The Plan Review for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve 2009-2015 · 2018-03-16 · The Plan Review for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve 2009-2015 5 Natural regeneration 1.15 Continue

The Plan Review for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve 2009-2015

Further information on Beinn Eighe NNR please contact: The Reserve Manager Scottish Natural Heritage Anancaun, Kinlochewe Ross-shire IV22 2PA Tel: 01445 760254


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The Reserve Plan Review for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve 2009-2015

Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve (NNR) lies 80 kilometres west of Inverness just outside the village of Kinlochewe. The largest remaining area of ancient Caledonian pinewood in Wester Ross, it also boasts an outstanding diversity of upland, heath and wetland habitats, wildlife, geology and spectacular scenery. The Reserve includes the 8 kilometre long ridge of Beinn Eighe. Its rugged slopes support one of the UK’s best areas of species-rich moss heath and prostrate juniper heath. Rare lichens, liverworts and mosses flourish from the high peaks to the mild, damp woodlands. Golden eagles also soar over the mountain ridges and below the tree line pine marten, crossbills and northern emerald dragonfly make their home in the ancient pinewoods. Beinn Eighe is one of more than 45 NNRs in Scotland. NNRs are special places where some of the best examples of Scotland’s wildlife are cared for. Nature comes first on NNRs, and people are welcome to discover the rich natural heritage of these places and to contribute to our knowledge and enjoyment of these areas. In 2008, we carried out a public consultation on our future proposals for the management of Beinn Eighe NNR. Your feedback from the consultation informed the completion of the Reserve Plan 2009 – 2015, which set out our management for the Reserve during that period. We have now come to the end of that plan and have started to think about the future direction of our management. This report reviews our achievements and progress against the management objectives set out in the Reserve Plan for Beinn Eighe NNR 2009 – 2015.

Forvie National Nature Reserve

The Reserve Plan Review for Forvie National Nature Reserve

2005-2011


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Contents

1 Our Vision for Beinn Eighe NNR 3

2 Natural Heritage Management 4

3 Management for People 17

4 Property Management 25

5 Summary 27

6 The way ahead 27


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1 Our Vision for Beinn Eighe NNR

Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve is special; the aim is to keep it that way. The Reserve Plan 2009-2015 set out our vision for the Reserve describing how we would like the Reserve to be in 2035. The management we have carried out over the past 6 years has been framed with this vision in mind.

Our Vision for Beinn Eighe NNR in 2035

Beinn Eighe is a thriving example of a western pinewood. The ancient woodlands are regenerating naturally and the planted woodlands are starting to resemble their

ancient neighbours in structure, function and variety of species. This is being achieved in the presence of deer without the use of deer fencing.

Semi-natural woodland now links the previously scattered pinewood fragments. Broadleaf trees are well-represented and are also regenerating freely. Deer numbers are low enough that their browsing has a positive influence on the

vegetation structure. The expanding woodland on the Reserve is helping to create links with other important pinewoods within the wider landscape.

The range and extent of upland habitats, such as blanket bog, dry heath and alpine heath has been maintained and, where appropriate, their condition enhanced.

Characteristic plants and animals of the upland and woodland habitats thrive. The rare species of mosses, lichens and liverworts are flourishing, together with

dragonflies and other insect species. Species such as pine marten, golden eagle and red throated divers breed successfully on the Reserve.

Across all our natural heritage work we consider how we can help the Beinn Eighe ecosystems become more resilient to climate change so that our wildlife has a good

chance of long-term survival.

Beinn Eighe continues to support research work which informs our management of this special part of Wester Ross and helps us to influence others. Demonstration and training events are helping to communicate this knowledge and expertise to

other land managers.

More people from all sectors of society visit Beinn Eighe to explore and enjoy this very special place. Good visitor management ensures there is little impact on the wildlife and habitats. Many groups visit the Reserve for educational purposes. All

visitors make good use of the excellent facilities and innovative interpretation available to them.

The local community are proud of the Reserve and appreciate the contribution it makes to the local economy. They are actively involved in its management and

some are employed in the running of the Reserve. Volunteers, both local and from further afield, play a valuable role in the continuing success of Beinn Eighe NNR.


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2 Natural Heritage Management Objective 1: To maintain, enhance and expand the native woodland, including

linking where possible and practical, isolated woodland blocks within the landscape. Projects delivered under Objective 1 during life of plan:

1.1 Produce a 6-year Habitat Management Plan to improve priority habitats and features.

Achieved

1.2 Allow and encourage natural woodland processes to continue at Coille na Glas Leitir and Tansley bog.

Achieved & on-going

1.3 Complete the on-going re-stocking of Enclosure 2 with native trees under the terms of the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme contract.

