A L L A D A L EW i l d e r n e s s R e s e r v e

R e s t o r i n g t h e B a l a n c eo f N a t u r e

Ten Years On

A V i s i o n

“I’ve been on both sides of the debate about land use in the Highlands. In the early 1980s my family invested in commercial forestry during which time I learned about deer management and grew to love these wild uplands. Over the following decade, however, I came to understand that the ecosystem of the Highlands was broken; the natural forests were gone, the soils depleted and large predators were extinct.

When I acquired Alladale in 2003 the aim was to repair

some of that damage by restoring the native flora and fauna and provide environmental education rather than focusing on the activities of a traditional sporting estate. This publication lays out what has been achieved during the last decade and what our plans are for the future.

Of course none of this would have been possible without the dedicated support of our staff, stakeholders and partner organisations. To all of you, I am very grateful.

We live by a simple ethos here at Alladale: Leave the land in a better condition than you received it”.

F o r e w o r d

Paul Lister, owner of AlladaleSeptember 2013

Ten years of achievement

Ten years of inspiration

• 800,000 native trees planted

• Peatland restoration

• Outdoor education for 1,600 local children

• Deer management

• Red squirrel reintroduction

• Wild boar research

• Highland cattle initiative

• Renewable energy and self-catering lodges

• Wildcat conservation

• Increased public debate over rewilding

W h a t h a s b e e n d o n e

R e f o r e s t a t i o n

Working towards our aim of

extending forest cover, we

have planted eight hundred

thousand native trees.

The ancient forests of

Scotland have been

shrinking for the last 4,000

years. First a cooler and wetter

climate,thentheaxe,fireand

livestock reduced natural forests

to remnants scattered across

the landscape. Along with the

forests went much of the fertility

of the soil, leached out by heavy

rainfall. The hills turned sour.

So far over 600 hectares (ha) of

new woodland - 800,000 trees -

have been planted. They will, in

time, provide the seed bank for

wider natural regeneration. The

species mix includes Scots pine,

birch, juniper, oak, rowan, alder,

willow, aspen and holly.

Much of this work has

been funded under the

Scottish Government’s Rural

Development Programme.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve

is also working with Highland

Birchwoods to expand coverage

further, which will include more

wildlife food sources such as

hawthorn and hazel.

Restoring its woodland is

central to the vision for the

Alladale Wilderness Reserve.

Trees provide the foundation

for everything else: Humus to

enrich the soil and a home for

the fungi, plants and insects

that are the building blocks of a

sustainable ecosystem.

“The way we manage land at Alladale is complex and exciting. The biggest kick for me is seeing the return of roe deer, squirrels and black grouse.” Innes MacNeil, Alladale Reserve Manager.

P e a t l a n d R e s t o r a t i o n

To further our land

management aims, we

successfully trialed a

peat restoration scheme,

restoring 224 ha of

degraded peatland as part

of the voluntary carbon

capture programme for UK

companies.

Healthy peatlands

sequester billions of

tons of carbon in layers of

decaying, moist vegetation. In

contrast, drained peatlands

in the United Kingdom

alone emit approximately

10 million tonnes of carbon

a year. Alladale Wilderness

Reserve hosted a pioneering

scheme run by PEATLANDS+

that links owners of drained

and damaged peatland with

companies wishing to “mitigate

their carbon footprint”.

Working with ICAP, a market

operator based in The City

of London, we initiated an

economically viable model by

blocking 20 kilometres of hill

drains, improving water quality

and regulating run-off.

Sphagnum moss, the plant that

drives peat formation, has re-

colonised. As each successive

season’s growth is subsumed,

so the carbon it contains is

locked away in the developing

peat. Landholders across the

UK can now derive an income

from the degraded peatlands

they commit to restoring. At

Alladale net revenues from

the scheme are retained by

The European Nature Trust,

PEATLAND+’s parent, to help

fund conservation and youth

education projects in Scotland.

ICAP CEO, Michael Spencer, agreed to finance the restoration of Alladale’s drained peatlands which now act as a carbon sink and will store all of ICAP’s emissions for 2011 & 2012.

O u t d o o r E d u c a t i o n

In the last 5 years we have

provided high quality

outdoor education to

children in south east

Sutherland, with 1,600

participants so far.

