A Danish walker taking part in the TGO Challenge to cross Scotland was rescued on 12 May after falling ill in Glen Etive. Although only a few miles from the main road in Glencoe, Glen Etive is relatively remote and the walker was rescued after activating an electronic distress beacon. The signal was picked up 4,000 miles away in the States and passed on to the Police in Fort William and a helicopter rescue was co-ordinated by the RAF.

The RAF said it was the first time a SPOT satellite tracker device has triggered a rescue. The device uses GPS technology to pinpoint the user’s location and when activated can send a distress message to a response centre in the US who then pass on the details to the relevant authorities. The walker, who has not yet been identified was suffering severe abdominal pains, has been taken to the Belford hospital in Fort William where it is understood he is recovering.

The body of a beaver has been recovered from the shore at Eathie on the Black Isle. The dead beaver was found in April and police are now investigating whether it was released into the wild illegally.

Once native to Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago. It is illegal to release beavers into the wild, although there are plans to release them in Argyll under a licensed scheme. However there have recently been reports that beavers may have been released near Aberfeldy in Perthshire and also in Angus and Fife where damage to trees has been linked to beaver activity.

Conservations label beavers as a keystone species because of their importance to the ecosystem. They create habitats that allow a lot of other creatures to thrive - however it is that activity in creating pools and thinning young trees that sometimes sets them at odds with landowners and users. Has someone got frustrated by the long debate on this subject and taken matters into their own hands?

This Saturday (3rd of May) Tom Pendrey will pack his kayak with food, equipment and a solar panel and set off to paddle the length of the Western Isles to promote sustainable lifestyles. Committed to sustainable living, Tom’s 150 mile journey will leave little trace on the planet. Tom is one of three expeditions that are being sponsored this year by the John Muir Trust’s 2008 Bill Wallace Grant.

“Now in its second year the Bill Wallace Grant is for expeditions that raise awareness of and help to conserve wild places,” commented JMT Development Manager Dave Picken. “I wish this year’s adventurers the best of luck and hope that they have a great experience.”

In addition to Tom, two other awards were announced. Ilya Maclean has been awarded a grant to allow him to train rural Tanzanian villagers in bird identification and monitoring techniques. The Oxford University Tien Shan Expedition has been awarded a Bill Wallace Grant to travel to Kyrgyzstan, a former republic of the USSR, to make first ascents in an area that has not previously been visited by mountaineers. The Tien Shan mountain range that extends northwest through Kyrgyzstan and includes the two most northerly peaks over 7000m in the world.

The Bill Wallace Grant was set up following the sudden death in 2006 of Bill Wallace, one of the John Muir Trust’s guiding lights. Bill climbed extensively in Scotland and was involved in expeditions to South America, the Alps and Greenland in the 1950’s.

“We need new adventurers to follow in the footsteps of bravehearts like Bill Wallace,” concluded Dave Picken. “As well as having the trip of a lifetime the Grant encourages participants to help conserve wild places in Scotland or further afield.” The award gives between £500 and £2000 for wild places expeditions with an element of scientific or educational purpose. The deadline for next years’ grants is 15 January 2009.

Plans by Lewis Windpower for a huge wind farm at Barvas Moor in Lewis were refused consent last week. Ministers have concluded that the proposed 181 turbine Lewis Wind Farm would have a serious impact on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated under the EC Birds Directive and protected under the EC Habitats Directive.

Energy Minister Jim Mather re-iterated his commitment to renewable energy development in the Western Isles. The Scottish Government has already pledged to find a way to help the Western Isles share in the economic and community benefits of renewable energy, in harmony with environmental obligations.

He said, “I have considered this application very carefully. I have listened to representations from the applicant, taken the views of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and considered the 10,924 objections and 98 letters of support. I visited Stornoway last month and heard at first hand a range of deeply held views. I have also taken ecological advice, and advice from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage.

“European legislation requires a specific procedure to be followed when proposals which could potentially affect Special Protection Areas come forward. I considered all the relevant issues and concluded it would not be possible to approve this application.

“The Lewis Wind Farm would have significant adverse impacts on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated due to its high value for rare and endangered birds.