Achieved

1.4 Continue with the on-going re-structuring of planted woodland blocks to develop a more natural woodland structure and species mix.

Achieved & on-going

1.5 Using appropriate methods create new woodland links between Beinn Eighe woodlands, Coulin pinewood (in collaboration with Coulin Estate) and the wider landscape.

Achieved & on-going

1.6 Carry out trial disturbance techniques at Taagan to promote natural regeneration.

Not required

1.7 Review the condition, function and requirement of remaining fences on the Reserve and establish a protocol for their removal as they become redundant.

Achieved & on-going

1.8 Continue to monitor deer dung and tree regeneration transects annually, and expand monitoring to other areas within the Reserve.

Achieved & on-going

1.9 Review the data and results from the long-term woodland transects and fixed point photography monitoring and continue with on-going and/or new monitoring, as appropriate.

Achieved & on-going

1.10 Undertake deer control as informed by transect monitoring, general surveillance and in response to road traffic risk.

Achieved & on-going

1.11 Continually review deer management to comply with “Best Practice Guidelines” and in discussion with neighbouring deer managers.

Achieved & on-going

1.12 Continue to assist The Highland Council with road side tree clearance for deer safety reasons.

Achieved & on-going

1.13 Remove and control regenerating rhododendron and other non-native trees and shrubs.

Achieved & on-going

1.14 Leave deadwood where it falls and proactively create more in the plantation areas.

Achieved & on-going


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Natural regeneration

1.15 Continue to monitor all woodland habitats and associated communities, at least once every six years.

Achieved

1.16 Continue to monitor the bog woodland at Tansley bog. Not required

Objective evaluation: The condition of the woodlands on the Reserve are improving due to the on-going management we carry out controlling deer, restructuring the woodland to provide a variety of age classes and species mix (including broadleaves) and removing non-native exotic shrubs and trees. The pinewoods and oak woodland were last monitored in 2010 and 2008, respectively. For the first time, the native woodland plantations in enclosures 9, 10 and 11 were included as part of the native pinewood feature on the Reserve – a real testimony to the decades of woodland restoration work Beinn Eighe NNR is renowned for. Of course, these plantation woodlands are not yet where we would like them to be in terms of a mature, dynamic and viable woodland but our management, detailed below, is addressing this and is making big steps forward in bringing these woodlands into favourable condition. The bog woodland on the Reserve, including Tansley bog was monitored in 2008 and is recorded as being in favourable condition.


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Map showing areas of completed planting and naturally regenerating woodland


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In 2010, we commissioned a systematic assessment of the condition of all habitats across the Reserve which also identified impacts. The main reason for the woodland not meeting our monitoring targets was due to the high level of deer browsing pressure on the Reserve. Following on from the assessment, in 2011 we completed a Habitat Management Plan with a recommendation to increase deer cull numbers on the Reserve. We used night licences and out of season authorisations to help us get the desired reduction and over the last 5 years we have reduced deer numbers from 12.5 per square kilometre (sq.km) to approximately 2 per sq.km within the woodland (see graph). A total cull of 420 deer has been achieved. Data from the tree transects, which we monitor annually, and repeat photography is already showing us the benefits to the woodland with previously damaged trees and vegetation recovering. We estimate that an additional 25 -30 ha of woodland has been able to get away through natural regeneration as result of the reduction in deer numbers. Management of the deer population has produced increased pulses of regeneration and released saplings from browsing pressure. We review the Habitat Management Plan annually to target our deer management.

A large part of woodland management on the Reserve has also focused on reducing the isolation of existing pinewoods and planting up areas in between them so that they are connected once again. An area at Taagan was identified for planting at the beginning of this plan however, with the change in deer management trees are now managing to get away by themselves, so this area has been left to naturally regenerate. We completed the native woodland restocking in enclosure 2 in 2012, having planted approximately 125,000 trees. As a result we have created an additional 128ha of native woodland. The next step is to make the connection between enclosure 2 and the existing woodland on Coulin Estate beyond the Reserve boundary. We have started ground preparation in this area preparing all


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the mounds for a further 4000 trees to be planted in spring 2015. In summer 2014 we also initiated a contract to start the first phase of restructuring in enclosure 8. Since the beginning of this plan we have removed 1.5km of deer fencing. The only remaining fence on the Reserve is now the ring fence which was erected in 1987/88. It is no longer maintained and discussing its future will be a consideration of the next Reserve management plan. Lodgepole pine and sitka spruce continue to regenerate in enclosure 2. We’ve cleared approximately 75% of the 128ha enclosure to date with the final clearance scheduled for later in 2014. We keep a watching brief for rhododendron on the Reserve and remove this whenever seen. Deadwood habitat is created annually within the enclosures. We cleared approximately 2km of roadside trees to improve deer visibility to on-coming traffic. Collisions between deer and vehicles seem to have dropped which we suspect is also as a result of the increased deer cull. We continue to follow deer management ‘Best Practice Guidelines’ on the Reserve and meet at least once a year with two of our neighbouring landowners, Coulin Estate and National Trust for Scotland to discuss wider deer management. In 2013/14 we participated in a cross-boundary agreement with Coulin Estate to help reduce deer numbers in their native woodland scheme. We continue to attend the Gairloch Conservation Unit Deer Management Group annually and produce an annual management statement for the Reserve which we share with our neighbours and the deer management group.

