SNH Area News
North Highland Correspondents: Ian Mitchell, Sue Agnew/Alex Scott
Room with a view
An exciting new project is under way to build a timber wildlife watching hide on the shores of Loch Fleet in East Sutherland.With a backdrop of Balblair Woods, the hide will provide a new viewing facility overlooking Balblair Bay, and will demonstrate the use of home- grown Scots pine. The project is being co-ordinated
by Highland Birchwoods through a scheme aimed at encouraging greater use of Scots pine for building projects. Highland Birchwoods are working closely with SNH (who are co-funding the project), Sutherland Estates and ScottishWildlife Trust. Neil Sutherland Architects and MAKAR Ltd will be developing and building it. Loch Fleet is a national nature
reserve and it’s already a popular area for walkers and wildlife enthusiasts. The hide should be open in the autumn, and the new facility should attract not only wildlife watchers, but also folk interested in seeing what can be achieved using home-grown timber.
Knockan face-lift
Knockan Crag lies some 20 km north of Ullapool and holds the key to an amazing story of colliding continents and scientific intrigue. This is a place of global importance, both to geologists and to people who simply want to wonder at the forces that shape our planet. The crag at Knockan exposes rocks
that lit up the scientific world in the 19th century, with the discovery that a slice of old rocks sits on top of much younger ones. The ‘Moine Thrust’, as it’s known, was created by the force of two continents crashing together many millions of years ago. Today, Knockan is a national
nature reserve and a popular tourist destination. In 2001, SNH carried out a major upgrade of the site’s visitor facilities and it’s now in need of a substantial face-lift. So SNH, with the support of the Highland LEADER Programme, have set out to create a new visitor welcome area, refresh the interpretation and re-fit the novel ‘Rock Room’. The new visitor facilities at Knockan – as well as a renewed ‘Rock Route’ geological trail around the area – will be installed and opened in time for Easter 2011.
Willows gain ground
The Inchnadamph area in west Sutherland is famous for its limestone pavement landscapes and associated plantlife. In the late 1980s, the estate removed their sheep from the area. This brought about an increase in the red deer population, which then led to more deer grazing and trampling the ground. By 2000, the animals were causing serious damage. The owners therefore reduced
deer numbers over a five-year period as part of an agreement with the Deer Commission for Scotland and SNH. The good news is that the landscapes and plants – which are important on a European scale – have improved greatly. In particular, the rare whortle- leaved willow (pictured above), which seems especially attractive to deer browsing, has responded really well. More bushes now produce flowers
and seeds, and they’re growing taller each year. So the deer browsing doesn’t seem to be limiting their survival. Meanwhile, the estate is maintaining deer numbers at the lower level, which is still enough for them to maintain their sporting interests.
www.snh.gov.uk
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