Lake Vyrnwy and the cost of conservation: Are we getting value for money?
The recent RSPB report on its long-running stewardship of Lake Vyrnwy in mid-Wales has reignited a critical debate: what does successful conservation actually look like - and are we getting value for public money?
Lake Vyrnwy was once a productive Upland Estate, managed for Red Grouse and home to a wide range of wildlife species under a regime of traditional moorland management. It was representative of the 100’s of Grouse Moors throughout the UK. That changed when the RSPB took over the management of the Moor over 30 years ago. When they did so, they set out their explicit goal of demonstrating how non-interventionist conservation could succeed without gamekeeping, predator control, or rotational burning.
The RSPB have recently published a report on the site, which claims that it is a beacon of ecological restoration. However, a closer look at the outcomes — and an excellent analysis by the Moorland Association (see: moorlandassociation.org/post/lake-vyrnwy-and-the-cost-of-conservation-are-we-getting-value-for-money) — tells a very different story.
No Grouse, Few Waders – and a Lot of Bracken
It will not shock you that Lake Vyrnwy no longer supports a shootable population of Red Grouse. In fact, there are now no Red Grouse at all. Lapwings have also disappeared, and curlew populations have plummeted. One of the site’s supposed “successes” is the increase in tree pipits and stonechats and whilst these are undeniably interesting species, they are hardly the indicators of thriving upland biodiversity.
“This is conservation driven by ideology, not evidence – and it’s happening on the taxpayer’s tab”
The abandonment of core moorland management practices, particularly controlled burning and legal predator control has led to exactly the kind of degradation that active Estates work hard to avoid. The site has seen bracken and scrub spread significantly leading to a much higher wildfire risk, and predator numbers have gone unchecked.
The RSPB has reportedly spent over £5 million of public money on the site, including £750,000 from a “green recovery fund”. The key question must be: what is the return on that investment? The decline in iconic upland bird species strongly suggests it has not been value for money especially when you compare this with privately managed Moorland Estates, many of which deliver higher densities of curlew, golden plover and lapwing, as well as the economic and community benefits of sustainable shooting. Estates that still carry out rotational burning and predator control consistently outperform non-managed land when it comes to key biodiversity indicators, particularly for ground-nesting birds. The RSPB’s failure at Vyrnwy highlights the danger of conservation in a vacuum. Habitats do not thrive when left alone; they decline. Biodiversity does not increase simply because humans withdraw. In upland Britain, nature needs management and this management does not have to come from the taxpayers purse, as evidenced by the vast number of moorland owners and tenants who contribute millions of pounds annually into the management of the uplands in the UK.
“Estates that still carry out rotational burning and predator control consistently outperform non-managed land”
The concern many in our sector share is that Lake Vyrnwy is being positioned as a conservation success in order to validate a model that does not work. This is conservation driven by ideology, not evidence – and it’s happening on the taxpayer’s tab. Of course, the RSPB does valuable work in many areas, but Lake Vyrnwy is not an example to replicate. If anything, it should be seen as a cautionary tale. It is a vivid reminder of what can happen when you remove skilled land managers, ignore ecological complexity, and spend public money chasing the illusion that “rewilding” can replace hands-on Stewardship.
The RSPB’s experiment at Lake Vyrnwy should prompt a serious rethink. If Government is to support Environmental Schemes, it must ensure that public funding delivers tangible biodiversity outcomes. That includes backing the proven success of well-managed Upland Estates, rather than undermining them. The story of Lake Vyrnwy is not one of triumph, but one of lost opportunity, an object lesson in how removing management can do more harm than good.
Article written by Will Southall
Director of JM Osborne Rural & Sporting