We need nature. Not

just for the “ecosystem

services” it provides but because

time spent in the wilds gives

usthechancetoreflectand

refresh. In the course of just

two generations, however,

the majority of children have

migrated indoors, taking less

interest in the natural world,

and growing less knowledgeable

andfitintheprocess.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve

provides the setting for children

to rediscover the world beyond a

screen and get a taste for a more

adventurous lifestyle under

canvas. The Alladale Challenge

is a 5 day programme where

children plant trees, scramble

in gorges, learn about wild

animal management, acquire

leadership and team building

skills, as well as hiking and

enjoying the great outdoors.

Alladale is also the exclusive

Scottish venue for the Bear

Grylls Survival Academy,

aimed at adults who want to

test themselves over a rigorous

week-long course.

“I was introduced to Alladale when my school participated in the Challenge. After that I was given the chance to learn more about the nature and history

of the Highlands. Now I work at Alladale doing something I love.”Ryan Munro, Alladale Reserve Ranger.

R e d D e e r M a n a g e m e n t

We wanted to manage our

red deer population better

to allow the forests to

regenerate naturally. We are

now seeing spontaneous

forest regeneration outside

the fenced areas.

In much of mainland

Europe red deer live in low

densities in forests, growing

much larger than their Scottish

cousins, who have adapted to

a harsher environment over

the centuries. Sporting Estates

here have tended to favour

higher numbers making it

hard, often impossible, for

trees to regenerate. At Alladale

Wilderness Reserve our aim has

been to regulate deer pressure

to encourage natural woodland

regeneration outside fenced

forestry enclosures.

Over the last ten years

our rangers have reduced

deer density by two thirds

to around 6 - 7 per square

kilometre. Now young trees

are already beginning to grow

outside fenced areas. In time,

established woodland accessible

to red deer will ensure better

winter survival, a healthier herd

and improved sport. Non-native

sika deer are heavily controlled

on the Reserve and thanks to

improved woodland cover native

roe deer have made a welcome

return to the glen.

“Our deer herd is much healthier now. Before, they had a much harder time throughout the winter and spring. We have stronger beasts and a better landscape”

Ronnie Macleod, Alladale Reserve Ranger.

R e d S q u i r r e l R e i n t r o d u c t i o n

We wanted to restore the

threatened red squirrel

to Alladale Wilderness

Reserve and a number

of neighbouring estates.

In 2013 we successfully

released 36 squirrels

and can witness the

first signs that they have

started to breed; further

translocations are planned

to augment the population.

From pest to national icon,

the red squirrel’s popularity

in the UK has risen as its

population has plummeted. Red

squirrels are poor competitors

with grey squirrels, especially

in mixed woodland. They are

also susceptible to the deadly

squirrel pox carried by the

greys.Overthelastfiveyears

The Highland Foundation

for Wildlife has worked with

Alladale and Dundonnell

Estates to re-establish red

squirrels in Sutherland and

earlier in Wester Ross. These

areas are all free from grey

squirrels and are likely to

remain so. The red squirrels are

collected, with a licence from

Scottish Natural Heritage, from

the strong populations in Moray

and Strathspey.

Translocations have been highly

successful: Radio tracking

shows that almost all the

squirrels survived and started

to reproduce in their new home

within months.

The Foundation, in partnership

with Alladale, is keen to

press ahead with further

translocations following the

protocols developed to date.

“We consider our translocation projects extremely successful; they have created healthy and robust red squirrel populations very well separated from the invasive grey squirrels.”

Roy Dennis, MBE. Highland Foundation for Wildlife.

W i l d B o a r R e s e a r c h

H i g h l a n d C a t t l eI n i t i a t i v e

We wanted to determine

the role of wild boar in

the ecology of Highland

woodlands. Our research

established a sound

scientific baseline.

To determine the true

extent of their role in

regeneration and potential use

in woodland management,

the University of Oxford’s

WildCRU set up a wild boar

research facility at Alladale

Wilderness Reserve. It was

found that, on average, one wild

boar works over about 42 square

metres of ground a week. They

were happiest rooting amongst

the trees but during the autumn

and winter they particularly

broke up bracken.

The research concluded

that boar do little to extend

woodland cover, but are

important for regeneration

within the forest. By suppressing

bracken and ploughing up

heather, biodiversity improves

and more seedlings are able to establish themselves.

Highland cattle at Alladale

are part of an Scotland Rural

Development Programme

funded moorland management

planandplayasignificant

“Our study showed that wild boar are a key part of woodlands, promoting beneath-canopy regeneration.”

