Where's my forest gone? To the Grouse...that's where....

[Cloverleaf]

Plenty..

These would take it up a notch..
"Tauros are classified as domestic cattle, but have no equivalent breed. They have been ‘back-bred’ by scientists in the Netherlands to be as similar as possible to the ancient aurochs – the wild ancestor of all domestic cattle, which for millennia played a vital role in shaping landscapes and enhancing biodiversity across Europe, including Scotland.

Trees for Life is carrying out assessments at its 4,000-hectare Dundreggan estate near Loch Ness, for what would be the UK’s first introduction of a herd of tauros – effectively reintroducing the aurochs, four centuries after its extinction.

European research shows that tauros, being bigger and more active than other cattle, help create richer habitats through their powerful grazing impacts, sheer size, and behaviour. Bulls can reach up to 180cm and cows 150cm at the shoulder. At Dundreggan, their role in ecological restoration would be scientifically studied."
( https://treesforlife.org.uk/rewildi...ing-species-programme-for-scottish-highlands/ )

I like the idea of some of these things. I sometimes have concern that what once worked in the bigger picture of a wider ecosystem now won't, but we won't find out unless we try. I'd rather see this trial and assessment than Arla's Bovaer one which has made buying dairy products recently significantly more challenging, not to mention expensive as it now has to be organic only to guarantee avoidance of it.

 

[highlandsflyer]

The approach to these 'problems' needs to be tailored to the individual cases. The one size fits all approach rarely solves problems long term. Blanket afforestation, even with 'native' species, is unlikely to prove popular. After all, we are used to the status quo now, and the shooters are not the sole beneficiaries.


The wide open vistas are something to be cherished.

 

[Cloverleaf]

The approach to these 'problems' needs to be tailored to the individual cases. The one size fits all approach rarely solves problems long term. Blanket afforestation, even with 'native' species, is unlikely to prove popular. After all, we are used to the status quo now, and the shooters are not the sole beneficiaries.
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The wide open vistas are something to be cherished.

Definitely. For a start there aren't enough native nurseries to support the number of trees that would be required to reforest huge swathes of land, but heather uplands are also species diverse when not artificially managed to maximise grouse numbers (alongside predator persecution). I love being able to cover huge distances in the hills which is in part thanks to the lack of native forest. Where re-planting has occurred it makes life a lot more difficult, and of course the wide range vistas that people have come to associate with Scotland. Are they what was here 500 years ago? No. But they've been here for longer than any of us currently alive have been around for and are themselves something quite special in their own way. I said earlier that I don't have an issue with grouse shooting, and I don't. What I do have an issue with is the destruction of our landscape in the name of it; you can still shoot grouse on unmanaged land and without them being driven, it's just a lot, lot harder.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

Ah Monsieur Cloverleaf, you need to write an article on this for a paper like The Guardian, your view is superb.