Red deer stag


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Scots pine seedling

Objective 2: To safeguard the genetic integrity of Scots pine.

Projects delivered under Objective 2 during life of plan:

2.1 Continue to collect Scots pine seed from the Reserve. Achieved

2.2 Continue to liaise with Coulin estate on seed collection from the Coulin pinewood.

Achieved & on-going

2.3 Continue to grow seeds on from the correct genetic strain.

Achieved & on-going

Objective evaluation:

During the period of the plan we have collected 1246 grams(g) of Scots pine seed from the Reserve and neighbouring Coulin Estate. In addition, we have also collected 554 hazel nuts, 688g of bird cherry seed, 137 oak acorns, 614g of birch seed, 25 litres (l) of rowan seed and 216g of alder seed. The seed is propagated in our tree nursery which currently has a healthy stock of 20,000 local province native tree seedlings and saplings. Most of the saplings are planted straight back out onto the Reserve but we have also provided plants to The National Trust for Scotland, Torridon and Coulin Estate for planting at other locations within the Loch Maree area. Maintaining the Reserve’s nursery is quite a time-consuming commitment for our Reserve staff. However in recent years its value has not just been about preserving the genetic strain. With the threat of red-needle blight and consequent controls on transporting pine stock, having the nursery with only locally sourced seed has meant that we have been able to continue with new planting on the Reserve, without the risk of spreading the disease.


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Objective 3: To maintain open ground upland habitats and their associated communities in favourable condition.


3.1 Survey the proposed areas for woodland expansion. Achieved

3.2 Create a habitat map to help identify areas where wet and dry heath occur within the proposed woodland expansion areas.

Achieved

3.3 Write a ‘Conservation Plan’ for submission to the Scottish Government on the proposals for woodland expansion and the consequential loss of wet and dry heath.

Achieved

3.4 Carry out a survey of juniper heath and montane scrub and prepare a plan to enhance and expand if appropriate.

Not Achieved

3.5 Carry out a detailed survey of the dry heath and initiate management to improve condition, where appropriate.

Not Achieved

3.6 Develop deer impact monitoring techniques, alongside our revised deer impact monitoring in the woodland (Objective 1), appropriate to open ground habitats;

Achieved

3.7 Continue to control deer numbers and review cull levels as monitoring indicates

Achieved & on-going

3.8 Highlight fire sensitive habitats on the Reserve Fire Plan

Achieved & on-going

3.9 Continue monitoring all open ground upland habitats and associated communities at least once every six years.

Not Required


Most of the open ground habitats were last monitored in 2006 and all but dry heath and wet heath were in favourable condition. The dry and wet heath habitats failed to reach our monitoring targets because there were some local areas on the Reserve where deer browsing and trampling were causing damage. The Habitat Management Plan mentioned under Objective 1and increased deer cull throughout the Reserve have both helped to address the browsing pressure on the open habitats. In addition, the dry and wet heath habitats are the most vulnerable to change as a result of woodland expansion. Because both dry and wet heaths habitats are important in a European context we prepared a conservation paper providing a rationale for our woodland expansion priorities. This paper will now form the basis of a Natura Plan for Loch Maree Complex SAC in agreement with Scottish Government.


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Open upland habitats of Beinn Eighe

Whilst we recognise that there will be some loss of dry and wet heath at Beinn Eighe as a result of woodland expansion, we are determined to ensure that the distribution of these habitats and any particularly distinctive or rare plant communities of dry and wet heath on the Reserve are maintained. By mapping these areas and then carrying out a more detailed vegetation survey (Ruth Maier, 2012) we have been able to assess the proposed woodland expansion area’s potential for pine woodland expansion identify areas of locally important black bog rush dominated flushes and dwarf juniper which we will keep free from woodland expansion.

We did not manage to carry out a survey of the juniper heath and montane scrub, this will become a priority task for the Reserve in the next plan. Our cycle for monitoring the open habitat features has changed so there was no longer a requirement to monitor these during the course of the plan. Our fire plan for whole Reserve is reviewed annually and identifies areas of fire sensitive habitats.


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Objective 4: To maintain and enhance the native habitat and species diversity of the Reserve.


