Stobo Residents Action Group Ltd
5th June 2024News Article by the John Muir Trust
Sitka spruce plantations at Stobo Hope, by the John Muir Trust
We are grateful to the John Muir Trust, a charity committed to protecting and restoring wild spaces in the UK, for publishing an article about Stobo Hope. The John Muir Trust is named after the Scottish-born, American environmentalist and John Muir's birthplace in Dunbar, east of Edinburgh, has a museum open to the public.
John Muir Trust News, ‘Sitka spruce plantations at Stobo Hope’, John Muir Trust, 17 May 2024.
Another article about the impacts of sitka spruce has been published by The Ferret, well-known for its investigative journalism.
Jamie Mann, ‘’Invasive’ sitka spruce threaten Scottish species and habitats, say experts’, The Ferret, 14 May 2024.
Reference was made to an assessment by NatureScot, the Scottish Government body, which found that sitka spruce was having a negative impact on protected bogland and heathland, was rapidly colonising native woodlands and killing Scots pines. This article also included contributions from the James Hutton Institute, an UK research institute and the Forest Policy Group, an independent think tank.
Fundraising so far
We are extremely grateful for your contributions, having raised nearly £15,000. We have extended our fundraising time by a further two weeks and we would be very grateful if you could mention our crowdfunder to others who may share similar concerns about the environment.
Additional funds are essential to proceeding with our Judicial Review and we hope that our legal challenge will be also an opportunity to contribute towards efforts by conservation bodies, environmentalists and foresters, to encourage a wider review of current forestry policy.
Website
We are developing a website with additional information about Stobo Hope with updates. Our website will include maps of the proposed forestry plans and pictures of the area being affected. We will provide further examples of flora and fauna threatened by the proposed forestry scheme.
An example of native woodland with unimproved grassland and heather moorland, Carrifran. Credit: Colin McLean Photography (copyright protected).
The Stobo Residents Action Group.