Black Grouse in northern England: stemming the decline.

Abstract

The range of Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix in England has contracted severely in recent decades. A full survey in 1998 estimated the English population at 773 displaying males. The Black Grouse Recovery Project, a partnership project between the Game Conservancy Trust, RSPB, English Nature, Ministry of Defence and Northumbrian Water, was set up in 1996 to help stem the decline. The implementation of project management prescriptions developed from our research has led to a small population increase, to 895 males by 2002. The project, funded until 2006, aims to consolidate numbers in the core population area, and then to expand the range into former haunts, particularly to the south, in the Yorkshire Dales.