ABSTRACT
There is little doubt that patterns of land ownership and agricultural subsidies have important consequences for upland conservation. In addition, throughout most of Britain land use is almost always ‘estate-centred’, with little or no attempt at coordination over a broader scale. When this is combined with the frequency with which some estates change ownership it becomes almost impossible to consider implementing management practices where it may take decades to bring about the desired environmental improvements. Almost inevitably this results in a confrontational approach to the implementation of national conservation priorities that may be very difficult to police in wilderness areas.
