Chamber and committees

The Non Native Species Action Group met once in 2020. The group’s main purpose is to prioritise and coordinate action on invasive non-native species (INNS) in Scotland.

NatureScot and other public bodies take an operational lead on providing advice to land managers and coordinating priority action to control INNS. The lockdown in spring 2020 resulted in the cessation of fieldwork for the control of INNS, with work resuming under Phase 1 of the Covid-19 route map. However, in light of the current ‘stay at home’ regulations, engaging the public in voluntary work to manage INNS has been temporarily suspended by many projects.

Progress on rhododendron:

In March 2017, Scottish Forestry published An Approach to Prioritising Control of Rhododendron in Scotland . This document encourages landscape-scale partnership work, specifically within designated sites.

Scottish Forestry’s approach to controlling invasive rhododendron aims to ensure effective use of available funds by targeting entire local populations and focussing effort on priority areas. Rhododendron control plays an important part in restoring native woodlands, which was identified as a priority in Scotland’s Biodiversity: A Route Map to 2020 . Much of this work is being taken forward under the umbrella of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforests, a voluntary partnership of more than 20 organisations committed to collaborative action for the benefit of native woodlands. The Alliance aims to establish projects across the rainforest zone.

There are also additional projects in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National park near Aberfoyle and Inversnaid, tackling rhododendron at a landscape scale.

In 2019, NatureScot organised a sharing good practice event in Appin to share and learn from experiences of rhododendron control projects in Scotland.

Progress on other invasive species projects:

Scotland’s Biodiversity Route Map identified a number of other priority projects aimed at tackling invasive species:

• The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative partnership, which covers almost a third of mainland northern Scotland, is tackling a suite of invasive non-native plants (giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed, American skunk cabbage) and the American mink. Since 2018 more than 50,000 volunteer hours have been provided to support American mink control and more than 15,000 volunteer hours to invasive plant control. The project has also supported 175 volunteers to gain formal qualifications to build capacity and skills to maintain control programmes beyond the end of the scheme.
• The Biodiversity Challenge Fund, administered by NatureScot, is providing additional funding for invasive plant control within Rivers Tweed and Endrick catchments.
• The Hebridean Mink Project, run by NatureScot, aims to prevent significant losses to ground nesting birds in the Western Isles. Mink numbers are now at very low levels, with only isolated animals being caught in certain areas of Lewis and Harris and North Uist. Large areas of the Outer Hebrides remain free of mink, to the benefit to the indigenous wildlife.
• The Uists are home to internationally important populations of ground nesting wading birds. Research carried out by NatureScot has shown that removing introduced hedgehogs can allow more wader nests to hatch successfully and give wader populations the best chance to recover. North Uist remains free of hedgehogs.
• The Shiants Seabird Recovery Project removed a population of black rats, which were threatening an internationally important seabird colony. The Shiant Isles were officially declared rat-free in 2018 and there are encouraging signs that storm petrels may be returning to the islands breed. Following on from this project, the RSPB-led Biosecurity for LIFE project is raising awareness of the threat of invasive predators and putting in place systems to prevent their accidental introduction to islands.
• Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project that is working to contain the spread of grey squirrels in Scotland. Thanks to the work of project staff and community volunteers, red squirrels have returned to the city of Aberdeen, and are continuing to hold their own in parts of southern Scotland and in much of the north of Scotland.
• Orkney Native Wildlife Project aims to ensure that the unique native wildlife of the Orkney Islands is safeguarded from stoats, which were first seen there in 2010. The project passed a significant milestone in February 2021 as the trapping team reported 1,000 stoats have now been caught.