Monbiot, RSPB and the Eastern Moors

After his attendance at the Action for Involvement meeting in Sheffield a month ago George Monbiot was taken onto parts of the Eastern Moors by the RSPB. Presumably they were hoping to persuade him that he was misguided in his criticism of the interventionist management which he described in his book as a Conservation Prison.

He guest-wrote a piece on the RSPB's blog afterwards that is interesting. Once he had paid due attention to the need for politeness he returned to his main theme, concluding that the management of the moors desperately needs to be reviewed:

Sometimes I receive coherent answers from the conservation managers I speak to, which are debatable but at least consistent. Sometimes the only answer I receive is “that’s what the rules say.” But isn’t it time we began to challenge the rules? Isn’t it time we began to question the way sites are designated, and to challenge the ecological blitzkreig required to maintain them in what is laughably called “favourable condition”? Isn’t it time we began asking why we have decided to privilege certain species over others? Isn’t it time we started wondering whether the collateral damage required to support them is worth it?
After all, how did nature cope before we came along? To judge by the actions of British conservation groups, it must have been in a pretty dismal state for the three billion years before humans arrived to look after it.

Here's the link to the full article:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/martinharper/archive/2013/07/15/going-wild-a-guest-blog-from-george-monbiot.aspx