Wildfire Ranger funded by BMC Access & Conservation Trust

Access News
26 Jan
2 min read

The BMC Access & Conservation Trust are delighted to fund the first ever dedicated Wildfire Ranger for the Peak District's Eastern Moors area.

The British Mountaineering Council’s (BMC) Access & Conservation Trust has teamed up with Moors for the Future Partnership (MFFP) to fund the first ever dedicated wildfire ranger for the Eastern Moors area of the Peak District. The funding comes just in time to protect this popular hiking and climbing area, including Froggatt, Curbar and Burbage Edges, during the wildfire season this spring and summer.

The job application is available here, please share this far and wide to anyone or with any organisations that you think might be interested in this role. Applications close 8 Feb.

The May 2025 wildfire ravaging the beautiful Froggatt Edge, a popular site for climbing and walking

Why fund a Wildfire Ranger?

Wildfire has devastated 20.6 hectares (that’s 51 football pitches) of the Peak District’s Eastern Moors since 2023. Over the last two years, several significant wildfires have destroyed the surface vegetation, leaving ugly, blackened, bare peat, scorched trees and pathways vulnerable to erosion.

BMC Head of Access & Environment, D. Cath Flitcroft, says, "Perhaps the saddest find after this summer's wildfire was a baby bird, burnt to death, still inside its egg. Each wildfire kills 1,000s of species, from insects and amphibians to ground-nesting birds like golden plover, curlew and hen harriers. Not to mention the thousands of tonnes of carbon that burning peat releases into the atmosphere, contributing to the climate crisis, as years of revegetation and restoration goes up in flames."

"But it doesn't have to be this way - wildfire is entirely preventable. The BMC Access & Conservation Trust have a strong history of campaigning to prevent wildfires, starting with our No Moor BBQs campaign in 2020. We lobbied the government to criminalise the use of disposable barbecues on open moorland, with a severe penalty for anyone caught. As a result of that campaign, several major retailers stopped selling disposable barbecues near National Parks and currently no open fires, including barbecues, are allowed in the Peak District National Park, with fines of up to £1,000.

"In practice, however, this is very difficult to monitor, especially with government cutbacks to National Park funding reducing staffing levels. That's why the BMC Access & Conservation Trust are dedicating £50,000 to funding the first ever dedicated Wildfire Ranger for the Eastern Moors this year."

The Eastern Moors Wildfire Ranger will:
  • Patrol high wildfire-risk areas at peak times for early reporting and response
  • Set up local volunteer patrol groups
  • Engage the public in positive messaging about wildfire prevention in-person and on social media

The ranger will be employed by Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) and work closely with the Eastern Moors Partnership (EMP) and Moors for the Future Partnership to protect the Eastern Moors hiking and climbing areas from wildfires in 2026.

The BMC Access & Conservation Trust is funding a Wildfire Ranger to help protect the Eastern Moors

Did you know that you can donate to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust entirely FREE simply by shopping online as you usually would, at any time of the year with Easyfundraising? It only takes two minutes to set up, here's how.

If you want to contribute to upland and mountain access and conservation causes like the above, then simply click here to donate to The BMC Access & Conservation Trust via The Climate Project or Mend Our Mountains campaigns at any time. One-off or regular donations of any amount are always most welcome.

Volunteer

Fancy fixing footpaths in the Lake District, placing stepping stones in Eryri or planting sphagnum in the Peak District? Sign up to one of our Get Stuck In events here. And if you can't volunteer, why not gift us the amount you would have spent in fuel or on a train fare getting to a volunteer event?

Leave a legacy

A wise person once said, the most noble thing you can do is to "plant trees under whose shade you will never sit" and, likewise, fund path repair projects on which you will never walk and moorland restoration projects which you will never see. If you'd like to make a lasting impact on the landscape long after you've left this world, please consider leaving us a legacy.

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