Cairngorms Upland Advisory Group - February 2020

This document contains information about the East Cairngorms Moorland Partnership, which covers 138,000 hectares, around 30% of the Cairngorms National Park. The partnership's goal is to work together to deliver public benefits alongside private interests, focusing on woodland and scrub expansion, peatland restoration, landscape enhancement, and the conservation of birds of prey and other important species. Current projects include monitoring wading birds and mountain hares, carrying out raptor surveys, mapping areas of controlled burning (muirburn), identifying opportunities for new woodlands, restoring peatlands, and educating the public. The partnership also monitors wader nests with temperature loggers and wildlife cameras, with results from the 2018 and 2019 seasons showing data on hatching success and causes of failure.

This document contains information about habitat restoration work on The River Dee, which began in the late 1990s due to declining salmon stocks. Early efforts focused on the middle and lower catchment areas, with tree planting in the uplands starting around 2015. To protect riparian woodland from grazers, large-scale tree enclosures are the preferred method, funded by various schemes. Over 175,000 native trees have been planted within these enclosures. Small enclosures are used where large enclosures aren't feasible, and the River Dee are also trialing a mob planting technique. Large woody structures are being implemented to create better habitats, offering cover, deep pools, and spawning sites. The goal is to reinstate the river's natural processes, improve water quality, increase biodiversity, and store carbon, aiming to plant 1 million riparian trees by 2035 and restore the salmon population.