4.1 Continue monitoring rare lower plants (including northern prongwort, arctic kidney-lichen, and Dicranum subporodictyon (an oceanic moss)).

Not Achieved

4.2 Repeat higher plant survey to establish presence/absence of rare plants.

Achieved

4.3 Implement management, as appropriate, to bring higher plant assemblage back into favourable condition.

Not required

4.4 Continue to monitor golden eagles. Achieved

4.5 Monitor numbers and breeding success of red-throated divers on the Reserve.

Achieved & on-going

4.6 Survey of Scottish crossbill. Not required

4.7 Commission a survey of water voles to include recommendations for management.

Achieved

4.8 Carry out further survey work on moths (including argent and sable) to develop management recommendations.

Achieved & on-going

4.9 Continue to control sika deer as required. Achieved & on-going

4.10 Monitor for presence of mink and control if found. Achieved & ongoing

4.11 Continue monitoring all designated species and assemblages at least once every six years.

Achieved & on-going


Beinn Eighe continues to support a rich variety of fauna and flora. Our programme of monitoring how well the designated species and assemblages are doing on the Reserve has continued with the invertebrate assemblage being monitored in 2013 and the bryophyte assemblage being monitored in 2010. Otters were not monitored during the course of this plan but all features are recorded to be in favourable condition. Notably, the higher plant assemblage which was previously recorded as unfavourable is now considered to be in favourable condition, this placated the need to carry out specific need to undertake management to bring this feature back into favourable condition (4.3). The previous 2003 survey had been hampered by bad weather, the survey was subsequently repeated with the surveyors visiting all of the 35 population sites, 26 were re-found with nine populations not found and two species absent Arctic mouse-ear and brown-beaked sedge. However, twenty-one ‘new’ (previously unrecorded) populations were also recorded, including four new


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Creeping ladies tresses

nationally scarce/rare species - mountain rock cress, creeping ladies tresses, creeping sibbaldia and rock whitebeam. We did not manage to monitor the rare lowers plants on the Reserve this will become a priority task for the Reserve in the next plan. At least one pair of golden eagles are active on the Reserve throughout the year and are seen quite regularly foraging through the glens. However, no pairs have nested on the Reserve during the course of this plan. Likewise, despite annually checking some of our remoter inland lochs we have not recorded any adult red-throated divers on the Reserve in the past 7 years. The water vole survey carried out in 2011 however was successful and found that the Reserve has a healthy population of voles, some living at an altitude of 400metres (m). The survey made no specific recommendations for management other than to note the location of the populations and ensure our management of the Reserve doesn’t inadvertently disturb the voles. We started monitoring for absence/presence of mink in 2012 by to setting mink traps twice per year, so far we’ve had no signs of mink being present on the Reserve. We continue to run the Rothamsted moth trap throughout the year and occasionally set our own moth traps. In 2013, we recorded 63 species with two notable species; flounced chestnut moth and scarce silver moth. Sika deer numbers have been monitored but very few have been seen or shot on the Reserve during the course of the plan which suggests that numbers are not increasing.


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Objective 5: To safeguard the geological features of interest.


5.1 Establish baseline photographs to record current favourable condition of the features.

Achieved

5.2 Ensure that compatible rock types are used for all new upland trails and any trail repairs.

Achieved

5.3 Monitor the geological features every 6 years against the baseline photograph.

Not required

5.4 Consider removal of vegetation/debris that obscures the features.

Not required

Objective evaluation: All of the earth science features on the Reserve continue to remain unobscured, so we have not had to remove any vegetation. In 2013, we took a series of baseline photographs to establish current visibility of the features and will use these to determine if and when management is required should the features become obscured in the future. We have ensured that compatible rock types are used on all of the upland trails when we have been carrying out repairs. Our cycle for monitoring earth science features has changed so there was no longer a requirement to monitor these during the course of the plan.


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Objective 6: To encourage research, survey and monitoring appropriate to the Reserve and use the Reserve to demonstrate specialised management.


6.1 Review our current research, survey and monitoring programmes and requirements at Beinn Eighe NNR.

Achieved

6.2. Continue to commission essential research, survey and monitoring work on Beinn Eighe.

Achieved

6.3 Develop the Reserve’s potential as a demonstration site for sharing good practice and conservation management.

Partially achieved

6.4 Continue to monitor arctic kidney lichen, northern prongwort and other appropriate species associated with the impacts of climate change.

