Wednesday, 13 September 2023
A breeding pair of White-tailed Eagles has set up home in a Caithness woodland managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. Thought to be the first successful breeding pair in the area in almost 100 years, the birds were found to be nesting in a stand of Sitka spruce within a windblown area of lodgepole pine that was due to be felled ahead of peatland restoration work. It is thought that t...
Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has appointed a dive team to carry out a check of the Glencoe Lochan sluice gate ahead of a mandatory ten-year inspection next month. The move comes ahead of an external consultant carrying out the formal inspection - as required under the Reservoirs (Scotland) Act 2011 - and aims to prevent a repeat of the mishap earlier this year, which saw the sluic...
Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland has started work to extend the car park at Learnie Red Rocks mountain bike trails. The addition of 25 extra spaces will help cater for the growing number of mountain bikers who visit to try out the mix of trails. Learnie offers a range of trails to suit all abilities and skill levels but is especially good for novice and intermediate riders. Carol MacKintosh, FLS’ A...
Tuesday, 12 September 2023
The spectacular recovery of pine martens in Scotland is on the agenda for a gathering of pine marten experts in the Cairngorms. Researchers from around the world will be attending the International Martes Symposium in Aviemore, and visiting local success stories in the Cairngorms. The symposium happens every five years in a different country that is home to martens and their relative...
Monday, 11 September 2023
Volunteers from West Fife Woodlands Group (WFWG) have worked with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) to build a new footbridge at Muirside Woods, near Saline. The bridge is a vital link to the wider area and offers access to the core path network and the National Cycle Network. Installing a bridge was first suggested about 10 years ago but was not progressed because of fund...
Friday, 08 September 2023
Minister for Energy and the Environment, Gillian Martin, today (Friday 8 Sept) joined foresters past and present to mark the centenary of Glenmore Forest Park being in public ownership. Glenmore was purchased from the Duke of Gordon in 1923, only four years after the establishment of the Forestry Commission. Since its entry into public forestry, Glenmore has experienced a...
Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) team in Dumfries and Galloway are inviting local people to come along to a walk-and-talk tour (28th September) of the Torrs Warren woodland that lies close to Dunragit village. The walk is part of the consultation on FLS’ 10 year land management plan for the forest (that also includes the nearby Dunragit and Drochduil woodlands) and aims both to encour...
Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland staff in the Far North have been working to grow a wide range of wildflowers that should help boost numbers of a rare species of bumblebee and boost the fortunes of other pollinating insects. The wildflowers, being tended by North Region staff in polytunnels in Lairg, will be planted out this autumn by volunteers from the Caithness Environment Volunteer Grou...
Friday, 25 August 2023
More than 12 weeks after the initial fire was put out, teams from Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) are still monitoring hotspots in Kerrow Forest, at Cannich. The move comes after a fire crew from Fort Augustus attended the site last weekend (19/20 Aug) when one of of a number of hotspots flared up and reignited. FLS staff later revisited the forest to review the situation on ...
Friday, 25 August 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is seeking local community feedback on its 10-year Land Management Plan for the Little Clyde woodland. Due SW of Abington and near the villages of Elvanfoot and Crawford, Little Clyde is a commercial forest, with the upper reaches of the site being part of the Clyde Wind Farm, managed by SSE. As well as setting out what FLS intends to do over th...
Friday, 18 August 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is getting ready to complete the final stage of its Glentress Masterplan programme as the UCI team clears the last of the 2023 Cycling World Championship infrastructure. It is anticipated that the carparks will re-open and access will begin to return to normal from 18 August, this will coincide with FLS starting work on the final stage of its £6 milli...
Friday, 18 August 2023
People planning to head out to forests this autumn to try their hand at ‘foraging’ – to pick wild mushrooms – are being urged to ‘be sure what you’re picking and pick only what you need’. The call comes from Scotland’s national forestry body, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), who are finding – increasingly – that inexperienced fungi foragers are clearing whole areas, damaging ...