In all National Parks the park authorities work closely with the farming community seeking consensus about land management to ensure that the Parks retain their environmental, social and economic vitality. For example, the North York Moors NPA developed their Moorland Regeneration Programme with NFU's North-East regional office. The uplands require continuing care. This is clearly visable in the heritage of stone walls that typify the uplands. Though these walls appear permanent they too suffer from the harsh environment and increased recreational access.
Walls have to be periodically rebuilt.
The scale and cost of the task is daunting. In a recent survey for the Countryside Commission, ADAS estimated that half of England's 112,000 km of stone walls were in need of repair to remain stockproof. Sadly Government assistance with walling is thinly spread and often only available to farmers on a competitive basis. For many the call of the curlew is a deeply evocative sound in the uplands. The curlew is but one of many species that depend on hill farming for its survival.