Not Achieved

6.5 Encourage and support others with appropriate or new research work.

Achieved & on-going

6.6 Make the findings of all research on the Reserve available to a wider audience.

Achieved & on-going

Objective evaluation: The Reserve has hosted 10 research/survey projects over the past six years including projects on moths, butterflies, lichens, climatology and our tree transects. In 2009, Bob Heckford, an amateur entomologist once again made several visits during this year and managed to rediscover the micromoth, Plutella haasi on the Beinn Eighe ridge. The Reserve is one of seven known localities in Europe for this species, with five in Norway and the other in Sweden. Year Researcher Study

2009 Bob Heckford Continuing Survey for Plutella haasi (microlepidoptera)

2009 Dr David Long Survey of Herbertus borealis

2009 Gillian Dickson Survey of breeding palmate newts

2011 Oliver Moore Assessment of red deer impact on bryophyte and lichen ecology

2011 Waterside Ecology Water vole survey

2012 Oliver Moore Lichen interest on standing fence posts

2013 Barry Blake Record of moths within Beinn Eighe NNR pinewood

2013 Julie Smith Bryophytes Survey

Ongoing Volunteers & Reserve Staff

Climatological recording

2013 Onwards Konrad Paterson No fence planting

In 2011, Oliver Moore, a PhD student used the Reserve as a field site for assessing the impact of deer management on bryophyte and lichen ecology. The aim of the project was to determine whether different numbers of red deer have an impact on


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certain lower plant communities, making use of enclosures, different culling regimes and naturally deer-free habitats. Oliver also carried out some research for us, looking at the lichen interest on the fence posts of enclosure 9 before we removed the deer fencing. The fence posts had been in since 1968, so had become a niche for lichen including the nationally scarce Mycoblastus affinis which was found on three posts. These posts and some others have been left standing in the ground as a result of this work. We have also been experimenting with a ‘no fence tree planting project’ on the Reserve, planting trees in places that are inaccessible to deer such as, in the middle of gorse areas or on rocky ledges and also trialling out new protection methods. We haven’t achieved as much as we would have liked to in developing the Reserve’s potential to host demonstration events. We have continued to host events when requested and over the course of this plan, hosted 3 demonstration events for the ‘Pinewood Managers Group’ with 44 people attending. All research work on the Reserve is now recorded systematically. Where the research is commissioned by SNH we try to make this available on the Scotland’s NNRs website. The water vole survey was published in 2014 and is available as an SNH published report.


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Mountain trail

3 Management for People Objective 7: To ensure people enjoy their visit to Beinn Eighe NNR by providing facilities and access opportunities for a wide range of visitors. Projects delivered under Objective 7 during life of plan:

7.1 Sensitively upgrade sections of the mountain access routes, as required.

Achieved & on-going

7.2 Explore options for providing formal car parks at Coire an Laoigh and other parts of the Glen Torridon side of the Reserve.

Not achieved

7.3 Explore the possibility of providing a path/cycle route from Kinlochewe, south along the old road to Glen Torridon.

Not Achieved

7.4 Plan for refurbishment of the visitor centre and ensure orientation is compatible with new trail network (See Objective 8)

Achieved

7.5 Continue to count visitors and repeat visitor survey as part of national project.

Achieved & on-going

7.6 Continue programme of selective thinning of trees to maintain views from viewpoints.

Achieved & on-going


The total number of visitors recorded in the Visitor Centre for the first 5 years of this plan is 56,741. This year, from April – September 2014 we have already counted 13,258 visitors to the Visitor Centre. We expect the annual number of visitors on the Reserve to exceed 50,000. There are many access points, particularly to the hills which are extremely popular and also plenty of stopping points for tourists that don’t come to the centre, including the trails car park which is the start for both the woodland and mountain trails on the Reserve. Maintaining the existing network of trails on the Reserve has also been a high priority for us. We invested approximately £46,000 in 2012 on upgrading 500m of the mountain trail, this was a big job requiring approximately 35 tons of rock material being helicoptered in and work parties being on the hill for 2 months. We also created a new short all-abilities Lochside path from the trails car park. This now forms an


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attractive additional 120m of trail with picnic tables along the route for visitors to stop and enjoy the view. All of the promoted trails on the Reserve are checked every quarter to ensure they are safe and to the required standard, where we notice tree’s starting to obscure some of the classic views of the Reserve we do from time to time fell selected trees. The provision of car parking and exploring the possibility of a path/cycle route along Glen Torridon has been aspirational during the course of this plan. We recognise however that both will require major investment and with other visitor facility developments on the Reserve also underway, these two projects have not been a priority. Car parking along Glen Torridon does remain an issue that we are aware of so we will look to carry forward this project into the next plan. However, we will probably need to get a better feel for the demand of additional path/cycle routes before progressing this project any further.


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Objective 8: To increase visitor’s understanding and awareness of the rich natural and cultural heritage of Beinn Eighe NNR.


8.1 Review signage and interpretation on the Reserve as part of the Visitor Management Plan, including interpretation for the new facilities.

