Ailean Ruaridh Mor Management Plan 1997
The document is courtesy of Inverness, Ross and Skye Forest District and features the small island in Loch Maree known as Ailean Ruaridh Mor, one of a group of islands all of which form part of a larger Scottish Natural Heritage designated SSSI and National Nature Reserve as well as part of the Forestry Commission Forestry Authority’s Caledonian Pinewood Inventory. (From the 1980s Forest Districts produced agreed management plans for Scheduled Ancient Monuments, National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that were located on land owned or managed by the Forestry Commission.)
In this case only Ailean Ruaridh Mor and its offshore islets are owned and managed by the Forestry Commission as part of Slattadale Forest, the other islands are in separate ownership.
The plan records the joint management policy agreement between Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Forestry Authority and Forest Enterprise Inverness Forest District signed on their behalf by David Miller, Bob Dunsmore and David Jardine respectively. Mick Canham of Inverness Forest District and Eileen Stuart of Scottish Natural Heritage are also named as having worked on the plan.
The document contains descriptions of the vegetation on the island, points to the unique value of the Scots pine on the island that forms part of the national Caledonian Pine reserve and includes details of the various issues that have the potential to cause damage to the habitat. The joint management plan was designed to run a period of five years from 1997 to 2002 and lists the agreed work and undertakings of both SNH and Inverness Forest District to preserve and enhance the Caledonian pine habitat.
Of interest also is the map of the Caledonian Pine Inventory as at 1994 with a list of all the named areas. A further document lists in more detail the attributes of the Scots pine on the Loch Maree Islands including Ailean Ruaridh Mor. Another page lists the names and brief details of the 77 named areas of the Caledonian Pine Inventory as at 1994.
Groups: Forest Research, Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports