Guest Blog: Kevin Cumming, leader of the Langholm Moor Community Buyout project, discusses how the former driven grouse moor can be transformed to benefit local people, wildlife and the environment.
AS the debate and questions surrounding the reform of driven grouse shooting continues there is another question that the people of Langholm are trying to answer. If driven grouse shooting is to be reformed and these reforms were to lead to the industry no longer being economically viable, what else can be done with the land and how can communities benefit?
My name is Kevin Cumming, I work for a charity called the Langholm Initiative (LI) based in the town of Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway (Scotland). I hold a BA (hons) in Business Administration and an MSc in Conservation and Management of Protected Areas. Currently I manage the LI’s Wild Eskdale project which aims to promote eco-tourism in the area as well as provide outdoor education in the local community.
I am also leading the communities attempt to purchase part of Langholm Moor in the South of Scotland with ecological restoration at the heart of the project.
Many of you may be familiar with Langholm Moor, it has been the site of two scientific studies regarding land management for the purpose of driven grouse shooting. The latest of these studies, The Langholm Moor Demonstration Project (LMDP), produced its final report last year.
I was not involved with the LMDP so cannot comment on its methods or findings. For those not aware of the project it was intended to run for ten years with an overall view which could be described as trying to establish driven grouse shooting as the economic driver for conservation work of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area (SPA, breeding hen harriers). It also hoped to bring some resolution to the issue of raptor persecution on grouse moors. Tactics such as diversionary feeding for hen harriers were deployed to reduce the perceived impact on grouse. In the end the project was concluded after there was an apparent failure in being able to get the grouse numbers to a level that could be shot. It should be noted that in one of the years the numbers were seen to be at an appropriate level but a decision not to shoot was taken. I would also point out that grouse numbers did increase but just not to a level where a large enough surplus was achieved.
When the decision to end the study early in 2017/18 was made the people of Langholm had no idea that two years later there would be an intention to sell the land on the open market.
With hen harriers majestically sky dancing, black grouse strutting on the lek and merlin speeding across the landscape like miniature fighter jets, the natural heritage of the land is clear but it also holds immense cultural significance to local people. The annual Common Riding celebration marks the boundaries of the common moss on the moor. This incredible display of community solidarity has taken place every year for over 200 years. There are historic disputes regarding the ownership of the common moss which are still deeply felt today by the people of Langholm. I am not from Langholm originally so can’t go into too much detail of the history of this locally important issue. What I can say is that through a community buyout, the people of Langholm will have secured the land for generations to come.
Over the last five months the Langholm Initiative’s working group has undertaken a robust feasibility study into the potential community ownership of over 10,000 acres of land. The final report is due in the coming weeks which will outline the viability of community ownership.
One of the main objectives of community ownership will be a community run nature reserve which aims to promote ecological restoration and responsibly develop environmental tourism. Wouldn’t it be spectacular to see a landscape that has a mosaic of habitats which focuses on species diversity rather than a single species abundance, where the additional conservation benefits are not a pleasant side effect of management but the objective of it? Wouldn’t it be wonderful that rather than excluding people from areas of conservation efforts, we find a way to allow people to re-engage with nature?
It is likely that we will have to undertake a large scale fundraising effort to help this plan become a reality. It could be a watershed moment for land use in Scotland and how communities can take responsibility for their own recovery as well as the environment on their doorstep.
You can keep up to date with the project via Facebook and Twitter.
You could also consider joining the Langholm Initiative as a member to show your support. It's free and takes less than a minute online:
Join the Langholm Initiative here
Photos owned by and courtesy of Kevin Cumming
Revive is pleased to support and promote the efforts of the community buyout to transform their local land for the benefit of local people, local wildlife and the environment