Achieved & on-going

8.2 Refresh the displays in the Visitor Centre as necessary. Achieved & on-going

8.3 Maintain and replace signs, leaflet dispensers, picnic tables and interpretive panels as necessary.

Achieved & on-going

8.4 Develop a ‘virtual tour’ of Beinn Eighe. Not Achieved

8.5 Develop an interactive web page for the Scotland’s NNRs website, with downloadable information, including specialist interest information sheets.

Partially achieved

8.6 Promote the Reserve through links to other local tourist attractions and Visit Scotland websites.

Achieved & on-going

8.7 Ensure information about the Reserve (leaflets and events) is distributed at local tourist centres, B&Bs, hotels, shops and on the web.

Achieved & on-going

8.8 Continue to expand the annual programme of events and guided walks for the Reserve together with the Highland Council Ranger Service.

Achieved & on-going

8.9 Continue to work with secondary school teachers to develop educational resources

Achieved & on-going

8.10 Investigate options for using footage from the BBC “Natural World” documentary to promote the Reserve.

Achieved & on-going

Objective evaluation: We’ve pretty much achieved everything that we set out to achieve at the start of the plan and hope that the new facilities we have provided will increase visitor’s understanding and awareness of the rich natural heritage Beinn Eighe has to offer. In 2011 we completed a ‘Visitor Management Report’ for the Reserve which reviewed the current visitor facilities and highlighted areas for improvement, redevelopment and potential new initiatives. The report suggested the refurbishment of the Visitor Centre and trails. In 2013 we produced a plan for the redevelopment of the Visitor Centre and we have been implementing the proposals over the last two years. We used this report to successfully apply for a grant from the European Regional Development fund, with the refurbishment project being awarded £148,500.


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Phase 1 of the refurbishments started in 2013 and included all the outdoor works around the visitor centre and trails such as replacing the orientation signage, way marking (including renaming some of the trails), and interpretation along the trails. It also included creating an interpretation panel at the car park promoting the wider Wester Ross area as a region for wildlife viewing. This was completed in spring 2014.

New seating around the cone sculpture

Phase 2 concentrated on the Visitor Centre and has been a major part of our work over the last year, managing the production of exhibit designs and preparing for their installation. In autumn 2014, the Visitor Centre closed early to allow for the removal of the old exhibits and full refurbishment which includes:

New graphic and interactive interpretation;

Installation of live wildlife camera feeds and screens for viewing video footage taken on the Reserve;

Enlarging the window to allow better viewing of the bird feeder area; and

New wildlife viewing hide. We will be promoting the Visitor Centre as the ‘Gateway to Wester Ross’ when it reopens in March 2015. We distribute Reserve leaflets annually to local tourist centres and accommodation providers and advertise our events on the ‘Celtic Fringe’ and ‘Visit Wester Ross’ websites. The Reserve Manager has started to make regular contributions to the Scotland’s NNR Facebook providing stunning photographs and interesting snippits about what is happening ‘here and now’ on the Reserve. Thinking about how to promote the


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White-tailed eagle chick

Reserve through modern media will be something we will be considering in more detail in the next plan; this could potentially include a virtual tour and interactive web pages. These both depend on the capabilities of the host website to support this information.

New welcome to Wester Ross Gateway panel

One major achievement for the Reserve has been the success of installing a camera on the white-tailed eagle nest on Loch Maree. Our first attempt in 2013 brought in fabulous footage of the parent birds at the nest but unfortunately the chick didn’t survive. Not admitting defeat, we set the camera up again in 2014, and in the first week of May two chicks hatched, one chick succumbed at an early stage but the remaining chick fledged from the nest during the second week of August, it’s feeding, growing, wing flapping and eventual fledging all being relayed back to the Visitor Centre for all of our visitors to see. The footage and the chicks progress has proved popular with both the locals and tourists alike, and may explain the increase in visitor numbers to the centre we have witnessed this year. We also established webcam cameras for black-throated divers and pine marten with images of these also available in the Visitor Centre. Our events programme has stayed quite low key. Since the summer of 2011, we have held 10 events including:

3 open days; and


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7 guided walks (themes such as mountain trail, red deer calving and stag roaring and rutting and Nature’s Larder have been the most popular)

We have only been recording numbers of people attending these events since 2011; this has shown that over the past three years 308 people have attended our events, with 270 people attending the 3 open days which we organise in conjunction with the Feis Ross and 38 people attending guided walks, some of which we do together with the Highland Council Ranger. There is a Reserve education resource pack available for teachers to use when they are visiting the Reserve with school groups. We had hoped to continue to develop this resource; adding new material but there has been little demand for the existing resource and therefore no longer considered a priority for investment. We haven’t had the opportunity to use the footage from the wildlife film “Highland Haven”, part of the BBC Natural World series. Filmed on the Reserve it includes some excellent landscape and wildlife footage with a focus on black-throated divers and white-tailed eagles. There is the potential for the footage to be used from time to time as part of the new Visitor Centre exhibits and once the Scotland’s NNRs website is able to support this type of material, we will look to make it available on the website. The Reserve has received further media attention during the course of this plan. It has been the location for four episodes of ‘Landward’ and ‘Making of Plants’ as well featuring on the ‘Out of Doors’ radio programme.


