Two unlikely allies have joined together to press Scottish Government to develop a land use policy which protects Scotland’s world-renowned landscapes, and ensures access for recreation. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association and Mountaineering Scotland have written a joint letter to Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham MSP, concerned at the potential impacts fragmented policy may have on Scotland’s rare open landscapes. Both organisations fear a lack of joined up thinking could see the loss of internationally rare landscapes as Scottish Government pursues a policy of large scale afforestation without a blueprint to preserve its celebrated vistas. In the letter to Ms Cunningham the…

Four conservation charities in the Highlands have called upon Highland Council to maintain its Ranger Services which are believed to be under threat as a result of budget cuts. RSPB Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the John Muir Trust have joined forces to highlight the importance of the Ranger Service to Highland communities, schools and the region’s tourism businesses. The charities believe the Council’s Ranger Services play an important role in engaging people in the natural environment leading to substantial associated benefits in terms of the tourist spend in Highland and health and welfare…

Shortly after buying Mar Lodge Estate in the late 1990’s, the National Trust for Scotland set about removing the bulldozed Land-Rover track which was a very visible scar up Beinn a’ Bhuird. The NTS ecology team have recently been out monitoring the re-vegetation which has followed the ground-breaking restoration work. These fixed point photos show that the re-vegetation is progressing nicely and you can see a huge difference between 2002 and 2016, which has greatly reduced the visual impact on the landscape.