Plan for one of Scotlands "greatest National Assets"

Details
Written by Gus Jones
Category: Debates
Published: 22 June 2012
On Sunday 22 June BSCG discovered that a New National Park Plan with a a forward by Minister for the Environment and Climate change has been posted on the CNPA website.
The Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group has commented on this:-
"Responsible planning in National Parks should be one of the foremost methods by which landscapes, habitats and species are protected. The quality of Scotland’s natural environment is fundamental to people’s livelihoods and quality of life.
We are concerned that aspects of the consultation process were flawed, ignoring some serious concerns about safeguarding the natural and cultural heritage and giving insufficient attention to national interests. It is wrong if many of those making the effort to respond to the consultation end up concluding that the process was a ‘stitch up’ from the start, with short term thinking taking undue precedence. We do not see the minister’s expressions of approval for the consultation process as reflecting the experience of our community group.
We are concerned that this document is devoid of serious targets properly reflecting the statutory aims of the park and that this deficiency will open the way to further damaging development.
We and others have queried why the National Park Authority has launched into producing a new National Park Plan before the first plan had run its course or the out of date 2002 Cairngorms Biodiversity Action Plan has been updated. Certainly the second park plan with its shortened horizons appears depressingly devoid of tangible long term targets. Pretty pictures and fine words are one thing but for a key document like this to be thin on solid commitments cannot bode well for the interests of the public, our natural heritage or Scotland’s international reputation."

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On 22 June BSCG discovered that a New National Park Plan with a a forward by Minister for the Environment and Climate change has been posted on the CNPA website.

The Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group has commented on this:-

"Responsible planning in National Parks should be one of the foremost methods by which landscapes, habitats and species are protected. The quality of Scotland’s natural environment is fundamental to people’s livelihoods and quality of life. 
We are concerned that aspects of the consultation process were flawed, ignoring some serious concerns about safeguarding the natural and cultural heritage and giving insufficient attention to national interests. It is wrong if many of those making the effort to respond to the consultation end up concluding that the process was a ‘stitch up’ from the start, with short term thinking taking undue precedence. We do not see the minister’s expressions of approval for the consultation process as reflecting the experience of our community group. 

We are concerned that this document is devoid of serious targets properly reflecting the statutory aims of the park and that this deficiency will open the way to further damaging development. 

We and others have queried why the National Park Authority has launched into producing a new National Park Plan before the first plan had run its course or the out of date 2002 Cairngorms Biodiversity Action Plan has been updated. Certainly the second park plan with its shortened horizons appears depressingly devoid of tangible long term targets. Pretty pictures and fine words are one thing but for a key document like this to be thin on solid commitments cannot bode well for the interests of the public, our natural heritage or Scotland’s international reputation."

Arachnologist Meeting in Perth- SAM 2012

Details
Written by Gus Jones
Category: Insects
Published: 18 June 2012
Arachnologist Meeting in Perth- SAM 2012
The first meeting of Arachnologists in Scotland for many years is taking place in Perth Museum on August 25th.  SAM 2012 ,  the Scottish Arachnologists’ Meeting,  is free and open to all. It provides a great opportunity for anyone interested in harvestmen, pseudoscorpions and spiders t to learn from others. It is hoped it will encourage more people to get more involved with arachnid survey and ecological studies of these important predators   in Scotland.
From house spiders and garden arachnids  to harvestmen of the Falkland Islands there is a varied programme of talks with an optional field day .
From small mesh weaver to the extraordinary gallows or wood ant spider and a number of  lively jumping spiders Badenoch & Strathspey & the Cairngorms area  harbours a fascinating range of arachnids including some scarce and threatened species that have been overlooked on sites threatened by development.  BSCG has for example documented the wood ant eating or gallows spider  Dipoena torva on three sites proposed for new housing development.
Reflecting improved knowledge BSCG anticipates there will be further  species  of arachnid highlighted  as conservation priorities  in the forthcoming second Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Plan .
Information on SAM 2012 is being provided on the British Arachnological Society website. BSCG can also supply booking forms  for the meeting.
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CAPTIONS
A male money  spider (Dismodicus)  found recently in Juniper on a threatened site in Strathspey.  The prominent head extension appears to accommodate secretory pits   and may be associated with mating but we know of no detailed study of the function of such  structures in spiders.
Spiders are important predators here a spider on a threatened site in Strathspey with a  leaf hopper. In turn spiders provide food for birds and some birds exploit spider silk when constructing their nests as  recently described on Springwatch  that has been following the fortunes of the nest of a goldcrest through summer gales.
An arachnologist using suction to sample spiders in Scots pine  woodland in Strathspey that is a habitat supporting many kinds of  arachnids.

The first meeting of Arachnologists in Scotland for many years is taking place in Perth Museum on August 25th.  SAM 2012 ,  the Scottish Arachnologists’ Meeting,  is free and open to all. It provides a great opportunity for anyone interested in harvestmen, pseudoscorpions and spiders t to learn from others. It is hoped it will encourage more people to get more involved with arachnid survey and ecological studies of these important predators   in Scotland. 

From house spiders and garden arachnids  to harvestmen of the Falkland Islands there is a varied programme of talks with an optional field day. 

