Friends of the Ochils Newsletter 19: Autumn 2001Native woodland expansion in the OchilsThe major planting of the north slopes of Glen Quey is now well underway. FotO had made several comments on the proposals, as outlined in the previous newsletter. We will be visiting the area next week (as this is being written) to assess the extent to which our comments have had an impact. We are concerned at reports received of fencing being completed with either no stiles or stiles that require considerable agility to negotiate. We will report back in a future newsletter. We have another reason for investigating this corner of the Ochils. The Woodland Trust, owners of the new Glen Quey woodland, are now investigating an area further north in Glen Devon around Ben Shee, stretching from Cairnmorris Hill to Glen Devon and from Glensherup Burn to the Frandy Burn. While we continue to welcome the appropriate development of native woodland in the Ochils, our vision has always been of woodlands developing from the glens and we are concerned that a pattern is emerging of wooded hill slopes rather than glens. There are no detailed plans yet, but we have already been invited to make, and have made, general comments. Our response to any detailed proposals will be significantly influenced by what we see when we review the position on the ground at Glen Quey. Our comments tend to focus particularly on visual impact (including species composition and fencing) and accessibility. The viability of new planting is also a concern - a woodland that has failed to become established is not attractive to anyone. Other organisations, such as the RSPB and SNH, speak well for the ecological aspects. (In general, conservation organisations favour native woodland planting because of the very low ecological value of the present sheepwalks.) We would welcome your views, as FotO members, on the work in Glen Quey and on the principle of developing native woodland around Ben Shee. David Gordon |