Bamford, and Hathersage. The route circled the Longshaw Estate, which is owned by the National Trust and is currently hosting the latest series of BBC Springwatch.
C4PMC accuses the National Trust, RSPB and others of endangering lives as well as the wellbeing of England’s heather moorlands through the over reliance on rewetting and the planting of sphagnum moss.
“The National Trust, RSPB and others have outlawed the centuries-old practice of controlled heather burning on moorlands in favour of novel and ineffective techniques like rewetting. These sound great in a headline but are proving ineffective at preventing wildfires,” a spokesperson for C4PMC said.
“Here in the Peak District, we’ve had more than 30 wildfires in the three months to May – the vast majority of them on land that is not managed using controlled burning. That is disastrous for our moorlands, which are some of the rarest habitats on the planet. If these organisations aren’t careful, it won’t be long before someone dies,” they added.
Recent wildfires in the Peak District include a blaze that broke out on Marsden Moor on 21 March, damaging more than 12,000 acres of heather moorland. 12 fire crews were called to the moor, which is owned and managed by the National Trust, to tackle flames over 1.5m high.
In April another wildfire broke out in the Goyt Valley, on land surrounding the Errwood Reservoir which is owned by United Utilities. Eight fire crews attended the scene, supported by a helicopter to dowse water on the flames. In all, 570 acres were destroyed, despite United Utilities carrying out rewetting on its land.
On Thursday 8 May, a further wildfire was started by the embers of a campfire on RSPB-owned Holme Moss, with the flames visible from up to 620m away.
Britain holds approximately 75% of the world’s heather moorland, which in turn is home to many rare bird species such as the red-listed curlew and lapwing. Traditionally, these landscapes have been managed by gamekeepers using a process called ‘cool’ or ‘controlled burning’, which destroys dry, excess heather and encourages new plants to grow without damaging the peat below. This provides food for many ground-nesting bird species and also dramatically reduces the fuel load for potential wildfires.
