NEWS: Consultation on wild land map opened by SNH

[Paul Webster]

Wild Land map consultation opens

Our news story includes an on-screen detailed Google map of the proposed wild land areas.

[kmai1961]

I've lurked on walkhighlands for quite some time now, and have heard y'all wax eloquently about your hilltop adventures (and misadventures), as well as your views about blocked or unfriendly access, bear/wolf reintroduction, hill tracks, and heading into the mountains without being adequately prepared. I've even heard a few controversial confessions. The point is, you're a witty, intelligent, opinionated bunch, and I believe that there are many of you who feel strongly that one of Scotland's most precious resources, its wild land, should be protected from development.

If you do feel passionately about this, I urge you to respond to this consultation before 20 December.

Several months ago, the Scottish government opened two consultations to the public (the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Scottish Planning Policy (SPP); you can find loads of information about either or both of them by googling). This current consultation by the SNH about its proposed Wild Land map is as a result of the responses to those earlier consultations. Although there were disappointingly few individual responses compared to those from large companies (many of which have a vested financial interest in seeing the map not adopted), there was enough of a varied response from all respondents to incite further discussion and exploration.

The results of all of these consultations will influence Scottish development policy for the next 30 years; the adoption of the SNH's wild land map could help protect Scotland's finest wild landscapes for generations.

Please, please, please, if this is something you care about, don't just leave it for someone else to respond. Your input doesn't have to be lengthy or technical; just speak from the heart about what Scotland's wilderness means to you, or how you'd feel if getting away to the hills was no longer possible. If you don't speak up now, you pretty much give up the right to complain about the end result.

Thanks!
Karen

[jmarkb]

I'd urge everyone to take a look at this. If you think it's not OK that practically all of Scotland's coastline, South Harris, North Uist, Mull, south Coigach, the Scoraig peninsula, the Trotternish hills, Ardnamurchan, Morvern, the northern Monadhliath, the Arrochar hills, Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond (just to name a few) will not be designated as wild land, then please take the time to respond.

The assessment methodology is quite technical, but as far as I can tell one of the main problems is that far too much weight has been given to the proximity to minor roads and tracks as a reason for excluding land from being designated as wild.

[Scotjamie]

Well spoken kmai1960 (stop lurking and speak up) and jmarkb

Agree that everyone ought to try to understand this issue and respond, although as my now submitted formal response shows (pasted below) I don't fully understand the implications of wildland definition too well, but do believe a wider 'non-urban' definition should be considered.

"The consultation appears to be a technical/geographic exercise with, in my opinion, too little commentary about the implications for protection and general usage that might then allow greater debate on wilderness issues rather than on area definition.

If the concept, and ultimate aim, of the Wild Land definition is greater protection from urban or developmental planning then I believe the area definition should be wider. The four criteria will miss out on many SSSI areas and areas of outstanding natural beauty…subjectivity notwithstanding. Perhaps the next phase might be to define all ‘non-urban’ as wild.

It is crucial that, whatever the future of this exercise, the Right to Roam legislation is strengthened rather than diluted across wild areas. This means confronting and acting against those landowners who flout the legislation, or seek to restrict access, as exemplified in a few areas of Scotland."

[kmai1961]

Thanks, guys, for responding, both to my post, and to the consultation (scotjamie: now that I've broken the bonds of lurk-dom, and found it to be not particularly painful, I'll make an effort to be a bit more social henceforth).

I agree that deciphering this report isn't easy. I've read it several times, and still don't entirely understand it all. As the report itself acknowledges, wildness is such a subjective quality that one of the main reasons for its publication (as I understand it) is to clarify the methodology and criteria used to classify areas as "wild." Good on the SNH for making a decent attempt at pinning down the wind.

If you haven't had a look at the report, the three specific questions the SNH is asking are:
Q.1. What is your view on the Core Areas of Wild Land 2013 map?
Q.2. Do you have specific comments on any of the areas of wild land identified?
Q.3. Are there any other issues regarding the Core Areas of Wild Land 2013 map, or its preparation, that you would like to raise?

These questions -- especially the first two -- don't require any particular expertise or detailed understanding
of the methodology. I'd like to believe that if the message gets sent, loud and clear and simple, that large portions of Scotland are a precious and irreplaceable resource that should be protected from industrialization and development, the Scottish government will take that into account as they develop planning guidelines for the next several generations. I do know that the devil is in the details, as the saying goes, but it also seems that those details, even in a short-ish paper such as this, are likely to intimidate and/or bore the general public into not responding.

Ok...enough! I'll try to refrain from banging on about this any more, and return you now to your regularly scheduled programming. Showing each other your boulders, I believe? And asking Bob if you can have a P?

Cheers,
Karen

[Caberfeidh]

I'll try to refrain from banging on about this any more, and return you now to your regularly scheduled programming. Showing each other your boulders, I believe? And asking Bob if you can have a P?

Cheers,
Karen

Don't forget random amputations, cannibalism, making captives walk the plank out of the bothy window and tipping the corpses overboard (methinks the crew have a touch of the old Black Death, aaarrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....)