Help Save Loch Arkaig Pinewoods

[Blutack]

Hi all,

I've just found out that The Woodland Trust are trying to buy 2500 acres of forest on the shores of Loch Arkaig, near the Great Glen. The plan is to restore it fully to native Caledonian Pine Forest. This is an incredibly rare habitat these days, and home to all manner of flora and fauna. It's also a great out of the way place for bushcraft and canoeing, and I'm sure many of us have happy memories of camping there.

If like me, you love Loch Arkaig and its surroundings, please consider donating to the campaign to buy this land for the nation. They need to raise circa £500K, and every little helps!

Cheers,

Blutack.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Had the privilege to stalk there and agree its a wonderful place:

Don't look at the following link if viewing dead deer is not your thing. There are a few more pictures of the Loch.

http://xhairs.uk/?page_id=1443

Cheers

K

 

[Klenchblaize]

Wasn't my intention to hijack this thread so have a bump on me.

Definitely worth watching the video.

K

 

[MountainGhost]

The Woodland Trust intend to purchase it from whom? Why is it the threat of destruction needed to compel common folk to donate to save these woods? Whoever is holding these lands, effectively in ransom, won't see a penny from me.

I'd sign a petition to have them handed over to the people though.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Understand your frustration but let's be realistic please. Handover this land in the manner a 21st century would-be Wat Tyler might insist and the euphoria of it being "held in common" will be very short lived.

All the best

K
ps: Given I have always assumed it was/is managed by FCS it's surely already owned by you and me so that does rather add a further dynamic to your concern if correct!

 

[MountainGhost]

You are correct. WMT are purchasing the woodlands from FSC through the National Forest Land Scheme (NFLS).

"National Forest Land is forest, woods, open land and other property owned by Scottish ministers on the nation's behalf, and managed by us.

The National Forest Land Scheme gives community organisations, recognised non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and/or appropriate housing bodies the chance to buy or lease National Forest Land where they can provide increased public benefits."

The irony doesn't sit well with me. I'm not making an enemy of you or your cause but I do believe my view-point is valid. Public opposition halted the sale en-masse of woodland held in trust on the nation's behalf in 2011. Doing it piece-meal now doesn't make it any more acceptable or attractive to me, and nor does it make it any more unreasonable to seek an alternative solution.

I'm not advocating anybody take the position of active resistance as Wat Tyler did; it is a deeply personal choice how we balance our liberty and security, and you've alluded to how those negotiations ended. I am however advocating something other than submission to the status quo. Whatever the result, we do ourselves a disservice by ignoring the complexities and underlying mechanisms at work here. Change is possible. We don't need to throw our flesh on the pyre to achieve this.

 

[nic a char]

An appeal has been launched to raise £500,000 to buy and restore woodland damaged by fire during commando training in World War Two.
Scorched tree trunks still stand at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest.
The woods formed part of a large area near Fort William used for secret training of Allied commandos.
Woodland Trust Scotland is working with the group Arkaig Community Forest on the bid to purchase the woodland from Forestry Commission Scotland.
The wood includes areas of ancient Caledonian forest, which provides habitat for birds such as Scottish crossbill.
Loch Arkaig is close to the community of Spean Bridge where a memorial recalls the surrounding area's war-time role.
Achnacarry Castle, the ancestral home of the chiefs of Clan Cameron, was the base for the training.
The castle, about 15 miles (24km) north east of Fort William, was used by commandos from Britain and the US as well as France, the Netherlands, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium from 1942 to 1945.

 

[nic a char]

Woodland containing pines damaged by fire during commando training in World War Two is the focus of a new restoration project.
Forestry Commission Scotland has agreed to sell 2,683 acres (1,086ha) of woodland at Glen Mallie and South Loch Arkaig in Lochaber to a new venture.
Community body Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes Group and charity Trees for Life have teamed up for the project.
The joint venture to restore woodland is thought to be a first for Scotland.
The community group and Forres-based Trees for Life hope to raise £500,000 in 18 months to buy the land.

 

[nic a char]

http://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/supporting

 

[nic a char]

http://www.caledonia.org.uk/socialland/portmoak.htm

I often walk in Portmoak and Kilmagad Woods - the community buy-out is working well - like the land buy-outs in Assynt, Gigha, The Western Isles, and elsewhere in Scotland.
They bring locally-inspired and managed change - ever heard of a deer-stalking "forest" owned, safely run, and producing jobs by & for local people? No? There's one on The Isle of Harris...