“This decision does not mean that there cannot be onshore wind farms in the Western Isles. I strongly believe the vast renewables potential needs to be exploited to ensure that the opportunities and benefits of new development can be shared across the country in an equitable fashion.”

This decision seems to be firmly because of the special protection birds have in the area and the advice provided about the likely effect. It remains to be seen whether this decision will have an effect on other large scale wind projects in different areas.

Ramblers Scotland President Dennis Canavan today welcomed the court decision which upheld public rights of access to the majority of the Boquhan estate near Kippen, Stirlingshire. Stirling Council and the Ramblers’ Association had opposed an application by Mr Euan Snowie of Boquhan for a declarator to exempt 40 acres of his estate from access rights in a court hearing held during May 2007. A locked gate which prevented access along an access route into the estate will now have to be opened up.

Dennis Canavan said: “We are delighted with Sheriff Cubie’s decision which reflects the intentions of the Scottish Parliament when the Land Reform Act was passed. This result sends a message to all landowners of big estates that people are entitled to walk on land provided they are acting responsibly in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. The decision also sends a message to local authorities that access rights apply along driveways and past gatehouses. There are a number of cases around the country where signs have been erected and gates locked and we hope the authorities will now take action knowing that the courts will back them up.”

Landowners Euan and Claire Snowie had sought to exclude walkers, cyclists and horseriders from 40 acres of their Boquhan estate, claiming they needed such a large area for privacy and security. Sheriff Cubie of Stirling Sheriff Court asserted that a smaller area surrounding the house was sufficient, amounting to around 15 acres, but access rights should be maintained on the driveways, wooded parts of the estate and over a riding area.

Dennis Canavan continued: “We do not think Mr Snowie should be concerned about this decision. We are confident that access can be made to work on his estate. Prior to the court case, the Ramblers had useful discussions with Mr Snowie and we look forward to having further meetings, if necessary, about how access can be managed.”

This decision is in contrast to that made in June 2007 by Sheriff Fletcher of Perth Sheriff Court who granted a declarator to Mrs Ann Gloag of Kinfauns Castle near Perth. This stated that statutory rights of access did not apply to 12 acres of her estate, although her application had been opposed by Perth & Kinross Council and the Ramblers’ Association. However, this case was different from the Boquhan situation in that the dispute stemmed from the fact that planning permission had been granted retrospectively by the council to Mrs Gloag for a mile-long security fence around the 12-acre area. The council planners had not taken sufficient account of access rights which the council access staff and Ramblers Scotland believed applied to woodland within that area.

Walkers on Goatfell, Ben Lomond and Ben Lawers are being asked to play their part in a National Trust for Scotland survey of the Ptarmigan population.

The sightings will contribute to a detailed survey to be carried out by the conservation charity this year and will go some way to assessing possible climate change effects on the Trust’s high mountain peaks.

The survey will provide reliable population information for one of Scotland’s most popular mountain birds, the Ptarmigan. The data will allow conservationists to examine the changing patterns of the bird’s populations, with a particular focus on any effects from a changing climate. The study will also allow a comparison to be made with populations further north at the Trust’s Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms.

Mr. Lindsay Mackinlay, Nature Conservation Adviser with the National Trust for Scotland said:

“Ptarmigan are one of the few birds that specialise on living on our mountain tops. The general belief is that a warming climate could make Scotland a less suitable place for them to live and breed. Some current predictions suggest they may only be able to survive on our highest and most northern ridges and plateaux in the future. In theory, this could mean they disappear altogether from mountains like Goatfell and Ben Lomond. However, the Trust is not satisfied that we have sufficient scientific data in the field to know what will happen to this species.

“We know that there are other factors that may well affect the Ptarmigans, including grazing levels which affect its food supply and predicted increases in wind speed. Indeed, increasing wind chill may act in favour of the Ptarmigan. We just don’t know.”

He continued: “We are keen to begin detailed annual surveys at Goatfell, Ben Lomond and Ben Lawers to study long-term changes in the Ptarmigan populations there. This fieldwork will hopefully feed into our management of these properties and other work out there to determine what is happening to much of our wildlife as the weather changes.”

The Ptarmigan survey is the third call for walkers to help record different species this year. SNH is keen to hear of wildcat sightings while the Tick Alert Survey is asking people to record where they pick up ticks.

Photo by Tigerente, GNUFDL