Representatives of the Forum met Dr Aileen MacLeod, MSP,
Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform in the Coach House Inn, Muirkirk, on 4 September. After a
short introduction, we took the Minister onto the moorland to the south of
Muirkirk, which is part of the Bute Estate.
Our host was Nick Wright, the manager of the estate, and at various
stops we discussed a range of topics with the Minister:
Understanding
Predation Project: Chris Wernham (BTO) provided an update on the progress
of this project. The draft report will
be presented to the steering group, at the end of September and it will be
discussed in three seminars between 27 October and 12 November. The final report will be published at the end
of January 2016. The Minister confirmed
her support for this project and stated that she is looking forward to
launching the Report, in February.
Heather Management: Nick
Wright described some of the heather management issues on the estate and the impact
that the re-introduction of grazing two years ago, using Herdwick sheep, has
had.
Conservation Issues: Duncan
Orr-Ewing (RSPB) commented on the importance of the site for upland breeding
birds and this led into an interesting discussion about the impact that changing management regimes can have on the
populations of key bird species.
Land Reform: Tim
Baynes (SMG) had been asked for his views about how the Forum could best contribute
to the debate about Land Reform. Many
members would be submitting a response to the Bill consultation, and in
recognition of the diverse range of opinion across Forum members, Tim
recommended that the Forum should maintain the position expressed in Lord
Lindsay’s letter to the Minister. The letter had expressed the willingness of the Forum to respond to any requests for
support from the Scottish Government to help identify any unintended
consequences that might come from the reforms being considered. The letter had identified the re-introduction
of sporting rates as one issue where the reform might have unintended, negative
impacts.
Upland Solutions: I provided some background about the Upland
Solutions project and how this had drawn comparisons in the
relationship between the community and the moorland in Muirkirk and the Upper
Findhorn Glen, above Tomatin. It was
suggested that if anything this work was more relevant now than it had been
when the Project Report was published in 2011.
I suggested that this is unfinished business that the Forum should seek
an opportunity to revisit.
Airds Moss Visit
The Minister departed at lunchtime and in the afternoon, the
RSPB (Gerry McAuley and Duncan Orr-Ewing) hosted a short visit to the Airds
Moss reserve, just to the west of Muirkirk, where substantial peatland
restoration work has been undertaken. It was a great opportunity for Forum
members to get a feel for the scale of such work.