From small mesh weaver to the extraordinary gallows or wood ant spider and a number of  lively jumping spiders Badenoch & Strathspey & the Cairngorms area  harbours a fascinating range of arachnids including some scarce and threatened species that have been overlooked on sites threatened by development.  BSCG has for example documented the wood ant eating or gallows spider  Dipoena torva on three sites proposed for new housing development.

Reflecting improved knowledge BSCG anticipates there will be further  species  of arachnid highlighted  as conservation priorities  in the forthcoming second Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Plan.

Information on SAM 2012 is being provided on the British Arachnological Society website. BSCG can also supply booking forms  for the meeting.

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A male money  spider (Dismodicus)  found recently in Juniper on a threatened site in Strathspey.  The prominent head extension appears to accommodate secretory pits   and may be associated with mating but we know of no detailed study of the function of such  structures in spiders.

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Spiders are important predators here a spider on a threatened site in Strathspey with a  leaf hopper. In turn spiders provide food for birds and some birds exploit spider silk when constructing their nests as  recently described on Springwatch  that has been following the fortunes of the nest of a goldcrest through summer gales.

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An arachnologist using suction to sample spiders in Scots pine  woodland in Strathspey that is a habitat supporting many kinds of  arachnids.

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 Gallows spider with wood ant prey at a  threatened site in Strathspey one of several where BSCG has found this spider that is on the Scottish Biodiversity List.

Ladybirds of Badenoch and Strathspey Leaflet

Details
Written by Tim Ransom
Category: Leaflets
Published: 28 May 2012

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Our leaflet on Ladybirds of Badenoch and Strathspey.

Breach of Trust by the CNPA Letter

Details
Written by Administrator
Category: Debates
Published: 27 May 2012
The following letter  draws attention to a  clear breach of trust by the CNPA
it was published in the Strathy on 24 May 2012

The following letter  draws attention to a  clear breach of trust by the CNPA. It was published in the Strathy on 24 May 2012.

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CNPA Consultation document:

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Letter: Poor Planning Threatens Northern Damselfly

Details
Written by Administrator
Category: Debates
Published: 11 May 2012

Letter published in the Badenoch and Strathspey Herald 10 May 2012:

Sir,
Recently the Cairngorms National Park Authority were unanimously minded to approve a major development for a large retail outlet in Aviemore for which there is no reference in their local plan or any detailed associated 'Appropriate Assessment' or strategic assessment of environmental impacts, despite its proximity to a European Conservation Site. The proposal the CNPA supported conflicts with their own Policy 5 on Biodiversity and with the founding National Park legislation that gives legal primacy to the 1st aim of the Park where there is conflict with other aims. Further, the planning conditions do not follow best practice and, in terms of Scottish law, the CNPA have apparently breached their legal Biodiversity Duty.

Despite all this, and not to mention significant unaddressed concerns raised by Architecture + Design Scotland, senior CNPA board member, David Green, is quick to confidently conclude that the CNPA has achieved a "sustainable outcome as befits a National Park" (Strathy 'Park Talk' May 2).

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Northern damselfly - Coenagrion hastulatum coenagrionidae

One of the environmental impacts of the Tesco superstore is the complete destruction of the former Santa Claus land lochan that for over a century has been known as a breeding site for one of our rarest damselfies, the Northern damselfly. This beautiful insect is restricted in the UK to only some 35 sites since it appears to require very specific conditions. It has its stronghold in the Cairngorms and is classed as 'endangered' in the UK because it faces a 'very high risk of extinction in the near future'. Unsurprisingly, it is one of the species that Scottish Ministers have listed as of principal importance for conservation in Scotland and, being on the Scottish Biodiversity List, is a treasure for which the CNPA has national legal responsibilities. In addition, this pool has been assessed as of the highest conservation value and supports a wealth of other wildlife, including rarities.

The CNPA have proposed translocating the damselfly and other wildlife to a different site. Rightly, the CNPA themselves recognise that such a move would be experimental and there is no guarantee of success. Such an operation has not been tried before, little is known about the northern damselfly, it has characteristically low populations at its breeding sites and the CNPA do not know whether an appropriate pond and surrounding habitat exists or could be created. If the CNPA seriously want a successful outcome they should have ensured best practice is carefully applied. But rather than maximise the chances of success, the CNPA's planning conditions fail to ensure best practice and do not follow national policy on translocations. This policy requires that the new population is monitored over several generations - that is several years - in order to assess the outcome of the translocation. It seems to BSCG particularly irresponsible that the CNPA have apparently not stipulated that the original lochan must be safeguarded until the translocation is known to have been successful.

Like the lochan, the Milton or Aviemore Burn that runs beside the Tesco site also has an unusually high conservation value. Tesco's own ecologists have reported that this burn supports the Northern February red stonefly. This rarity now occurs nowhere in the world other than certain parts of Scotland. We have an exceptional responsibility for this fascinating species, yeits existence and its vulnerable status.

It is time that the CNPA started to appreciate that poor planning is particularly unacceptable in a National Park. The 'air brushing out' of conflicts with the natural heritage and the failure seriously to address specific environmental concerns is a sure road to environmental deterioration.

Gus Jones
(Covener Badenoch and Strathspery Conservation Group)