Agency could intervene to cull estate's red deer
The compulsory deer management control scheme could see Scotland's nature agency, NatureScot, step in to reduce numbers of the animals on Loch Choire Estate in Sutherland.
There are concerns grazing by deer is damaging mossy peatland called blanket bog at four sites of special scientific interest (SSSI).
NatureScot said the action was approved by Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie and taken after a voluntary agreement on a cull could not be reached.
The estate's Shropshire-based owners have 28 days to lodge an appeal against the control scheme.
Gamekeepers 'spared torment' of pregnant deer cull
Why are large numbers of red deer being killed?
NatureScot had 160 deer culled on the estate in 2023 because it said the owners failed to manage their numbers.
The deer were processed for venison.
NatureScot said further action was needed and the estate could now be targeted with the first compulsory deer management control scheme under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.
The Scottish government wants the deer density on Loch Choire Estate reduced from 14 deer per square km to 7.5 within five years.
Failure to do so could see NatureScot carry out a cull and recover the costs from the estate.
The estate's owners could also be guilty of an offence under the rules of the scheme.
Robbie Kernahan, NatureScot's director of green economy, said high numbers of deer could have negative impacts on woodlands, peatlands and other habitats.
"We will always favour a voluntary and collaborative approach to deer management, working in cooperation with partners towards this shared goal," he said.
"However, we will use our intervention powers as a last resort in cases such as this, where despite significant efforts we have been unable to secure the required commitment and action through voluntary means."
More stories from the Highlands and Islands
News from the Highlands and Islands on BBC Sounds
NatureScot said habitats on four SSSIs on or around Loch Choire Estate were at risk.
One of the sites, Ben Kilbreck, near Altnaharra, has rocks that originated as muddy and sandy sediments in an ancient sea about one billion years ago.
Mallart SSSI is dominated by blanket bog, which provides habitat to otters and birds including golden eagles and black-throated divers.
Truderscaig is listed as a nationally important site for birds called greenshank, while Skinsdale Peatlands SSSI has extensive "carpets" of bog moss.
Deer culls credited with green loch wood recovery
Culling deer 'protects' mountain habitats
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
105 years ago: Greenock's 'oldest graving dock' being filled in (1920)
From the archive... THE old graving dock at Greenock West Harbour, one of the oldest in Scotland, is being filled in, and will soon have disappeared in the common level of Harland & Wolff's yard. The dock must be about 150 years old, having been constructed later than the one at Port-Glasgow, which dates from 1762, and is claimed to be the oldest graving dock in Scotland. During the war several concrete ships were built in the dock. Old Graving dock at Greenock harbour in 1920 (Image: archive) In the old engine-house there is still in fair working order an engine of the original Watt design. The contractors Sir Wm. Arrol & Co. are carrying material from part of the yard which is being levelled and dumping it with other debris in the old basin. A narrow-gauge railway has been laid from the foot of the yard round to the graving dock, and the little train of bogies, with their toylike locomotive, are a source of great interest to the passersby. THE curious little bogie engine and tipping waggons at the West Quay. Its whistle always provokes a smile. (Image: archive)This article and the accompanying pictures were first published in the Telegraph in August 1920.
Chicago Tribune
9 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Edward Keegan: Happy 10th birthday, The 606! Here's why you are worth celebrating.
