Chris Packham, the wildlife writer and TV presenter, has thrown his weight behind Rewilding Britain, a new independent charity that aims to restore nature and reintroduce missing species such as wild boar, bison, lynx, pelicans and eventually wolves and sperm whales. On a straight-talking blog published on the charity’s website he describes the current state-of-play as: “a noxious blend of ignorance, ludicrous antipathy and insidious vested interests”. Mr Packham, a zoology graduate, states the case for rewilding: “How much more of our natural heritage needs to be destroyed before we accept that in plain terms that conservation as we currently…

A new organisation, the first of its kind in Britain, was launched yesterday (Tuesday 14 July) and aims to reintroduce wolves, lynx, pelicans and other species. Rewilding Britain is looking to bring back these missing species as well as encouraging native forests and helping parts of the sea recover from industrial fishing. It will seek to restore species that used to live here but have since become extinct or very rare. These include beavers, wild boar, bison, cranes, pelicans, sturgeon, bluefin tuna, lynx and eventually wolves, grey whales, humpbacks and sperm whales. Rewilding Britain hopes to establish at least three…

Archaeologists working on the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire have uncovered evidence that people were active in this mountainous landscape thousands of years earlier than previously thought. There will be a public talk on the new discoveries on 21 July at Mar Lodge near Braemar, at 7pm. Excavations at sites deep in the Cairngorm glens have produced radiocarbon dates which demonstrate a human presence as far back as 8,100 BC, with some places being revisited over many thousands of years. The first evidence that hunter-gatherer groups were living in the Cairngorms was discovered on the Mar…

Wild land charity the John Muir Trust has been recognised by the Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards for its work to regenerate the woodland on its Li and Coire Dhorrcail property on Knoydart. Aileen McLeod MSP, Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, presented the ‘New Native Woods Award’ to Lester Standen, John Muir Trust property manager for Knoydart, at the Royal Highland Show on Friday 19 June. The Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards celebrate the contribution that woodlands make to the environment and economic prosperity of Scotland and showcase how woods contribute to the health and well-being of Scottish people.…

A coalition of over 20 of Scotland’s environmental organisations including the National Trust and the RSPB, have written to Dr Aileen McLeod, Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, calling for the Eurasian beaver to be fully reintroduced and recognised by the Scottish Government as a resident, native species in Scotland. The group’s action followed publication of the Scottish Natural Heritage Report which will inform Ministers making the decision on the future of beavers in Scotland. In addition, the collective calls for the building on the current wild populations in Mid Argyll and Tayside, and permission for further licensed…

The final report on the future of beavers in Scotland has been sent to the Scottish government, paving the way for a decision to be made on whether the existing colonies will be allowed to remain and expand. The ‘Beavers in Scotland’ report, published by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is one of the most thorough assessments ever done for a species reintroduction proposal. It provides a comprehensive summary of existing knowledge about the likely impact of beavers living in the wild in Scotland and options for their management, and sets out four scenarios for Scottish Ministers to consider. These range…