East Loch Arkaig -Clunes Forest – Lochaber – Provisional Forest Map dated around 1986
The map was recovered from shed at Newton Nursery which acted as a storage area for Forest Research who used the maps to locate forest and tree experiments in the field.
This map features areas on the north and south sides of Loch Arkaig possibly acquired from Locheil Estates in 1955. In total the five small areas (one adjoining the large Clunes Forest Acquisition) on the north side were accessible from the minor public road and planted 1955 to 1964 (Some areas on West Loch Arkaig Map). Sitka spruce formed a main component but also in mixture with Lodgepole pine and sometimes with Scots pine. Some areas were classed as unplantable and others had ‘Retained Scrub’ which probably referred to natural birch, alder and willow. Japanese larch was planted as a fire break on many of edges of the forest blocks, notably along some of the public roadside edges and up the sides. In the late 1990s a notable Skipper butterfly was identified in the some of the areas.
The area south of the Loch near Glen Mallie includes Compartments numbered 6001 – 6012. They were planted 1970- 1973 largely with Sitka spruce pure or in mixtures with Lodgeploe pine. The upper margins tend towards pure Lodgepole pine but on the western side there are some annotations of retained Scrub and Native pine in Compartments 6003-4.
This area along with the area further west was sold by the Forestry Commission Scotland in 2016 and is now owned and managed by a community and the Woodland Trust organisations. The aim in both areas is to restore the native Scots pine woods. Also see Picture No 5775
Please use the large image link to see the detail on the map. Any more information very welcome.