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Objective 9: To provide opportunities and encourage local people and volunteers to become involved with the Reserve.


9.1 Develop a Reserve liaison group for the local community. Not achieved

9.2 Develop options for further local community involvement on the Reserve.

Achieved & on-going

9.3 Provide regular features on the Reserve in the local newspaper and on local radio.

Achieved & on-going

9.4 Continue to support and welcome schools who use the Reserve.

Achieved & on-going

9.5 Liaise with local teachers to explore the best means of providing learning opportunities for school pupils.

Achieved & on-going

9.6 Continue to hold open days and other events. Achieved & on-going

9.7 Develop a focussed programme for volunteers. Achieved & on-going

Objective evaluation: Direct hands-on involvement with schools, the local community and volunteers continues to be a major part of our day to day work. During the course of this plan the Reserve has welcomed 4 Gairloch High School pupils for 5 days each on work experience, 60 resident volunteers who have contributed 3656 days of work, 31 one-off volunteers contributing a further 1633 work days and 14 educational groups. Most of our educational work is with local schools with regular visits from Gairloch Gaelic medium school, Lochcarron Gaelic medium school, Gairloch, Poolewe and Kinlochewe primary schools and Gairloch High school. Since the summer of 2011, over 250 school pupils have participated in outdoor learning activities on the Reserve. Over the past 4 years, we have supported four Thurso student placements each being with us on average for nine months and developing skills such as deer management, footpath maintenance/repairs, tree nursery work, survey work and policy maintenance. We’ve also just starting to explore the possibilities of hosting a rural skills placement in future years. Throughout the year Beinn Eighe provides a home and a focused programme of opportunities for volunteers. Most of our volunteers are medium-long term volunteers, some of whom come and stay at Beinn Eighe for a number of weeks and sometimes months gaining experience in reserve management – path maintenance, surveying and habitat management. As well as some volunteering the local community also get involved on the Reserve in other ways. We employ 5 local contractors to help out at the Visitor Centre, in


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2013 as part of Year of Natural Scotland, we worked in partnership with a local artist to run an Art Workshop and we have hosted a one year ‘Trust for Conservation Volunteers’ work apprenticeship on community engagement. We also continue to promote the Reserve locally. We try to provide a Reserve update article for every edition of the ‘Gairloch Times’ and do 2 or 3 radio slots on Loch Broom Radio every year. We haven’t managed to develop a Reserve liaison group locally and will consider the local demand for this during the consultation of the next plan.

Feis Open Day

Feis Rois Open Day


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4 Property Management Objective 10: To manage the Reserve properties responsibly following best practice.


10.1 Secure the management of the small area of land along the northern boundary of the Reserve.

Not Achieved

10.2 Continue to ensure that all Reserve facilities comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Achieved & ongoing

10.3 Maintain all Reserve buildings and visitor facilities in good condition.

Achieved & ongoing

10.4 Carry out safety and condition inspections of all visitor facilities quarterly, and keep accurate records.

Achieved & ongoing

10.5 Maintain vehicles, machinery, tools and equipment to high standards and keep accurate records.

Achieved & ongoing

10.6 Ensure the management of the property conforms with all Health and Safety Regulations, this includes carrying out risk assessments and updating the Fire Plan.

Achieved & ongoing

10.7 Carry out a Reserve Review and revise Reserve Plan in 2014.

Achieved & ongoing

10.8 Manage roadside woodlands to ensure traffic safety (in collaboration with The Highland Council).

Achieved & ongoing

10.9 Replace the deer larder with a purpose built unit and ensure the deer management infrastructure is appropriate for any possible future changes to our deer management practices (see Objective 1).

Achieved

10.10 Consider implementing improvements identified in the ‘greening’ audit.

Achieved & ongoing

Objective evaluation: We did explore the possibility of securing additional land along the northern boundary of the Reserve but currently this not an option. We continue to carry out quarterly inspection of all our visitor facilities on the Reserve to ensure that they are safe and meet the standard required. The all-ability trails require regular vegetation control to prevent encroachment and narrowing of the paths. We unexpectedly had to refurbish the whole of the ground floor of the office in 2010 after a flood.


