The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is urging elected members of the Highland Council South Planning Applications Committee to refuse consent for the Beinn Mhor wind farm on the edge of the world-famous landscape of Glen Affric. Mountaineers objected to the proposals to build the wind farm – which would consist of six turbines each almost 400 feet high – on the slopes of Beinn Mhor, near Tomich, just south of the iconic glen. Elected members of the South Planning Applications Committee and officials from Highland Council will visit the site of the proposed wind farm on Monday 23 February,…

Police Scotland and the RSPB have appealed for help identifying wildlife criminals, after releasing video footage of masked gunmen appearing to repeatedly attack a goshawk nest in the Cairngorms National Park. In May 2014, a video camera deployed by RSPB Scotland staff to monitor a goshawk nest at Glenochty, Strathdon, on land owned by Forestry Commission Scotland captured footage revealing a group of men repeatedly visiting the area in what appears to be an attempt to kill the birds and destroy the nest. The goshawk is a specially protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is…

The number of Golden Eagles in Scotland is to surveyed to check how its population is doing. This is the fourth survey of its kind to be undertaken and is being funded Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and RSPB Scotland. Licensed surveyors from the RSPB and the Scottish Raptor Study Group will spend six months recording the number of these majestic birds. All of the golden eagles in Great Britain are found in Scotland except for a solitary male in the Lake District. Much of the population is in the west Highlands and islands of Scotland. Long term monitoring has shown…

A petition has been launched today urging the Scottish Government to create more National Parks in Scotland. The petition, which has been organised by two Scottish charities, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP) and The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS), calls for at least one Coastal and Marine National Park. The petition is open for signature until 13 March on the Scottish Parliament’s website. John Mayhew, Director of APRS, said: “Scotland’s landscapes rank amongst the best in the world, but we only have two National Parks, the highest national accolade which can be given to any…

On December 24 1914 John Muir died in a Los Angeles hospital after being stricken with pneumonia while on a visit to the Southern Californian city to visit his daughter. The pioneering Scots-born conservationist, explorer, author and campaigner remains a giant figure in American culture. His picture hangs in the California Hall of Fame alongside Clint Eastwood, Walt Disney and Barbara Streisand, while across the United States, libraries, schools, universities, hospitals, parks and mountains are named in his honour. Stuart Brooks, Chief Executive of the John Muir Trust said: “Over the past century since his death, John Muir’s relevance has…