The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has joined with the charity, the Cairngorms Campaign, to urge walkers, climbers, mountain bikers, skiers, bird watchers and others who enjoy the Cairngorms to donate funds to help finance a campaign to stop the building of a new town on the outskirts of Aviemore. The MCofS has joined the legal challenge to the decision of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) to adopt the Cairngorms National Park Local Plan 2010 (The Plan). The Plan, if implemented, will result in the erection of 1,500 houses at An Camas Mòr on the east bank of the…

Results of a new YouGov survey for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) show that the Scottish public have a deep affection for nature. While this is true across Scotland, priorities vary slightly from area to area. The representative sample of Scottish adults found that nine in ten (90%) enjoy seeing and hearing birds in their garden or local parks. Some 89% of the public see Scotland’s celebrated woodland creatures, such as red squirrels and capercaillie, as part of Scottish culture and agree that they help make our countryside special. Interesting results included: 83% agree that it is important that rare birds…

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is to maintain a healthy and viable population of feral goats on the island of Rum, even though some are being culled to protect the island’s fragile habitats. The goats are thought to have been on Rum for at least 200 years and, along with eagles, red deer and Manx shearwater, have become an established wildlife feature of the island’s national nature reserve. Over the past ten years there has been a marked increase in the size of the feral goat herd, for reasons that are not entirely clear. This has been shown to have a…