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Protected species survey guidance for peatland restoration projects in the CNP V1.0

Pro­tec­ted Spe­cies sur­vey guid­ance for Peat­land Res­tor­a­tion Pro­jects in the Cairngorms Nation­al Park

Ver­sion 1.0

This guid­ance sum­mar­ises the expect­a­tions for pro­tec­ted spe­cies sur­vey require­ments with­in Cairngorms Peat­land ACTION – sup­por­ted peat­land res­tor­a­tion pro­jects in the Cairngorms Nation­al Park. It fol­lows the NatureScot Peat­land ACTION pro­to­cols and dir­ects applic­ants to the NatureScot tech­nic­al resources.

1. Pur­pose of pro­tec­ted spe­cies surveys

Peat­land res­tor­a­tion activ­it­ies risk dis­turb­ing or harm­ing pro­tec­ted spe­cies if not planned appro­pri­ately. Applic­ants must ensure no neg­at­ive impacts to pro­tec­ted spe­cies and that res­tor­a­tion activ­it­ies com­ply with all rel­ev­ant wild­life legislation.

Pro­tec­ted spe­cies sur­veys therefore:

  • Identi­fy the pres­ence of pro­tec­ted spe­cies on or near the site.
  • Inform wheth­er tim­ing, design or meth­ods of res­tor­a­tion must be adapted.
  • Provide inform­a­tion needed to set out spa­tial con­straints that pro­tect spe­cies dur­ing works.

2. Who can com­plete pro­tec­ted spe­cies surveys?

Sur­veys must be car­ried out by a com­pet­ent per­son with the appro­pri­ate expert­ise for the spe­cies and sur­vey type. Require­ments are detailed in the NatureScot Spe­cies Sur­vey Guid­ance for field eco­lo­gists. Applic­ants should con­sult qual­i­fied eco­lo­gists with exper­i­ence in upland/​peatland sys­tems and pro­tec­ted spe­cies legislation.

3. Sur­vey require­ments for Cairngorms Peat­land ACTION grant applications

Applic­ants must:

3.1. Com­plete pre-applic­a­tion pro­tec­ted spe­cies surveys

Baseline sur­veys are required pri­or to apply­ing for deliv­ery fund­ing. These sur­veys feed into the eco­lo­gic­al under­stand­ing of the site and are used to ensure com­pli­ance with pro­tec­ted spe­cies legis­la­tion. NatureScot provides spe­cies-spe­cif­ic sur­vey pro­to­cols including:

  • Breed­ing birds
  • Moun­tain hare sweep searches
  • Rep­tiles

Pre-applic­a­tion sur­vey to include:

  1. A desk study
  2. A pre­lim­in­ary walk over field survey

3.2. Pro­duce a con­straints map

Sur­vey res­ults must be used to pre­pare a con­straints map, out­lining:

  • Sens­it­ive areas
  • Spe­cies-spe­cif­ic exclu­sion zones using appro­pri­ate buffers
  • Tim­ing restrictions
  • Any areas requir­ing avoid­ance or spe­cif­ic techniques

This map along with details of any license applic­a­tions and pro­pos­als for ECoW is a required part of the Cairngorms Peat­land ACTION deliv­ery grant application.

3.3. Fund­ing for Surveys

Peat­land ACTION does not fund the ini­tial pro­tec­ted spe­cies sur­veys or con­straints map­ping unless the applic­ant is sup­por­ted through a devel­op­ment grant, where such work may be eligible.

4. Pre-oper­a­tion­al sur­veys and Eco­lo­gic­al Clerk of Works (ECoW)

Once a pro­ject has been approved for deliv­ery fund­ing, applic­ants must:

  • Carry out any neces­sary pre-oper­a­tion­al pro­tec­ted spe­cies checks
  • Imple­ment ECoW over­sight, where required (e.g., for breed­ing birds, moun­tain hare, reptiles)

These checks ensure res­tor­a­tion activ­it­ies remain com­pli­ant at the point of construction.

Cairngorms Peat­land ACTION will fund pre-oper­a­tion­al sur­veys and ECoW activ­ity as part of the deliv­ery grant, provided they are included in the budget break­down and com­ply with grant eli­gib­il­ity cri­ter­ia regard­ing value for money and agreed deliv­er­ables. This dis­tin­guishes pre-works checks from the baseline sur­vey work required earli­er in the process.

5. Where to get advice on sur­vey meth­ods and protocols

NatureScot already main­tains detailed, spe­cies-spe­cif­ic pro­to­cols that must be fol­lowed. Giv­en the leg­al and eco­lo­gic­al com­plex­it­ies, applic­ants should be dir­ec­ted to the NatureScot Peat­land ACTION Tech­nic­al Team for advice on:

We do not cre­ate, provide or endorse par­al­lel stand­ards. All guid­ance should align with and dir­ectly refer back to the offi­cial NatureScot Peat­land ACTION protocols.

7. Sum­mary

  • Baseline pro­tec­ted spe­cies sur­veys must be com­pleted by a com­pet­ent eco­lo­gist before apply­ing for a deliv­ery grant.
  • Res­ults must be used to pre­pare a con­straints map for the grant application.
  • These early sur­veys are not fun­ded by Cairngorms Peat­land ACTION unless via a devel­op­ment grant.
  • Pre-oper­a­tion­al sur­veys and ECoW checks are eli­gible for Cairngorms Peat­land ACTION fund­ing under the deliv­ery grant.