Following the completion of my post on Deer and Peat Bog restoration on the Glen Banchor estate, I was sent a photo by a reader of deer grazing the Caledonian Pine forest remnants at Kinveachy, all of which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and some of which is a Special Area of Conservation.
Strathcaulidh explained the problem in the Monadhliath Strategic Deer Management Plan 2015-24 (see here):
Note 22 states: “The aim of management at Kinveachy is to facilitate regeneration of the pinewoods, and the primary management action is to reduce the level of deer occupancy then maintain it at a level compatible with allowing young trees to establish”.
There is not a hope of that happening if, whenever there is snow or bad weather, Red Deer are forced down the Dulnain/attracted to the Caledonian Forest remnants at Kinveachy where they gobble up any natural regeneration.
Parkswatch has referred to this problem before when considering BrewDog proposals to create and plant new fenced enclosures on the Dulnain as part of their Lost Forest proposal (see here) instead of working with Kinveachy to reduce deer numbers. If Scottish Forestry agrees to pay to BrewDog for further fencing on the Dulnain, it will make the problem downstream at Kinveachy worse, not better as deer will have even less ground to forage in winter.
The photo illustrates the failure of our public agencies to work effectively to protect the Caledonian Pine Forest better than any words.
Postscript
After I published this post it was pointed out to me that readers might think there had been a total failure to restore the Caledonian Pinewood Forest on the Dulnain. I did not intend to imply that and it is not the case: there are areas of natural regeneration at Kinveachy and the fact those are not fenced is a great strength. However, the regeneration is not as extensive as it might be due and is far slower than that on the restoration side of Mar Lodge and in Glen Feshie and that is in part to incursions by red deer. The problem is different estates are working to different objectives and that is undermining the attempts by Seafield Estates to regenerate the pine forest at Kinveachy.
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