In this blog we draw attention once again to how you can help us by sending reports of muirburn so we can add to the available data on muirburn practice.
It’s that time of year again when you might start to notice plumes of smoke in the hills as land managers use fire to manage the vegetation to benefit grouse and livestock. This practice of muirburn is allowed between October and April but is only weakly regulated and has been the subject of much debate and controversy.
The recently passed Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 will usher in a stronger regulatory regime where land managers will have to apply for a licence, and undertake training, if they want to burn. This is very welcome because muirburn is a potentially dangerous activity with big environmental impacts, so stronger regulation is entirely appropriate.
One of the issues that became apparent in the run up to this new legislation was the patchy data on muirburn practice and so we worked with our colleagues in England to develop a mobile app that members of the public could use to report burns whilst they are out and about in the hills.
The resultant data was useful because it suggested that, in Scotland, the Muirburn Code was not being followed, which added weight to calls for stronger regulation.
Since the new regulations are not yet in force (although the law was passed by the Scottish Government in April 2024, the new arrangements are not expected to come into force until September 2025), we want to encourage members of the public to continue to use the app and send in reports of burning.
This is still a useful thing to do because we hope that the data will show that land managers are acting responsibly and respecting the intention of the new legislation. The new regulations are designed to protect peatland soils and what we hope to see in the data is evidence that land managers are respecting the will of the Scottish Parliament.
If you are regularly out in the hills, please do consider downloading the app and reporting the burns you see. It’s easy to do and helps provide data to inform ongoing work on muirburn.
Reporting a burn
The RSPB is committed to tackling reckless burning, if you witness a burn, you can report it to the RSPB at https://upland-burning-rspb.hub.arcgis.com/pages/report-a-burn which can help track where burns are taking place.
Reporting a burn is quick, easy and anonymous and you can do so by visiting reporting page or by downloading the My Survey123 app (available on iOS and Android).
Looking to the future
As we look ahead, NatureScot is, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, developing a new licensing framework for burning and leading the development of a new Muirburn Code. This means that, in future, burning will still be allowed under licence for certain purposes in certain places. It will, though, be subject to much better regulation.
There is still some way to go, as the details are being worked out, but we are hopeful we will soon be entering an era where better regulation of muirburn results in better outcomes for nature and climate.
Main image shows a controlled burn on heather moorland, Colonsay, by Andy Hay.