CE of JMT ‘on leave’

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Caberfeidh

Caberfeidh

Well-Known Member
In today’s ‘Northern Times’:

John Muir Trust CEO 'on leave' amid independent investigation
By Niall Harkiss - niall.harkiss@hnmedia.co.uk
Published: 14:19, 19 July 2023 | Updated: 14:20, 19 July 2023

The chief executive of the John Muir Trust, owners of Quinag Estate in Assynt, has been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

The wildland conservation charity has confirmed that CEO David Balharry is currently on leave while the independent review is carried out.

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David Balharry, chief executive John Muir Trust


John Muir Trust (JMT) representatives declined to provide any further details of the ongoing situation citing issues of privacy.

A spokesperson for the JMT said: "We can confirm that our chief executive, David Balharry is on leave while an independent investigation is under way.

"The John Muir Trust board must ensure that while this independent investigation is under way all parties concerned are treated with fairness, equity and respect for their privacy. Therefore the Trust is not in a position to disclose any further details at this time."

Mr Balharry was appointed as chief executive of the charity in October 2019.

When asked if the investigation was connected to the ongoing row over an out-of-season deer cull carried out in March, a JMT spokesperson added: "No. The John Muir Trust is continuing to implement its strategy and policies on land and deer management, political advocacy, community partnerships, the delivery of the John Muir Award and a range of other activities to protect wild places."
 
Aye, it’s been doing the rounds since the end of June.

A rumour that is also doing the rounds is that he was interviewed for American TV and said ’something he shouldn’t have’.
 
Allegedly he was interviewed by Thomas Opre but whatever he said was edited out. I don’t know if any of this is true.
 
Husky said:
David is the son of Dick Balharry, Dick did not have a high opinion of Stalkers and Gamkeepers.
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Good to know, a picture of the man is now forming. After reading about the father, it appears that he started his working life as an Underkeeper and progressed from there. It would be interesting to know what happened to give him a low opinion of Stalkers and Gamekeepers.
 
I presume that the Charity Commission has been notified of this and is being kept informed of any findings?
The JMT aren't high on my list of worthy charities, so it'll be interesting to see if this gets any more airtime.
 
Caberfeidh said:
Good to know, a picture of the man is now forming. After reading about the father, it appears that he started his working life as an Underkeeper and progressed from there. It would be interesting to know what happened to give him a low opinion of Stalkers and Gamekeepers.
Click to expand...
I used to walk him into eagle nests as an underkeeper back in the 80’s. I would of said he had the opposite opinion, back then anyway. Always remember him telling me to take in everything my boss told me as he knew more about the hill than he did.
 
Mossypaw said:
I used to walk him into eagle nests as an underkeeper back in the 80’s. I would of said he had the opposite opinion, back then anyway. Always remember him telling me to take in everything my boss told me as he knew more about the hill than he did.
Click to expand...
I met him several times around 2005, don't know what might have changed his mind but he definitely didn't like us.
 
Malxwal said:
Hopefully his reaming is public and painful.
Click to expand...
Many years ago, 25 to be exact, I was a supporter of the JMT. Back then they stated that they wanted to transform the landscape back to a richer and more diverse state by planting trees in fenced enclosures, letting them mature without grazing pressure from sheep and deer. They also stated that they wanted to work with the local communities close to their estates, seeing them as a necessary part of the ecosystem. I can look at several afforested areas in the NW Highlands and say to myself “I planted that”. I left a few years later, concerned even back then that the organisation was changing and local communities were not welcome.
Fast forward around 15 years and there was the scandal of shooting stags out of season and leaving the carcasses. A scapegoat was eventually found and a lad called Lester Standing was sacked. There have been several sources of friction since.
And now fast forward to today, where a report on their CEO has been published. Balharry has not come out of it well, but will he hang on?
Nowadays I’m disgusted by the actions of the trust. They actively work against the local communities and that can’t be tolerated. They also seem to have the ear of Nature Scot with regards to deer management and I would be happy if that stopped.
tfn.scot

Exclusive: the "downward spiral" of a Scots conservation charity - TFN

Insider dossier raises questions over finance, redundancies, governance and more
tfn.scot tfn.scot
 
Jesus - what a horror story - I wonder does Mr B play the fiddle to the backdrop of a burning smell?
Still, every cloud….
🦊🦊
 
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