Achnashellach Forest — Forest Record
The document is courtesy of Inverness, Ross and Skye Forest District and staff at their Fort Augustus office and records the early annual work programmes in the forests in terms of quantities and types of tasks undertaken. It appears as though this system may have only originated in the early 1930s hence few record sheets going further back in time.
The Forest Records R3 – R8 were completed for Anchnashellach Forest between 1935 and 1946 and unfortunately, with the exception of the staff record, do not go back as far as 1922 when the forest was started. Planting appears to have been completed in 1930 with more completed in the 1940s. Much of the effort was concentrated in draining, laying turfs, fertilising and replacing dead trees and trying to achieve a well stocked established forest in difficult ground conditions. It is interesting to note the use of Grey Alder as a pure crop or in mixture with conifers and also in some of the very steep conditions the planting turfs had to be laid in a step on the hillside in order that they remained in position! Thinning of the first plantings were being carried out as early as 1939 but mainly confined to larch species. There are some mentions of the old Scots pine.
Divisional Office (DO) and District Officer (Dt O) Senior staff include: F Scott, L A Newton, J W Mackay, J Meldrum, J Fraser, D S Spraggan, T A Robbie, A M Fraser, A Watt and A Orr Ewing.
Forester staff include: W MacClymont, D Macdonald, A Murray, J M Ferguson, A C Gray (Transferred to TSD in Dec 1939), A Mackenzie.
Please open PDF to see all the details, names and periods of service.
Any information on this forest and on those who worked there would be very welcome.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports