Glen Affric is considered by many the most beautiful glen in Scotland (and certainly, come October, the density of photographers per square inch here exceeds the population density of Scotland’s major cities). For many the glen is a paradigm of ecological restoration; however, to me it also illustrates the inanity of the native species fixation of contemporary Scottish conservation, not least in how Forestry Land Scotland manages its lion share of the area.

Nativist Ecocide

FLS has bought into the whole ’native species only’ obsession that characterises rewilding. This is frustrating, for as I have noted before, the ‘native species’ concept is neither biological nor ecological, but purely historical, and ecologically unhelpful.

And so FLS is aggressively removing non-native species from the area. Principally this involves the removal of large sways of coniferous forests planted for timber, leading, necessarily, to a reduction in biodiversity. The Glen Affric area has been managed for forestry for centuries, so the non-native ecosystems being destroyed are long established and significant. That such narrow minded thing is possible in these days of biodiversity crisis is quite astonishing.

The net effect in Glen Affric is the creation of large sways of pine and birch monocultures, with particular focus on the Scots pine. Monocultures, native or not, are always problematic because they are susceptible to rapid collapse from disease and parasites. And, sure enough, the planting of Scots pine in Affric had to be suspended already because of dothistroma, so some willow is being planted at smaller scale in one of the side glens.

Thing is, there is an excellent example of a very rich, genuinely mixed, forest ecosystem in this area, around Ploda Falls. This forest, with a number of non-native species, has somehow escaped the FLS chainsaws. Ploda, rather than Glen Affric, is a viable paradigm for Scottish ecological restoration (so if you visit the area, make sure to go to Ploda).

(Incidentally, the FLS policy of non-native species eradication is not unique to Affric, but it is also being enacted, e.g., in Aberfoyle.)

Climate Change Denialism

Species nativism is a form of climate change denialism. Numerous boards at the Affric car parks inform the visitors that the FLS is working to restore the area to species that have established itself there naturally after the end of last ice age at 10,000 years ago. This is being obtuse.

‘Established’ here really means ‘migrated here as the result of rising temperatures from southern Britain’, having previously migrated to Britain from France. It obscures the fact that ecosystems are always dynamic, always changing, and, critically, climate specific. But this doesn’t fit the rewilding narrative (such selective handling of data is typical of rewilding, which is not unlike creationism: it has an apriory position, for which supporting observations are sought; e.g., see this example from the other side of the pond).

Establishing new ecosystems on the basis of the past when climate is rapidly changing is complete folly. The reality is that the days of Scots pine in Scotland are already numbered, that the nostalgic focus of rewilding on the past is doing disservice to future generations.

That private landowners, whether billionaires or NGOs, are pursuing nativist policies is deeply regrettable, but that a government agency does is inexcusable.

Clear Felling Vandalism

FLS is a one trick pony, and the one thing they know best is how to clear fell. And so the area around Glen Affric is, like much of Scotland, being scared by this destructive forestry practice that prioritises profit margins over ecosystems. You don’t have to stray far to run into the massive freshly bulldozed tracks, and impromptu quarries needed to build them.

Clear feeling is extremely destructive. It is not merely the removal of trees at scale, but laying waste to the ecosystems around them from the fungal networks in the ground to the birds in the sky. Even where clear felled areas are immediately replanted with the same species, the fungal ecosystem will take many years to recover; but in Affric these areas are destined for new species, anyway, and this means, unavoidably, biodiversity loss.

Clear felling also impacts forestry that is left behind. The trees that grow at the edge of a forest are adapted to being there, and they have stronger root systems that allow them to cope with wind. When these trees are removed, the remaining trees quickly succumb to strong winds. Such tree fall damage secondary to clear felling is commonly seen on FLS land across Scotland, and Affric is no exception. And some of the felled areas are exposing the very Scots pine this area is aiming to protect.

It is, again, worth noting that the Affric area has been managed for forestry for centuries, and for much of that time it was done in a sustainable fashion. If FLS were serious about their environmental obligations, Affric would be a good place to start weaning themselves of the destructive practice of clear felling.

Forest Fire Waiting to Happen

The no-management management of the Affric forests appears to give no thought to the possibility of wild fire. The Scot’s pine monocultural blocks, with deep old heather undergrowth are a natural tinderbox; a forest fire in Affric is not a question of if but merely when, and when it goes, it will go in its entirety, there is nothing to stop it.

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Glen Affric is just like much of Scotland; it is beautiful until you think a bit about what it is you are actually looking at. Once you do that, the rosy glasses are hard to get back on again.