Deep in the Scottish Highlands, a process of regeneration is taking place
Over 100 years they’ve been more used for sporting pursuits, to serve a Victorian ideal. Our landscape now is very different from what it was 18 years ago when I bought Alladale. Inspired by the recovery of Yellowstone National Park after the return of top predators, Lister initially proposed placing a high fence around the 23,000-acre estate and bringing back Eurasian wolves and brown bears.
As a result, the wolf enclosure plans were put on hold while the reserve focused on restoring habitats, breeding Scottish wildcats and educating visitors.
“If you fly from London to Istanbul, you will fly over nothing but a manifested landscape where we just literally dug, cut and plowed,” Lister said in an interview with Rewilding Magazine. Lister said moving away from traditional field sports could also create new economic opportunities. “Conservation restoration, rewilding, gives opportunity to tourism,” Lister told Rewilding Magazine. “A common misconception that I encounter is that rewilding means without humans,” said Pieter-Paul Groenhuijsen, General Manager of Alladale Wilderness Reserve, in a report published by Leisure Lab. ” Groenhuijsen said restoration on this scale needs to be viewed over generations rather than short business periods. “We’d like to see results, but this is a legacy project,” Groenhuijsen told Leisure Lab.
Guests can take part in guided nature walks, 4×4 wildlife safaris and educational tours about the estate’s conservation work and environmental research. “And you think to yourself, what are the Scottish Highlands being used for? And also sheep farming. Neither of which, really, increases or improves the biodiversity of the land, or gives much in the way of livelihood to the communities in the area. “That field sport pursuit, in the UK, is vanishing. I’d rather be part of the new growth industry than something that is on its last legs. You can see there’s clear evidence of lots of restorative work, and more vegetation and less deer running around. Lister’s wider plans for Alladale have caused debate among local residents, farmers and landowners While the tree planting and red squirrel projects have received praise. The idea was to study whether apex predators could naturally reduce deer numbers and encourage vegetation growth through changes in the food chain. The plan faced strong opposition from neighbouring landowners, farmers worried about livestock attacks and outdoor access groups concerned about Scotland’s legal right to roam. “It’s really the opposite. Rewilding is about humans. It starts with us. It’s a change of mindset. It’s about coexistence and reassessing our place among nature, as guardians, as safekeepers, and our imbalance with nature. “It’s for future generations. We don’t see a mature forest here now. We planted almost a million trees so far. We want to see them when they’re mature, but it’s not for us.”