Independent review provides recommendations for the management of protected sites on Dartmoor - GOV.UK

An independent review has today (12 December) published its recommendations on how protected sites on Dartmoor can be managed in a way that delivers on legally binding environmental targets

whilst supporting food production, public access and cultural and natural heritage. 

The review was commissioned by Defra earlier this year in response to stakeholder concerns over proposed changes to winter grazing on Dartmoor. It was chaired by David Fursdon and provides

an independent perspective on the management of the moor. Its recommendations follow more than 150 written submissions and over 200 conversations across three and a half months with

commoners and organisations including Dartmoor National Park Authority and Natural England. 

The review makes a series of recommendations for the Government, Natural England, Dartmoor National Park Authority and commoners on subjects such as vision and governance, operations,

communication, agri-environment agreements, and grazing and vegetations management. The Government is expected to respond in full in the coming months.

Dartmoor cannot either stand still or retreat into its past, so it is vital that all parties take heed of the review’s recommendations so we can effectively support food production, public

access and heritage on the moor whilst delivering much-needed improvements for nature.

This is a time for those involved with Dartmoor to come together in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss to protect and enhance nature on the Moor. Commoners have a vital role to

play in delivering the management and grazing that contributes to this, as do those working to re-wet the degraded peatland.

I welcome this important report and would like to thank David Fursdon, panel members and all who submitted views for their hard work. We will now work with our colleagues in Defra and the

RPA, and our partners on Dartmoor, to consider the recommendations and implement the final decisions in due course.

The review also reiterates the need for careful management of a fresh round of Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) extension negotiations, given one-year extensions will in some cases expire in

the first few months of 2024.

The Farming Minister is writing to HLS Agreement Holders on Dartmoor to advise them they will be contacted ahead of the expiry of their agreements.