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In 2011, we completed the new deer larder at the back of the office. We share this facility with Forestry Commission and it is proving invaluable in terms of processing our increased deer culls. Between both shooting areas we are averaging a cull of approximately 150 deer carcases per annum, our previous larder would not have coped with this and did not meet the requirement of new food hygiene regulations. To improve joint deer management, we have also co-funded, with the Forestry Commission, a Reserve Officer post with responsibilities for deer management on Beinn Eighe, Loch Maree Islands and the Forestry Commission properties of Slattadale and Achnashellach. Also to improve our deer management operations we installed an incinerator to deal with deer carcass waste, thereby reducing our annual deer waste management costs which previously had to uplifted under contract and taken to be disposed of appropriately under environmental health legislation. Kennels were also built to house dogs which we use for undertaking our deer management operations. Other than that, most of the property work has concentrated on trying to save energy and improving the environmental sustainability of running properties. In 2011, a new Biomass heating system was installed to provide heating for the office and field station and double glazing was installed in all the windows. We also installed new diesel holding tanks which allow for bulk purchase of vehicle diesel (both red and white) and so reducing mileage and making the vehicle operation more efficient.

New biomass heating system and deer larder


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5 Summary Expanding native woodland is a long-term conservation project that we have been striving towards since Beinn Eighe NNR was first declared. Our techniques have changed over the years from fencing to exclude deer to now gradually removing those fences and increasing the deer cull. This combination of management techniques over the years is making a real difference on the ground and over the last six years we’ve been adding almost the finishing touches – completing most of our planting proposals and getting on top of our deer management so that we don’t have to rely on fencing to allow natural regeneration to get away. Testimony to this success is the native woodland plantations in enclosures 9, 10 and 11 are now included as part of the native pinewood feature on the Reserve. Improving the condition of the important open habitats on the Reserve remains paramount in our nature conservation management decisions. The increased deer cull is showing a marked benefit in the quality of these habitats and our survey and monitoring ensures that their distribution, best examples and rare open habitat communities continue to thrive. Our annual visitor numbers have remained consistent, with on average just over 11,000 visitors to the Visitor Centre per year (estimated 50,000 to whole reserve). We’ve achieved some large scale visitor facility improvements on the Reserve during the course of this plan including new signage and interpretation, complete new refurbishment of the Visitor Centre and some major works on the Mountain trail. We are delighted with the continued appeal and opportunities that the Reserve offers to volunteers both local and from further afield. Undoubtedly, we have achieved projects on the Reserve such as trail repairs and the variety of monitoring we carry out, that would not have happened without this support. Volunteering continues to play a key role in the management of Beinn Eighe, increasingly with more demand for long-term and vocational involvement through work experience, placements and apprenticeships. We haven’t done as much as we hoped in organising and hosting demonstration events – with such a depth of monitoring data and our ability to show changes on the ground, this is certainly an area we will aim to expand in the next plan.

6 The way ahead

We have drafted a new ten year management plan for the Reserve, which now includes Loch Maree Islands, taking account of feedback we have received during the course of the plan, what we have learnt from our past management and what we still need to continue with to ensure we fulfil our vision for Beinn Eighe & Loch Maree Islands NNR. Over the next few years our nature conservation management will concentrate on completing woodland connectivity work between Beinn Eighe and Coulin Estate, and restructuring the plantation woodlands, so that they are more dynamic in structure, age and species mix, slowly bringing these woodlands into favourable condition. Demonstrating the conservation management techniques we’ve tried, monitored and


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can share the results, as well some of the lessons learnt with other land managers and conservationists will become a key area for us to focus on, with the aim to provide and/or support at least one event per year. We also aim to be more proactive in our enhancement of the open habitats, specifically looking at what we can do to enhance the areas of juniper heath, montane scrub and the liverwort heath (dry heath). Making the most of the our new refurbished Visitor Centre will be a the immediate focus for our visitor management on the Reserve, ensuring that the new ‘Gateway to Wester Ross’ is promoted successfully and that the displays are supported by interactive material, social and other modern forms of media. Volunteers will continue to play a major part in the management of Beinn Eighe & Loch Maree Islands NNR. We would also like to continue to develop longer-term, vocational opportunities and encourage further involvement with the local community. We will carry out a public consultation on our management proposals and, use this feed back to inform the production of the Beinn Eighe & Loch Maree Islands NNR management plan 2015-2025.

7 References Ruth Maier 2012. Connectivity survey plus survey of periphery of No.2 Enclosure, Beinn Eighe NNR. Report 26th November 2012. Waterside Ecology. 2014. Water vole survey of Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 541. Photographs Peter Duncan, Lorne Gill, Eoghain Maclea and, Laurie Campbell/SNH.

Documents

The Plan Review for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve 2009-2015 · 2018-03-16 · The Plan Review for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve 2009-2015 5 Natural regeneration 1.15 Continue