Nature

Windfarm protest planned for 20 December

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Save the Monadhliath Mountains’ (SMM) campaign group is planning a peaceful demonstration outside the Council headquarters in Inverness on Tuesday 20 December, against the controversial Allt Duine wind farm development planned for the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. The protest will be held between 9am and 10:30am timed to coincide with a Planning meeting by the Council to discuss the application. Organisers say that anyone against the windfarm is welcome at the protest. SMM says that it is not anti-wind farms in general but believes that the sheer number of developments planned in the area will mean a…

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Campaigners say Monadhliath windfarm will hurt tourism

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Helen Webster

Rural tourism is the lifeblood of the Highlands economy and there are significant concerns that the local tourism economy stands to be severely damaged by the Allt Duine wind farm if the go ahead for the site is granted, warns the “Save the Monadhliath Mountains” (SMM) campaign. The Allt Duine site is one of 11 wind farms being developed in-and-around the Cairngorms National Park. The SMM campaign believes there is a line in the sand and this is it, and that this windfarm is a step too far. A spokesman for the campaign said, “Landscapes and wildlife are one of…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

Police investigating damage to Skye fossil site

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Helen Webster

One of the worst examples of reckless fossil collecting in recent years has been uncovered by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) on the Isle of Skye. Several tonnes of rock have been dug from the cliffs near to Bearreraig Bay in an apparent organised search for valuable fossil specimens. Bearreraig Bay is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which includes important beds of fossils dating from the Jurassic period. The Jurassic lasted until around 145 million years ago and featured marine creatures such as ammonites, and terrestrial animals including the carnivorous dinosaur Megalosaurus and the vegetarians Cetiosaurus and Stegosaurus.…

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Consultation on future Cairngorm railway access

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Helen Webster

Consultation on a proposal to offer permanent guided walks from the Cairngorm mountain railway top station to the summit of Cairn Gorm has begun. Scottish Natural Heritage and The Highland Council are carrying out the six-week consultation from 14 November to 23 December 2011 following a request by operator Cairngorm Mountain Ltd (CML) to offer the service. Marketed as ‘Walk @ The Top’ the walks will be offered to the summit of Cairn Gorm and back from the top station using the summit path, a direct line between the top station and the summit of Cairn Gorm, and the Marquiss…

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Beinn Eighe visitor centre strikes gold

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Helen Webster

The visitor centre at Beinn Eighe, Britain’s oldest National Nature Reserve (NNR) has added to previous accolades by taking a gold standard in the Green Tourism Business Scheme. The centre in Kinlochewe is managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and has attained silver awards for several years after annual assessments of how the visitor facilities perform as a sustainable tourism operation. Alison Rowe of SNH confirmed: “We are delighted to achieve this gold award as we continuously look at ways of minimising energy use and our impacts on the environment. Many of the measures are simple, such as switching over…

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MCofS joins challenge to Cairngorms new town

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has joined with the charity, the Cairngorms Campaign, to urge walkers, climbers, mountain bikers, skiers, bird watchers and others who enjoy the Cairngorms to donate funds to help finance a campaign to stop the building of a new town on the outskirts of Aviemore. The MCofS has joined the legal challenge to the decision of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) to adopt the Cairngorms National Park Local Plan 2010 (The Plan). The Plan, if implemented, will result in the erection of 1,500 houses at An Camas Mòr on the east bank of the…

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Scots revealed as top nature lovers

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Helen Webster

Results of a new YouGov survey for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) show that the Scottish public have a deep affection for nature. While this is true across Scotland, priorities vary slightly from area to area. The representative sample of Scottish adults found that nine in ten (90%) enjoy seeing and hearing birds in their garden or local parks. Some 89% of the public see Scotland’s celebrated woodland creatures, such as red squirrels and capercaillie, as part of Scottish culture and agree that they help make our countryside special. Interesting results included: 83% agree that it is important that rare birds…

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Goats to remain on Rum

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Helen Webster

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is to maintain a healthy and viable population of feral goats on the island of Rum, even though some are being culled to protect the island’s fragile habitats. The goats are thought to have been on Rum for at least 200 years and, along with eagles, red deer and Manx shearwater, have become an established wildlife feature of the island’s national nature reserve. Over the past ten years there has been a marked increase in the size of the feral goat herd, for reasons that are not entirely clear. This has been shown to have a…

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BBC film to feature Cononish gold mine

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Helen Webster

A documentary following a year in the life of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park will be shown on Sunday 6 November on BBC 4 at 9pm. ‘Tales from the National Park’ follows the story of the Cononish gold mine application and features all aspects of the planning story from initial discussions with the applicant and community meetings right through to the recent final decision to approve the gold mine. Film maker Richard Macer spent a year following staff from the National Park giving unique behind the scenes footage. Fiona Logan, CEO of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National…

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Ramblers Scotland boss urges Tories to address energy and wild land issues

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Helen Webster

Dennis Canavan, Convener of Ramblers Scotland, has called on the new leader of the Tory party in Scotland to press for fundamental changes in UK energy policy. Speaking on the day before Scotland finds out who is to be the next Scottish Tory Party leader, Dennis Canavan said: “I want to see the new Tory leader stand up to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and tell him what is wrong with UK Government energy policy and persuade him to make some fundamental changes. The top priorities must be to abolish the subsidy paid to the developers of large scale onshore…

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