People following the contentious issue of bulldozed hill tracks may be aware that the Scottish Government has signalled its intention to change the law. The current situation is that planning consent is required for new tracks, or alterations to existing ones, unless they are for forestry of agricultural purposes in which case planning consent is not required. This has created a ‘grey area’ which has allowed some landowners to bulldoze often badly constructed tracks claiming that they are for forestry or agriculture when they are for sporting purposes, for example an estate which uses its tracks primarily to get access…

Leading conservation charity the John Muir Trust warned today (Tuesday 30th September) that the proposed Talladh-a-Bheithe windfarm in Rannoch, being discussed this afternoon in the Scottish Parliament, could have a disastrous impact on Scotland’s reputation for spectacular landscapes. If approved the wind farm will adversely affect views from 5% of Scotland’s 282 Munros, including Buachaille Etive Mor and Schiehallion, which the John Muir Trust has looked after since 1989. Celebrated in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped and films such as The 39 Steps and Trainspotting, Rannoch Moor is one of the largest remaining wild areas in Scotland and…

Scotland's mountaineers have expressed concerns about the possible threat to rare wildlife from the proposed Talladh a Bheithe Wind Farm. Hundreds of residents, businesses and landscape protection organisations are actively opposing the scheme to build 24 wind turbines, each 125 metres tall, together with the wide access tracks, buildings and infrastructure, on moorland between Loch Rannoch and Loch Ericht. The impact on wildlife is a key concern for some including George Macdonald, who recently retired after 23 years as head gamekeeper on a local estate. His views are backed up by Scottish Natural Heritage whose own objection suggests that the…