Dr Christopher Sandom, Wild CRU, Oxford University.

role in changing biodiversity

through grazing and trampling.

Their dung encourages insect

life which in turn creates a

food source for many birds.

The cattle also enrich different

grasses in the riparian areas and

help break up the ground in

mature forestry enclosures.

R e n e w a b l e E n e r g y & S e l f - C a t e r i n g L o d g e s

At Alladale Wilderness

Reserve we realise the

seriousness of global

warming and continually

aim to reduce our

dependence on fossil fuels.

We have installed a

150kw hydro turbine

that has reduced the Reserve’s

traditional energy requirements

by 70 per cent. Additionally our

peatlands restoration project

providesasteadyflowof water

to the hydro catchment.

Two new self-catering lodges,

Eagles Crag and Ghillies

Rest, were built and designed

toenergyefficientstandards.

Future plans include the

construction of greenhouses

heated by the hydro turbine.

We aim to be an active

participant in the recovery

of the threatened Scottish

wildcat.

Persecution and cross

breeding with feral

domestic cats have combined

to threaten the survival of

the Scottish wildcat. Alladale

Wilderness Reserve has been

involved with various initiatives

intended to restore a viable

population. In partnership with

WildCRU at Oxford University,

studies have been carried

out to evaluate Alladale and

surrounding land as potential

wildcat habitat. The European

Nature Trust has built a

network of wildcat enclosures at

Alladale, providing a home for

individuals that have been tested

for genetic purity and paving

the way for a captive breeding

programme in the future.

Alladale has the potential to

play an important role in the

implementation of Scottish

Natural Heritage’s conservation

action plan.

W i l d c a t C o n s e r v a t i o n

M e d i a C o v e r a g eThe work done at Alladale

Wilderness Reserve has

been used to trigger a

wider debate about how we

manage the Highlands.

Alladale has attracted

extensive media attention.

While sometimes sensational,

the sheer number of column

inches, photos and broadcast

television hours has meant

that the Alladale vision and

the reasons behind it have

been well articulated to the

public. Alladale has played an

important part in introducing

the concept of rewilding to a

general audience. The particular

issues around reintroduction of

large carnivores and their role

in the landscape have also been

thoroughly aired and debated.

Articles have appeared in:

Scotland on Sunday; The Herald;

Press & Journal; The Sunday Times;

The Daily Mail; The Independent;

The Telegraph; The Guardian;

The Economist; Country Life; The

Evening Standard; Geographical

Magazine; Business Traveller; The

Scottish Field; Spears; Scotland

Magazine; Caledonian Mercury;

BBC Wildlife and Condé Nast

Traveller.

In 2007 the BBC commissioned

a Natural World documentary

and a 6 part TV series about

Alladale. Other coverage has

appeared on the Travel Channel,

Landward, Countryfile and BBC

News.

T h e N e x t 1 0 Ye a r s

We believe that an

ecosystem without

large predators is incomplete.

The wolf reintroduction in

Yellowstone has shown how,

by altering the number and

behaviour of grazing animals,

landscape-scale changes to

vegetation and biodiversity can

happen - and quickly.

Let us be clear: We’re not

proposing to have wolves

and bears running free on

Alladale or anywhere else in

the Highlands. Whatever the

actual risks, once these animals

disappear, a community forgets

within a generation how to live

alongside them and minimise

livestock losses.

We are, though, committed to

securing a substantial fenced

area so we can enjoy the

“Yellowstone Effect” in the

Scottish Highlands. We are keen

to work with other landowners

to realise this vision and achieve

significanteconomicbenefit

through tourism and related

activities in rural areas. This has

already happened elsewhere in

countries such as South Africa.

Across Europe, charismatic

species are returning unaided

to their former ranges and are

enriching the landscape. In The

United Kingdom we will need

to give them a little help.

At Alladale, we have established

a viable alternative to the

traditional sporting estate. If

you would like to speak to us we

would like to listen.

A l l a d a l e W i l d e r n e s s R e s e r v e i s p r o u d t o p a r t n e r w i t h

Design: Niall Benvie for the Wild Media Company.Photography: Niall Benvie - all, except: Pete Cairns p4, p16r, p20; Mark Hamblin p24tl; ICMI 18 & 19; Max Milligan p3, p11; Tony Ward, p10.

Produced by the Wild Media Company. peter@wildmedia.org

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