SGA members were on the scene to help bring the Cannich fire under control; their contribution being praised by local MSP, Kate Forbes.
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In the aftermath, the SGA said it should be mandatory for landholdings to have wildfire management plans, something which has now been adopted within the Park’s draft recommendations
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The SGA responded to the consultation on this subject, earlier in the week. You can read the full response below.
1/ The SGA is pleased to see that Fire Plans are being recommended. This was an SGA appeal following the Cannich wildfire, see: https://www.scottishgamekeepers.co.uk/latest-news/2023/2023-07-10-wildfire-prevention-plans-should-be-mandatory.php
It is good to see this issue being taken seriously, for the public, businesses and the environment.
2/ A subsection of the Plan has rightly focused on polarisation over land management issues potentially impacting willingness to help others tackle wildfires on their ground.
Following consultations with main Committee members and Youth Committee members operating in the Cairngorms National Park, the feeling is that sporting estates would be more inclined to assist on other landholdings where a genuine attempt has been made by those other landholdings to help themselves ie: in preventing wildfire and/or where these landholdings have voluntarily helped others who have experienced wildfire.
Despite a lot of work on this issue and it rising up the policy agenda, it still seems that the vast majority of people who have undertaken training are estate employees. Anecdotally, some of our members have learned that certain agencies have taken the view that their employees are ‘not fire fighters’ and so they are either only partially engaging in this, or not at all.
Whilst it is understandable that take-up of training will be highest amongst those that undertake muirburn as part of their job, there is still a responsibility on the shoulders of those creating more combustible fuel within the wider environment to think of the safety of neighbours, property and their own assets, should a fire spread. Consideration of these things ought to mean that more are actively training although it is negligible as to whether this is currently the case.
An additional consideration for sporting estates when it comes to attending fires on other landholdings is whether it is safe to send trained staff and equipment into areas of dense, flammable vegetation. If other landholdings have taken their responsibilities seriously, creating meaningful firebreaks, training staff and investing in good equipment, it will be safer for others to assist them. Our members attended a fire on others’ ground where unmanaged heather was so high that an argo toppled close to the coming flames because the extent and lie of a dip could not be clearly seen before being crossed. This represented threat to life and the potential loss of expensive equipment. Thankfully other estates employees were on hand to prevent harm. There are many factors to be considered when approaching fires, particularly where there are unmanaged fuel loads.
3/ It was pleasing to see the recommendations regarding firebreaks. SGA members with considerable fire experience caution that, if people are to create firebreaks in a meaningful way, these need to be of good size throughout the landscape and they must be regularly revisited. Burnt and cut areas can grow back vigorously. Simply mapping an area, creating a few small strategic fire breaks with a mower and thinking that the job is done will not work in stopping the spread of wildfire. Any regime must be robust enough to break up the vegetation across the holding and must be managed consistently.
4/ Estates feel that it is important that, if capital funding is to be given for equipment, then this must be done in a fair way, taken into account the considerable investments already made by others, from their own purse. Any grant must also carry the condition on the part of the recipient to ensure all staff know how to use the equipment. Some of our senior members have attended fires where equipment is present but staff don’t know how to use it or even to hand it over for others to deploy.
Prepared by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association
April 2025
