Scotland’s once-expansive Caledonian pine forest has drastically shrunk and become disconnected over the centuries, largely due to human actions. Today, only 1% of Scotland’s original pine forest remains.
We’ve got ambitious aims to double our native forests in size, expanding them to their natural limit, and restoring woodland habitats that we should expect to see in this landscape.
A key factor holding back forest expansion is over-browsing by an unnaturally large population of Deer, whose nibbling teeth mean young saplings have little hope of growing into forests.
Whilst Red and Roe Deer are part of Scotland’s ecosystem, a near-absence of predators means deer numbers are unsustainably high. This can make it hard for Deer to find enough food in the winter, and Scotland’s woodland landscape has little chance to regenerate. As there are no natural predators in this landscape, it is the responsibility of land managers to keep Deer numbers at an ecologically sustainable level.
Deer management means acting in the role of a natural predator, keeping deer moving across a landscape, and removing a percentage of the population every year. This practice is informed by extensive science and research, and is monitored using Herbivore Impact Assessments. Following decades of deer management, Cairngorms Connect Partners have seen clear positive impacts, including:
By studying decades of data from Cairngorms Connect Partners, our science and monitoring team have found that by collaborative deer management across multiple adjoining landholdings we can achieve rapid landscape-scale native woodland expansion with minimal need for planting or fencing. Read more about these findings here.
Necessary deer management produces venison which we believe should be a local, accessible, environmentally sustainable source of high quality and sustainable protein. We’re making this available in the community through the Cairngorms Connect Venison Project.
Together, the Partners employ up to 15 local, highly trained deer stalkers who work together across this landscape to achieve a coordinated, collaborative Deer Management program. Head into the hills with Cairngorms Connect Deer Stalker Jack, and his trusty companion Ruadh, in our short film “A Deer Stalker’s Story.”
