Members of the Scottish Parliament are being sent a leaflet from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) reminding them of the huge benefits of Scotland's mountains. The leaflet challenges them to balance the need for green power with the need to safeguard a hugely valuable but finite and vulnerable resource. “To some the term ‘wild land’ just translates as emptiness – something without any value,” says MCofS Director of Landscape and Access Dave Gordon. “Scotland’s mountains are very far from being without value: they are among our greatest assets. But our uplands are also incredibly vulnerable. “Our mountains and wild…

The golden eagle has overwhelmingly topped the vote in a campaign to find the country’s favourite wild animal. The impressive bird of prey was competing against the red deer, red squirrel, harbour seal and otter. Thousands of votes were recorded online following the campaign launch in spring this year and voting closed yesterday . With almost 40 per cent of the vote, the eagle was well ahead of its counterparts. The next closest was the red squirrel with 20 percent, then the red deer and the otter, with the harbour seal in last place. The campaign was run jointly by…

Drumochter and Ben Alder Estates have submitted planning applications to retain several miles of the temporary access tracks built for the construction of the Beauly – Denny powerline. Drumochter wish to retain 4.5km of track east of the A9, whilst Ben Alder wish to retain a shorter 600m of track to the west of the A9. The original permission granted for the Beauly-Denny powerline required that all temporary tracks must be reinstated once construction was completed. However, the documents submitted by the agents for Drumochter Estate state that “since the track was constructed, it has become apparent that it offers…

A new action plan to reverse the decline of the Scottish wildcat within six years was launched today by Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse. It sets out for the first time a package of measures that a range of land managers, conservationists, and researchers agree has the best prospect for the ‘Highland Tiger.’ The aim is to conserve Scottish wildcats by reducing the chances of cross breeding with domestic and feral cats and by lowering the risk to wildcats from feline diseases. Efforts will be targeted in areas which support the most viable wildcat populations. And a conservation breeding programme will…

Environmental organisations attempting to stop the unregulated construction of hill tracks in Scotland have been shocked by the scale of the problem, mid-way through a public campaign to identify the worst cases. Working together under Scottish Environment LINK, the nine organisations are asking members of the public to submit photographs of tracks in the Scottish countryside before 1 September, and have already received numerous responses. They say that time is now running out to uncover the true scale of the damage caused to Scotland’s landscapes and wildlife before they try to persuade the Government to change the law. The organisations…