Blawhorn Moss National Nature Reserve

In the 1940s, the whole surface of Blawhorn Moss was drained to make the site more appropriate for agriculture. The moss then passed into the ownership of the National Coal Board: the surrounding areas were subjected to opencast coal mining, however the area of the current NNR remained intact. The Nature Conservancy Council (the predecessor organisation to NatureScot) purchased 69 ha of the western part of the moss in 1979, since when the management of Blawhorn Moss has aimed at actively improving the habitat of the moss through blocking the man-made drains that had allowed the water table in the area to drop, and which had left the area more susceptible to drought and fire. Fire damage…