Deer Management Plan for the South West Ross Deer Management Area 2015-2020
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DEER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE SOUTH WEST ROSS DEER MANAGEMENT AREA 2015-2020 prepared on behalf of the Management Group by Professor R.J.Putman, Woodend, Banavie, by Fort William, Inverness-shire PH33 7PB phone: 01397 772774; email: [email protected] 2 DEER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE SOUTH WEST ROSS DEER MANAGEMENT AREA 2015-2020 CONTENTS: Page A. Introduction: 4 The SouthWest Ross Deer Management Area: 5 Geology, Vegetation, Mammals and Birds, Invertebrates Communities and Species of Special Interest Designations 8 Group Membership and Deer Populations 11 An overview of the main issues affecting the Management Area 14 Condition of designated sites, Woodlands and Commercial Forestry, Sustainability of Harvests, Deer-Vehicle Collisions, Non-native species The Structure of this Document 18 B. Vegetation, Deer Populations and Current Management of Individual Estates: 1. Applecross 19 2. Couldoran 23 3. Kinloch 25 4. Ben Shieldaig 27 5. Ben Damph 31 6. Coulin 34 7. Kinlochdamph 41 8. Tullich 46 9. Lochcarron Estate 49 10. Glen Mhor 55 11. Fionnaraich 57 12. New Kelso 58 13. Achnashellach [North] 60 14. Ledgowan [North] 63 15. Forestry Commission Scotland 66 16. Other Affiliated Areas 67 C. Proposals for Future Management 2015-2020 1. Applecross 70 2. Couldoran 71 3. Kinloch 72 4. Ben Shieldaig 72 5. Ben Damph 72 6. Coulin 73 7. Kinlochdamph 74 8. Tullich 75 9. Lochcarron Estate 75 10. Glen Mhor 77 11. Fionnaraich 77 12. New Kelso 78 13. Achnashellach [North] 78 14. Ledgowan [North] 78 15. Forestry Commission Scotland 79 16. Other Affiliated Areas: Ardoch, Kirkton Woodlands, Reraig Forest 79 3 D. General Considerations General stocking rates and ongoing monitoring 80 Monitoring of deer populations; population modelling 80 Monitoring of Habitat condition 82 Other issues: Roe deer; Non-native species 83 Best Practice 84 Training, Welfare 84 Economic Costs and benefits; Communication; Education and 85 Wider Engagement Public Access, Public Safety 86 References cited in the text 86 E. Summary of Public Interest Benefits and Action Points 87 Annual Audit 91 Appendices 1. Constitution of the South West Ross Deer Management Group [to be added] 2. Summary of Woodland Resources within the South West Ross Management Area 3. Sample of audit sheet for annual completion by individual Estates and return to the SWRDMG. Maps 1. South West Ross Deer Management Area and Property boundaries 2. Overall Vegetation Cover of the Management Area as denoted by Land Cover Scotland 3. Reported Area of Woodland Cover (and potential woodland cover) mapped by the National Forest Inventory 4. Areas of Recent Woodland Creation 5. Designated sites within the SWRDMG Area 6. Reported Condition of Designated Sites 7. Condition of Native Woodlands reported by the Native Woodlands Survey of Scotland 2014 8. Deer-Vehicle Collisions reported in the Management Area between 2002 and 2013 4 A INTRODUCTION: A1.1 The South West Ross Deer Management Group area includes in effect all that land between Applecross and Achnasheen, bounded to the north by Loch Torridon and the roads between Shieldaig, Kinlochewe and Achnasheen (A896 and A832) and to the south by Loch Carron and the A896 from Lochcarron village to Achnasheen [Map 1]. Total area within the South West Ross Management Area (excluding towns and villages) is assessed as 62340 ha. The area includes land in some 17-18 main ownerships as well as land owned and managed by Forestry Commission Scotland. Deer Management and associated activities of individual landholdings are coordinated through discussion within the South West Ross Deer Management Group [SWRDMG], which meets formally twice a year (although other meetings may be called as required and much business is transacted via email). All member Estates atempt to have a representative present at all meetings; meetings are also attended by representatives from the Forestry Commission, SNH regional and wildlife staff and local community interest groups by invitation. The Group’s constitution is appended to this Plan. A1.2 The Deer Management Plan adopted by SWRDMG in 2002 was updated in 2009 for a further 5-year period and has recently expired. Following assessment of Group activities and matters addressed within the Group Plan in collaboration with SNH, SWRDMG has determined to update and revise the former Plan and at the same time bring it into line with the Benchmark for Deer Plans. SWRDMG endorses the Government’s Code of Practice on Deer Management and the ADMG’s Principles of Collaboration in relation to Deer Management. A1.3 After extensive consultation this Plan is presented as an agreed Deer Management Plan for a five year period from 2015-2020. The Plan has been prepared to integrate individual Estate Management Plans, and Long-Term Forest Plans with Group-level commitments and to ensure delivery of both private and public interest. A1.4 