Thanks very much for the reply
@Heym SR20 .
I realised it was all done as a money-spinner, and that it had upset the apple cart, so to speak. I was curious as to the state of the forest, much improved or otherwise? Probably just a pipe dream, are the management really bothered about habitat improvement, or is it all purely financial?
You mention "pre-clearance." Are you referring to the Great Highland Clearance 1750 - 1860, or meaning when the Alladale was taken over?
I am talking the big clearances.
Re Alladale in the mid 1990’s to early 2000’s.
For context I wrote my undergrad thesis for Agriculture in the late 1980’s on the use of African wild ungulates for meat production on African range lands.
During my research it quickly became clear to me that the African landscape is a complex mix of grasses and herbs with scrubby bushes and trees. And the whole ecosystem is a constantly evolving and changing mix, with a vast range of different animals thriving on different layers. But to be successful and productive you need a mix of species. Sedentary species - impala, kudu etc are able to thrive on a mix of different vegetation abd they get through the dry winter months on fat reserves and being able to pick off seeds - mopane / acacia etc which then allows to digest low grade dry grasses, and they have internal fat reserves. In the meantime you have grazing animals - buffalo, wildebeest etc which are grass eaters and need high quality grass. Historically they cannot survive well in the dry season and hence they follow the rainfall and move to wetter locations. And the likes of Elephant which knock over trees to feed, creating new open areas but migrate over decades through 100s of miles allow trees to regrow.
At that point most of Southern, former colonial agriculture was mimicking European farming. Get rid of the bush, grow grass and farm cows, preferably British breeds such as Herefords.
Huge amounts had been spent over 100 years clearing indigenous animals and getting rid of Tetse fly. Likes of my father built large irrigation schenes across central aftica to produce irrigated pasture and alfaffa to feed such livestock.
But it didn’t really work. Regular drought and disease made such farming difficult. Wrong animal in an artificial environment not suited to the climate.
In late 80’s early 90’s some people were talking about game ranching. Most thought they were nuts. Game belonged in game reserves.
But Southern Africa now has more game than it ever used to. Farmers have found that by letting the bush regrow, reintroducing indigenous species you now have huge opportunities for different income sources from the land
1) meat production - a continuous and sustainable supply of high quality meat products that requires minimal input to grow the crop. Other than water supplies, a litte supplementary feeding (mineral blocks) etc and a bullet between the eyes, the animals human input is minimal, yet you are gettting more meat per km2 than you ever could with traditional farming techniques.
2) sport hunting for trophies for older mature animals and in the slightly more remote areas. Typically farmhouse based plains game hunts. Very good sustainable income shooting out the older animals which are beyond successful breeding age.
3) Africa / Wildlife Tourism. This is the more mass / up market photographic where people want to see Africa and the wildlife. But they want pretty / interesting landscapes, good infrastructure and comfortable but affordable accommodation.
Large swathes of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and to some extent Zimbabwe are now offering all of the above. They are very very different to very remote, truly wild areas, but for most of us going into those truly wild areas is well beyond our means as its bloody expensive and requires lots of resources even to just get into, let alone stay and hunt in such places.
Alladale, and many other parts of Scotland had the mindset that would potentially follow the African model - and that was very exciting.
As in, lets get rid of the sheep. As the lairds quickly found out, clearing the natives off the land to make way for sheep really didn’t work. Sheep are naturally a desert, dry country animal. They are non native and non adapted to wet Scotland, and Scottish intensive wool production didnt last long as it couldn’t compete with Australia and Argentine production of large volumes of much better wool.
And there was already quite considerable areas of land where deer had been excluded for a few years and the natural forests had already regrown. However such natural forests very quickly an impenetrable jungle and it needs big animals to manage it so that there is a continued cycle of regeneration
Deer are helpful, but you also good grazers and animals that can clean out bracken, roots and bugs etc. Deer will do this to some extent, but best is pigs or wild boar.
Alladale had vision of creating a landscape of Scottish natural woodland in various states of maturity with a wide range of animals and birds life that should be indigenous at 60°North type lattitudes, with income coming from multiple different sources, and in particular from visitors paying good money for the experience.
Where i think has got it totally wrong is
1) the messaging. All the focus on wolves and bears, just means that nobody is prepared to engage or listen. You immediately put yourself in the “nutter” camp.
2) Deer have been tarred with the Evil brush. I know several of the former stalkers in the Highlands. Many of them were hefted to the land just like the deer they managed - as in born land as were their fathers, grandfathers, great grandparents etc. They had grown up building quality herds of very good red deer, that provided sustainable harvest of many animals over many years.
I have stayed at one estate a little North of Alladale, but very similar land. They have a games room in which the biggest stag from each of last 140 years displayed. The carcass weight is shown on the plaque. Most are well over 25 stone.
If you get the stocking densities correct these estates can produce very good quality animals, not only trophy but in meat quality.
Many of these stalkers were got rid off and with that all their knowledge of how to manage the land and the deer.
3) the market for venison was allowed to absolutely crash. When I used to stalk up North in the 1990’s most of the 200 plus hinds were butchered in the larder and sold into the local market. The poorer beasts went to the game dealer.
4) Forestry management, upland management, deer management, river management, wildlife management and farm management are all treated in the UK as completely separate disciplines with absolutely no desire, willingness or need to cross reference and talk with each other. Mostly it is open warfare with occasional truce. Deer Management Groups sort of worked in the days when owners and stalkers would all get together and actually talk with each other face to face. Even better they would all deer counts together, kids were in the local schools and stalkers were cornerstone to mountain rescue. The likes of the Deer Commission and other Government Agencies had local representatives on the ground who were all part of the same community.
Nowadays all that is gone. Most of stalkers etc are gone. They are replaced by estate management companies driven from desks somewhere, interfacing with faceless government agencies.
And decision and policy driven by vested interests. Take fencing - I really question over the life of a forest (40,50 or 60 years) does a deer fence really make much difference to overall yield of timber. But having fencing a mandatory part of any planting / rewilding grant is bloody good for the well being of fencing contractors.
If we were producing high quality venison where we are getting a good price for the end product and this was seen as part of the overall income strategy, along with the sporting lets, tourism etc. And when it comes to taking out timber, the timber is of the type and quality that can be turned high grade product in the local market, rather shipped out and sold in bulk for paper milling elsewhere, wouldn’t the whole landscape be so so much better for all concerned.
Yes this is a vision, but it happens elsewhere. In Scotland we seem to be having a race to the bottom. And then we sell it all off to the lowest bidder for further rape and pillage.
