In 2013 the National Trust set out an aspirational and overarching vision for the Dark Peak estate’s SSSI moorlands in the High Peak Moors Vision (HPMV). Natural England has worked in partnership with the National Trust for many years and this Long Term Plan (LTP) takes an Outcomes Approach to implementing the Vision on East Crowden Moor. The ‘High Peak Estate Guiding Principles’ are an integral part of the LTP. The Trust has moved away from the use of burning to manage heather in favour of cutting as part of their Vision.
East Crowden is a small moor on the southern edge of the Kinder plateau and has been managed under the North Peak Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme (ESA) and more latterly under the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme (HLS). Restoration works carried out under these plans have concentrated on the degraded blanket bog, with gully blocking alongside works to revegetate bare and eroding peat, including heather brashing and successive lime, fertiliser and grass seed applications.
The Long Term Plan continues the restoration, taking an Outcomes Approach to delivering multiple benefits, with the aim of moving towards good quality, functioning blanket bog, and other moorland habitats, at the heart of the plan. The plan includes outcomes for biodiversity, carbon storage, water quality, flood management, upland bird populations, farming enterprise, wildfire risk mitigation, landscape and recreation, and cultural heritage. There is no burning on deep peat included in the Plan. Monitoring is an integral part of the plan to inform the adaptive management and assess progression on the trajectory to favourable condition.