Scotland Before Pylons and the Beauly-Denny Landscape Group have written to energy Minister Jim Mather asking him to reopen the Public Local Inquiry into the Beauly-Denny line. The groups want clear answers to outstanding issues raised by the decision to approve the new transmission line. The groups have asked Mr Mather to respond to questions regarding procedural errors in the handling of the decision, the need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment, and an inconsistent approach to undergrounding. Two legal points have been raised by the decision to approve the 137 mile Beauly-Denny line. The rules governing Inquiries state that if…

Red squirrels are beginning to return to areas of Scotland where they have not been seen for several years. This news comes as leading partners in Scotland’s first nationally co-ordinated attempt to save the red squirrel gather near Perth to review progress of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) project. Up to 45 of the project’s key participants with a passion for red squirrel conservation, including landowners and volunteers from across Scotland, heard news of the project’s first signs of success – the return of red squirrels to areas including Cults and Countesswells and Bieldside in Aberdeen City. Meeting in…

Hillwalkers across Scotland are being warned they are likely to come across dead or dying deer due to this year’s harsh winter. The Deer Commission for Scotland says that thousands of deer may be at risk of starvation because the animals have been unable to graze due to the prolonged and deep snow cover and frozen ground. Walkers are being urged to avoid disturbing herds of deer. The animals’ energy supplies are now so severely depleted that the act of running away from humans could leave them exhausted and vulnerable. The deaths are likely to have a knock on effect…

Biodiversity surveys carried out on Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire have so far identified 56 priority species for conservation – including some feared extinct in Scotland, the conservation charity announced as it became a partner in the United Nations’ International Year of Biodiversity. Species identified at the 10,000 acre site to the west of Loch Ness include black grouse, water vole, pine marten, lesser butterfly orchid, six species of tooth fungi, the lichen running crab spider and the small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly. All are included in the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan as priority species for conservation.…

This weekend Scottish Natural Heritage will be running workshops at the Fort William Mountain Festival to demonstrate wild camping techniques. The Leave No Trace workshops, presented by experienced outdoor leader Myles Farnbank, will show how wild campers can enjoy adventures without leaving negative impacts on the natural landscape such as human waste, litter and scars from open fires. A specialist in developing and teaching the Leave No Trace responsible campingethos of Scotland’s Outdoor Access Code, Myles says, “Individuals and parties who set out to travel and camp on wild land, rivers and coast will be interacting closely with the natural…

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority has today launched a twelve week public consultation to seek the public’s views on proposed new byelaws that would help local communities, the National Park Authority, its Rangers and the Police to tackle the impacts of irresponsible informal camping and excessive use along the shores of East Loch Lomond. Under the byelaws it will be an offence for any person outside designated sites to pitch a tent or set up any form of shelter including sleeping overnight in a vehicle in the restricted zone. The restricted zone would cover 14 square kilometres…

A Shark Project Officer started work in Oban this week on a new project run by the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network. The project is funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Leader. James Thorburn will work closely with local sea anglers to set up and manage the new Scottish shark tagging programme. It will focus on key angling species in Argyll and the west coast of Scotland that are considered endangered, such as spurdog, common skate and tope. James previously carried out a study analysing data on common skate in Argyll as part of his MSc thesis. The data…

The Scottish Parliament will soon get the chance to debate whether the cutting of new tracks in Scotland’s hills and mountains should be more tightly controlled. Following lobbying from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) previously reported on Walkhighlands, a Labour MSP has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament to control such hill tracks. Labour’s environment spokeswoman Sarah Boyack asked sumbitted the motion which calls on the Scottish Government to tighten planning regulations on where new routes through the hills could be cut. Announcing the potential measure, Ms Boyack said, “The magnificent scenery in the Scottish uplands deserves to…

The Isle of Eigg is set to receive £300,000 from the Big Green Challenge Fund as one of four winners in a competition to reduce CO2 emmissions. The Eigg community has managed to reduce their carbon emmissions by 32% in the last year and aims to use the prize money to make even greater cuts. The Eigg project has set out to try and show that other small communities in all parts of the country could use some of the same techniques to reduce their carbon footprint. In all, four community groups have won NESTA’s Big Green Challenge – a…