A Vision of Controlling Fluffiness

The consultation on Sheffield Moors Partnership's draft Master Plan closed a week ago. While we all knew it was a waste of time and an utterly frustrating exercise Friends of Blacka Moor duly submitted its response. The only reason that partners might welcome our comments is that they can use them to balance any arguments from cranks who want the moors to be closer to 'traditional' shooting and farming estates; which is a pretty feeble reason but the sort of thing that managers like to do.

The draft plan starts with numerous pages of vague blather that nevertheless betrays where the managers are coming from.
They first asked us to comment on their Vision which goes like this.
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OUR VISION FOR THE SHEFFIELD MOORS

Vision Statement

Our Vision for the Sheffield Moors by 2028 is:

A dramatic, cherished and working landscape in the Peak District National Park, the Sheffield Moors are being cared for by a thriving collaboration of voluntary, public and private organisations, individuals and the wider community.

Through a shared vision and responsibility this partnership delivers exemplar conservation, heritage management, integrated and multi-use access, and inspiring and co-ordinated engagement.

Moreover, the vision will mean: The Sheffield Moors are the eastern gateway to the Dark Peak, providing exciting and high quality outdoors experiences for all, and bringing people closer to nature through an integrated access network that links ‘town and country’, people and wildlife.
The diverse and distinctive landscape of open moors, dramatic and wild gritstone edges, and enclosed upland pasture is of high quality and management protects and reinforces this historic character, whilst the stories and cultural heritage of the area are shared, cherished and protected.

To read on click  here...

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My response is very similar to that of FoBM and it goes like this fitting into the format requested.

1. Do you support the vision for Sheffield Moors?
The vision is a missed opportunity.
It was not based on a genuine public debate although this was called for more than once during the course of the process. So it was always going to be a bureaucratic fudge. And it is if anything worse.

It is drearily unambitious and unimaginative with no semblance of a big idea to prioritise wildlife and natural landscapes.

The main purpose seems to be to serve the interests of the conservation groups and charities.

So no I don’t support it. I go further and say the production of this ‘vision’ has been a waste of public money and looks like leading to even more unnecessary spending.

2. Is there anything you want to change to improve the draft vision?


Everything. The text is far too subjective.

Almost all terms need defining at least to an extent. There are also too many fluffy words like ‘amazing’ and ‘cherished’ which are meaningless. This kind of document should be a sober and carefully written text, but this is an off-the-shelf promotional brochure.

Good landscape does not need a sales pitch.

The phrase that damns the whole document is “Working Landscape”. That means it will be exploited. This area should be a safe haven from the economy and the inevitable management and development and misuse that always accompanies it.  



To read on click here...

Mysteries

In the wood, where sinister alders are a heavy presence, the darkness is emphasised by a dusting of snow.

Beyond, after the sun has raised itself over the bar of cloud to the east, a more benign but still mysterious spirit rules.

One of our problems is that the most valuable aspects of a site like this are near undefinable tempting us to fall back on highly subjective language that is not part of the vocabulary of the local minor functionnaries. As with Mr Gradgrind of Hard Times imagination is some sort of dangerous concept. So using words like 'magic' or even 'unpredictable' doesn't recommend something to those who get their satisfactions and fantasies from screens and synthetic pre-digested experiences.

We desperately look for hope. Did I see a still from a soon-to-be released film (07 of the series) showing territory not unlike the more unmanaged parts of Blacka? Will they make the link?

Money Saver

BBC's Farming Today this morning mentioned a new outfit calling itself The National Centre for the Uplands. It seems to be based at Newton Rigg College in Cumbria and is another of a growing number of voices arguing for farming everywhere.
The item today reported that it's hard to get young farmers to take up tenancies in the uplands. Not very exciting apparently being a long way from the bright lights and decent broadband etc. Further on in the report a hill farmer explained that he could only keep going because of agri environment schemes. So nobody wants to do it and it costs lots of public money.

Well, Mr Osborne, was the obvious solution part of your Autumn Statement?  Give the uplands back to nature and do the farming elsewhere. And save some money.

In it Together?

In the end we're all going the same way. The Chancellor repeated his phrase today in the Autumn Statement  : "We're all in it together." So rich and poor, high and low each in our own style we share the same goal and we will get there in the end. Politicans claim the pursuit of personal success benefits all in society and self- interest brings rewards to everyone. Viva competition. Some have reservations.

Perhaps Mr Osborne's been watching the daily corvine commute. Balancing the communal with the individual is what daws and rooks have been doing for thousands of years. In their case the journey can appear to have a ritual significance beyond the destination and the goal. Strung out across the morning sky they are agreed on the destination but there's no uniformity about the way they fly. A snapshot reveals many different poses, the groupings are constantly changing and individuals strive to be first. On the ground and in the trees arguments are always breaking out as they compete for advantage.

The morning flight is one of the most compelling wildlife sights of the region and one that is easy to see but rarely valued. You can't predict when a large flock of migrating geese will choose to pass over, nor when a waxwing invasion is imminent but this is most days. The great thing about the daws and rooks is that they guard their individuality while valuing the communal life. They travel at the same time and in the same direction but each  reserves the right to do it his way.

What a blessing they've never adopted money.

Cosy?

It's  too cosy and sentimental to be true. All that I've heard from observations about red deer elsewhere is to the effect that once the rut is over stags and hinds go their own ways. Groups of stags wander around together while hinds also remain in largely single sex groups but accompanied by the youngest of both sexes. Now this is the third year that this has happened. Most of the hinds have gone elsewhere leaving a couple with one calf.

Nuclear families in wild animals is about as anthropomorphic as you can get. But you can but report what you see and this group of three has been seen now five times this year and that repeats the observations of two previous years.

Aaaaah!

Essentials

A nursing profession focused on compassion?

Whatever next? Teachers committed to education? Police enforcing the law?
We can all add to the list:

Politicians responding to the will of the people?
Nature conservation organisations focused on putting nature first?

How did we ever lose sight of the essentials? The common thread is management cultures and their remoteness from what really matters.

First offered solution: Get all managers working 50% of the week on the ‘shop floor’.

Official Opening?

A view of the newly surfaced (and substantially widened) bridleway near the stepping stones. This has to pass for what the local functionaries call 'improvement'. In the same way that new motorways are an ‘improvement’ on what was there before them. I’ve been avoiding going down here while the work was going on. There’s only one thing to do now: invite the Minister of Transport (constituency not far away) to come along for an official opening.

This is part of the general trend to make any path or track fit for juggernauts. Not surprising that users are stunned at the mindless insensitivity. Mountain bikers' representatives have been eloquent in expressing their disgust and I'm grateful for that. And as more people get to see it more complaints will follow. This is the work of Sheffield’s Public Rights of Way team.  At the stepping stones themselves another shock: the old stones have been removed and replaced with new ones.

Are we really going to stand by while they sanitise everything?  That’s the trend now. More and more management and more and more intervention. Somewhere back at the office on a dusty piece of paper is a documented justification.