Rangers patrolling to tackle dirty campers
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Highland Council’s new Seasonal Access Ranger Team (Sart) is now patrolling the region tackling issues such as dirty camping which blighted parts of Caithness last year.
The team is based throughout the Highlands to promote and advise on responsible access to the countryside through the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. This follows some preliminary Saturday patrols by Access staff who saw a gradual increase in campers particularly in the Lochaber area.
In response to last summer’s issues with dirty camping in many Highland locations, where many communities and land managers were appalled at the behaviour of some of the visitors, the council has developed a multi-service Visitor Management Plan and allocated £1.5M to implement it. A key part of that plan was £300K for the establishment of a 10-person Sart. This team will cover a third of the Scottish land area or nearly 26,500 square km which was identified as a considerable task for ten people. Working in collaboration with a number of partners the council’s outdoor access manager submitted a bid to NatureScots Better Places Green Recovery Fund for a further seven posts. Confirmation of this funding was received last week.
The bid has secured seven more council-managed rangers. These extra posts allowed a redistribution of the original 10 posts to ensure more areas of Highland have a ranger patrolling the popular scenic places.
Rangers will patrol sites and engage with visitors to ensure awareness of the Outdoor Access Code, they will monitor use and report incidents to the relevant council teams or emergency services. The rangers will also carry out duties to keep tidy, maintain and manage council owned sites, core paths and work with communities and land managers on other sites to protect the habitats and respect for the landscape. Where possible, the rangers will work with local volunteers to engage with visitors.
Responsible camping will be a key priority and in most cases this will mean a "no fires" message. There is a significant fire risk throughout the Highlands in the summer months and lighting camp-fires on peaty ground, woodland, grassland or moors is irresponsible and contrary to the Code. It is also irresponsible to light fires close to buildings, historic monuments and within 30m of a public road. Even small fires cause significant damage to our natural environment from the scorch marks, the trees cut down or the dead wood housing insects. Much of this damage takes years to recover and leaves behind a disruptive mark on the beautiful landscape.
Sart will work in small teams of two or three in six areas around Highland these are; Lochaber, Skye, Wester Ross, NW Sutherland, East Highland and Loch Ness, Ross and Nairn. Note that Rangers will work weekends and will not be available Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
People can contact the ranger team, but people are reminded to be realistic in their expectations and note that the team is not an emergency service and is there to educate and engage rather than enforce.
The team can be contacted by email at accessrangers@highland.gov.uk or by phoning the senior rangers on 07881 298503 for the south (Skye, Lochaber and SW Ross) and 07909 051223 for the north (all other areas).