An architect eagerly awaits the opening day of a building as it usually offers the most faithful presentation of their design. But it's quite different for a landscape architect. The first day merely what their design is about. It takes years — and patience and a little luck as well — to realize their intentions. Thus The 606 — now 10 years old — has just started to demonstrate its full potential. From the start, The 606 was a different kind of park. It's built on the imposing concrete bones of the Bloomingdale Line — a century old piece of industrial infrastructure that raised active railroad lines 20 feet above street level to alleviate pedestrian deaths that had plagued the city's rail lines. The then-abandoned tracks were identified as a potential bike trail by 1998 and the advocacy group Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail was founded in 2003. Chicago architect Carol Ross Barney led an early community engagement process that produced the Bloomingdale Trail and Park Framework Plan in 2012 and contained the basic design for the 2.7-mile-long park. The subsequent development of those designs, including the critical landscaping scheme, was completed by Brooklyn-based landscape architect Michael van Valkenburgh and opened to the public in 2015. In a city where almost everything is on a strict grid and flat, The 606 is neither. As built in the 1910s, the structure is a generally constant 16 feet above street level and 30 feet wide. The Bloomingdale Line acted as something of a brute force insertion within the Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square and Humboldt Park neighborhoods, with its massive concrete walls dividing north from south in a most unsubtle way. While The 606 kept most of these imposing concrete structures intact, the designers constructed a highly varied topography within the original walls. The paved 14-feet-wide trail rises and falls while undulating between these walls. As befits a park, The 606's built elements are few: the paved trail, custom light fixture and galvanized steel rails that prevent visitors from falling off the structure cover most of these. The gridded metal fences stand atop the old concrete walls and are less obvious now, often providing support for climbing plants that soften the overall effect and help screen the park from the city. The buildings on each side of the trail are less a factor than they were a decade ago. The landscaping obscures many of the neighboring structures, which is certainly for the best along much of the eastern blocks. Ironically, the lushest landscapes occur toward the western end where the plantings often block views of older and more architecturally distinguished buildings. Street signs are located at every street crossing, but they're discrete enough not to distract and it's easy to walk for blocks without being aware of your precise location. Specific spots along the trail offer unique experiences. One of the more memorable spots at the park's opening was the thicket of quaking aspens east of Drake Avenue. Their reedy stick-like appearance in youth was striking, but the stand of trees has matured to create a unique soundscape where their fluttering leaves define a downright magical and distinctive place. One of the wider spots between the old railroad walls is located between Kimball and Spaulding avenues where a mounded lawn provides a more traditional park space for lounging. And the wide paved plaza above Damen Avenue is designed to display art, but was unfortunately bare on a recent visit. When the railroad tracks connected transportation networks, the 16-feet-high walls separated neighborhoods. With The 606, those connections were returned to the communities on each side of the park. But it hasn't come without unfortunate consequences, with gentrification being the most obvious. Barney recalls the early community meetings: 'One of the things that was most obvious to everybody was a lot of disparity in terms of the (lower) income and amenity investments on the west side of the trail (versus) the east side of the trail. We were looking hard to get a good design concept, but they also wanted to bring the neighborhoods along the trail together.' Community stakeholders raised questions. 'Even while we were doing it, there was criticism that it wasn't going deep enough,' Barney said. 'The role that architecture plays in this, or planning or landscape architecture is an important one, but it is not the only place or necessarily the place where the issue is solved.' The addition of the architecturally distinguished Encuentro Square — designed by Jaime Torres Carmona's Canopy / architecture + design — at the western terminus has been a bright spot for affordable development that benefits from proximity to The 606, but that hasn't been the norm over the past 10 years. Clearly, more work needs to be done. There was nothing obvious about the old Bloomingdale Line that led to its revival as a park, but many Chicago citizens seized the opportunity and their dogged efforts over many years now pay dividends through the park's enduring beauty. Originally built to promote movement, it's unexpected that The 606's transformation would create a place of refuge and respite. But that's what it has become over the past decade through thoughtful and truly innovative design that excels at the big things and the little things. Its maturing landscape continues to surprise in the best ways — providing ever-changing experiences that make every visit fresh and new. And that's worth celebrating and emulating. Edward Keegan writes, broadcasts and teaches on architectural subjects. Keegan's biweekly architecture column is supported by a grant from former Tribune critic Blair Kamin, as administered by the not-for-profit Journalism Funding Partners. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fight on to save historic railway station 'left to rot'
Hundreds of people have signed a petition to save a historic Glasgow railway station, which was "left to rot". More than 300 people put their names to the document, calling for Possil Railway Station to be restored. Campaigner Andrew Moore, who started the motion, said: "This building means a lot to me, someone has to start doing something to help. "My family is from Possil Park. The area has lost a lot of its original architecture. "These buildings should be protected. If they all disappear, everyone will regret it." (Image: Pia Opp) The 40-year-old campaigner recalled the stories his mother would tell about the building in its heyday, as a bustling travel hub with a beautiful exterior and concierges. He added: "They used to take your trolleys and your luggage down the steps onto this platform. "I like to visualise that in my head." But now, the C-listed red brick building has been "left to rot", with broken windows and graffiti. (Image: Robert Perry) It is owned by Scotsman Property Ltd, based in Glasgow but there are no recent planning applications for it. The site has not been used as a railway station for 60 years and has been empty since the 1990s, when it closed as a bookmaker's. Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney has been campaigning to bring it back into use for around seven years. The politician said Glasgow City Council should step in and force the owner to sell the property. Paul Sweeney (Image: Newsquest) READ NEXT: Fate of historic Glasgow Vogue cinema decided after appeal He continued: "I'm frustrated that this continues to linger. It's on a main road and it symbolises decay and neglect. (Image: Robert Perry) "It's a very handsome building and it would be a shame if it was lost. "Possilpark has already lost too much of its heritage. "It would be a potentially really lovely restored structure, a set piece for the area." You can find the petition here. Some submitted uses would be as a museum, community hub or workshop space.