In any Management Area it is impossible to find a period of absolute stasis with all future factors influencing management decisions fully resolved. Indeed in the period of the previous Plan there have been a number of changes of land-ownership and/or objective. This Plan therefore is inevitably prepared against a background context with some remaining ‘unknowns’ and should not be seen as set in stone. Rather the Plan is seen as indicative, and must allow room for flexibility as circumstances may change. A1.5 In any event, management for the future is not a precise science. Active management must be accompanied by close monitoring of the condition of deer populations and habitats in order to assess whether management decisions taken are indeed delivering objectives sought. Where such monitoring suggests that objectives are not being delivered as expected, some minor adjustments to proposed policies and action plans may be necessary to meet desired targets. A1.6 Annual review of progress and approval of any minor changes in policy in the light of altered circumstances, or in response to results of ongoing monitoring programmes will be made at each Annual General meeting of the Management Group. After this time, the Plan will undergo full review with an update for the following 5 year period. A1.7 In development of the actual Management Plan which follows, the Group employed Professor R.J.Putman to collate information on deer populations and habitat condition, to assist in establishing clear definition of objectives as well as help focus discussion on future possible management options within individual Estates or the wider Management Group Area. Information was sought from all estates and from SWRDMG records on deer counts for the different estates or other land-holdings, recorded calf-hind ratios and cull data over the period since the last Group Plan. 5 A1.8 Detailed consultations were undertaken with individual landowners, or their managing agents, as well as all stalkers to establish i) current deer numbers and distribution on their own estates; movement patterns within Estates and between adjacent properties; past and present management policy and procedures; ii) current patterns of land use, plans and expectations for the future, as well as exploring aims and objectives of management for their deer for the future. A1.9 Additional consultation was carried out with other interest groups such as Scottish Natural Heritage Regional staff and Forestry Commission for Scotland as well as local community groups (such as the Kirkton Heritage Woodland Group) to establish their interests and aspirations for future management of the area. A1.10 Finally, independent assessments were also undertaken of the condition of the deer herds and the condition of the habitat during a series of visits to all the estates by RP between September and December 2014. A2. The South West Ross Deer Management Area: A2.1 The South West Ross Deer Management Group area includes in effect all that land between Applecross and Achnasheen, bounded to the north by Loch Torridon and the roads between Shieldaig, Kinlochewe and Achnasheen (A896 and A832) and to the south by Loch Carron and the A896 from Lochcarron village to Achnasheen [Map 1]. It includes land in some 17-18 main ownerships as well as land owned and managed by Forestry Commission Scotland. Much of the area lies within the Wester Ross National Scenic Area, whilst the area also includes a number of designated as of conservational importance (as SSSI or SAC). The South West Ross Management Area is also wholly included within the area recently nominated for recognition as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Geology: A2.2 The geology of Wester Ross is relatively simple for the size of the area as a whole; a simple overview taken from the Wester Ross National Scenic Area Working Paper (2002) presents the area as "sedimentary Torridonian sandstone overlying Lewissian gneiss with shattered Cambrian quartzite caps on the high peaks". The Moine Thrust has also had an influence on the eastern and southern parts of the area in the exposure of Moine schists and a notable outcrop of Durness limestone at Rassal. A2.3 The bedrock is readily apparent throughout the area as it appears as exposures through the thin vegetation cover in the moorland or on the exposed terraces of high ground cliffs. There are localised intrusions of basalt and dolerite, while the actions of the last Ice Age have left a scatter of superficial deposits of moraine and undifferentiated drift. The associated soil types are peats, peaty gleys, peaty podzols and peaty rankers of the Torridonian association. Vegetation: A2.4 An overview of the vegetational fabric within the MDMG area is provided by Map 2 [Land Cover Scotland], although this offers only limited resolution. In practice, much of the area is relatively homogeneous. Where peat accumulates on shallower slopes, the vegetation is dominated by extensive tracts of deer grass/cotton grass blanket bog (Scirpus (syn.