Strategic Plan North Highland Forest District Strategic Plan 2009-2013 Click here to begin Strategic plan 2009-2013 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3 About North Highland Forest District ....................................................................................................6 Section one: strategic context .....................................................................................................13 Context ............................................................................................................................................................14 Strategic priorities for North Highland Forest District ....................................................................16 Forest policy context...................................................................................................................................19 Section two: how North Highland Forest District contributes to the delivery of the Scottish Forestry Strategy ..................................................................................20 Key theme one: climate change ..............................................................................................................22 Key theme two: timber ..............................................................................................................................27 Key theme three: business development .............................................................................................31 Key theme four: community development .........................................................................................36 Key theme five: access and health..........................................................................................................41 Key theme six: environmental quality ..................................................................................................44 Key theme seven: biodiversity .................................................................................................................48 Section three: delivery and monitoring.....................................................................................55 Appendices: ................................................................................................................................58 Appendix one: supporting maps ............................................................................................................59 Appendix two: evaluation of achievements (1999-2006) under previous strategic plan ....65 Appendix three: glossary for forest policy context diagram ..........................................................89 Appendix four: local thematic plans, management plans and guidance notes ......................91 Appendix five: portfolio analysis scoring on the national forest estate .....................................93 Using the document This document is principally intended to be read as an online publication and there are several hyperlinks linking readers to the Forestry Commission Scotland website for relevant publications. Please use the Microsoft Word ‘edit: find’ facility to search for specific words. 2 | Strategic plan 2009 - 2013 Strategic plan 2009-2013 - Introduction Introduction Scotland’s forests and woodlands are helping support many rural communities and businesses 3 | Strategic plan 2009 - 2013 Introduction North Highland Forest District Introduction The Scottish Forestry Strategy was launched in October 2006 as the Scottish Government’s framework for taking forestry forward through the first half of this century and beyond. This strategic plan defines how Forestry Commission Scotland, through its operating arm, Forest Enterprise Scotland, will implement the Scottish Forestry Strategy on that part of the national forest estate in North Highland Forest District. This is a five-year plan starting in 2009 and finishing in 2013. This strategic plan will also provide This plan has been amended to reflect the direction for implementing a repositioning feedback from a formal consultation process policy that will ensure that the nature and during 2008. The summarised consultation distribution of the national forest estate responses and the Forest Enterprise better reflects its role and purpose. Scotland response are both available on the Forestry Commission Scotland website. 4 | Strategic plan 2009 - 2013 Introduction The strategic plan is divided into three sections: Section one: strategic context Section three: delivery and monitoring This section explains how this strategic plan relates This section gives an overview of how North to other Forestry Commission Scotland policies Highland Forest District will effectively and and strategies, taking a lead from the Scottish efficiently deliver the strategic plan. It includes Forestry Strategy and the strategic plan for the sections on: national forest estate. • the operating principles that underpin all Forest Enterprise Scotland policies Section two: how North Highland Forest • operations and activities District contributes to delivery of the Scottish Forestry Strategy • delivery mechanisms, including repositioning the national forest estate This section describes the context and specific • the monitoring and implementation process actions that will be undertaken on the national forest estate in the district under each of the seven themes of the Scottish Forestry Strategy: Impact on environment and equality • climate change The results of environment and equality and diversity impact assessments of the • business development strategic plan are available on the Forestry • timber Commission Scotland website. • community development Review • access and health A review will take place towards the end of the • environmental quality period of delivery of the plan. If significant changes are made to the Scottish Forestry Strategy we will, • biodiversity if necessary, prepare a new strategic plan. The baseline figures detailed in the monitoring section of the strategic plan for the national forest estate will be updated and reported on annually, with contributions from each forest district. 5 | Strategic plan 2009 - 2013 Introduction About North Highland Forest District North Highland Forest District lies in the northern- Water most section of the Scottish mainland, north Watercourses are important features of the of a line that runs roughly from the Cromarty economy of the North Highlands notably for Firth on the east coast through to Ullapool in tourism, fisheries and hydroelectricity. In broad the west. The main concentrations of forests are terms, the rivers of the district are separated into in Caithness, Easter Ross and east and central northern and southern systems. Most major river Sutherland. With the exception of Benmore systems are designated as sites of special scientific and Lael, only a small percentage of the land interest, and are of national importance for their holding is in west. Maps of the district and the salmon interests and important populations of forest blocks are given in Appendix one. the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. Most The majority of our forests are still relatively hill lochs contain stocks of wild brown trout young being planted during the 1960s, 70s and and many are used by breeding pairs of both 80s. These woodlands include significant areas red and black throated divers. A map of water of even-aged lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce catchments in the district is given in Appendix one. planted on deep peats and blanket bog during In the northern half of the district, nationally the controversial Flow Country era of the 1980s. important salmon rivers (i.e. rivers Borgie, Naver, Elsewhere, crops are more diverse with a more Hallerdale, Helmsdale and Thurso) either border varied age structure and a wider range of species. or flow through the national forest estate. Most The district manages a land area of 70,156 ha of these rivers flow south to north. Most of the which 43,667 ha (70%) has woodland cover. The watercourses in the southern half of the district remainder is generally open hill ground, tenanted flow in a south-easterly direction joining the sea grazing land or land that is unsuitable for planting. either through Kyle of Sutherland or the Cromarty Firth. Many of these southern rivers contain large- scale hydroelectric schemes and as a result have Natural environment been heavily modified. Several distilleries also draw water from catchments arising in our forests. Climate Generally, the district has a warm and wet maritime climate with an east-west incline in rainfall. Rainfall varies from around 700 mm/yr at Dornoch on the east coast, to over 2,000 mm/yr on the higher ground in the west. The east coast has a marginally more continental climate than the west, with drier weather, sunnier summers and colder winters. The prevailing winds are from the west and southwest. 6 | Strategic plan 2009 - 2013 Introduction About North Highland Forest District Geology and landform Soils Landform varies markedly across the district. All the major Scottish soil types are represented In the north of Sutherland and Caithness, the in the district. On the higher ground, peat soils of landscape is dominated by wide expanses of variable depth predominate. The Flow Country of sweeping moorland across flat or gently undulating Caithness and Sutherland contains a significant ground. Further south, the landform becomes