Case Study : Deer Management
Kinveachy Estate - A New Approach to Land Management
The 12,000 hectares Kinveachy Estate (part of the Seafield and Strathspey Estates) in the Upper Spey Valley is located partly within the Cairngorms National Park. The estate is renowned for quality salmon fishing, grouse shooting and red deer stalking.
Kinveachy Estate has entered into a pioneering joint-agency approach to achieve a positive balance between private and public benefits arising from estate management activities. As a consequence of the estate's new policy on deer management, a significant improvement is expected in the enhancement and regeneration of an internationally important natural habitat. In addition, the switch in policy to increase the public benefits of estate management will provide a benchmark for estate management elsewhere across the UK.
Much of Kinveachy estate is designated as being important under the European Natura 2000 Directive. A recent change in estate management policy acknowledges the conservation value of the area and seeks to manage the commercial sporting activities with this in mind.
Some 44% of the Estate's land area is designated as a SSSI, over half of which is considered to be of European importance. Ten of the 34 habitats listed in the Local Biodiversity Action Plan for the Cairngorms are within the Kinveachy SSSI. In addition, a significant number of the UK priority Biodiversity Action Plan species occur within the estate boundaries.
A key estate management objective is to maintain and enhance the quality of the Scots Pine forest, the bog woodland and the species populations listed in the Biodiversity Action Plan which include the capercaillie and the Scottish crossbill.
The estate management team recognise that to deliver this key objective there has to be a substantial reduction in deer grazing pressure, and a reduction of around 80% of the deer population has been proposed. The primary aim of the new management approach is to deliver increased sustainability in terms of both nature conservation and economic stability of the estate.
In August 2005 a joint-agency approach was agreed between Strathspey Estate and Scottish Natural Heritage, The Deer Commission and Forestry Commission Scotland for a collaborative management approach that will balance conservation and commercial objectives pursued by estate management. This innovative initiative, valued at £450,000 over ten years, will support Kinveachy Estate in transforming a traditional sporting business into a more sustainable and diverse enterprise providing important public benefits. At the heart of the initiative is a ten-year Deer Management Plan, which will be supported and monitored by The Deer Commission for Scotland.
The Kinveachy Deer Management Plan
Aims and Objectives
The primary purpose of the Inter-Agency initiative is to enhance the Caledonian pine forest and bog woodland habitats, including habitats which are important for capercaillie, in Kinveachy Forest Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation. The Agreement also aims to maintain the current extent of juniper scrub habitat on Kinveachy Forest SSSI. The reduction and maintenance of deer populations at lower densities will achieve a number of objectives, which will:
- Enhance the Caledonian pine forest habitat within the Special Area of Conservation, and maintain the condition of the moorland habitats on the rest of the SSSI, through appropriate management.
- Demonstrate a voluntary partnership approach to managing deer impacts on the natural heritage by delivering habitat enhancement through effective joint-working and integration of SNH and Forestry Commission Scotland incentives.
- Demonstrate the benefits of managing deer populations at lower densities and encourage land managers to consider habitat enhancement as a viable output of deer management.
Trends in Deer Numbers and Densities
There has been a significant increase in deer numbers since 1993, from around 600 to 1600 in 2002. Numbers have fallen since then to around 1100, due to a reduction programme as deer numbers were affecting the habitats available to protected bird species, in particular the capercaillie. The current winter density level of 27 deer per km 2 prevents improvement to the pine forest and woodland interests on the Natura sites. Consequently, the density of red deer on Kinveachy is to be reduced from present levels to a winter density of 4 deer per km 2 by 2008.
Habitat Impacts
The primary objective of the Kinveachy Deer Management Plan is to enhance the condition of the Natura Caledonian pinewood - the primary target indicator to measure the success of the deer management agreement. It is unlikely that the habitat target will be achieved during the first 3 years of the Plan. Progress will be assessed against an agreed reduction in cull targets set out in the Plan for this initial period. Thereafter, monitoring the recovery of tree seedlings will be the main criterion for judging success.
Other Herbivores
Annual monitoring will be used to detect browsing impacts on tree seedlings from roe deer, sika deer, sheep and mountain hares. As red deer numbers are reduced and habitats start to regenerate, the numbers of roe might begin to increase, so culling of roe deer will continue as at present. Sika deer are also present in the Kinveachy woodlands and efforts will be made to keep population numbers down to prevent them becoming resident on the open range, thus reducing their potential to cause damage to habitats. Mountain hares are also present which could also contribute to impacts on woodland and moorland regeneration. Surveillance and monitoring of hare impacts are part of the joint-agency approach with the estate
