Inchcailloch island vision will help shape future

Nov 28 2008 by Tina Kemp, Lennox Herald (main ed)

THE future of one of Loch Lomond’s most precious features is being mapped out.

Inchcailloch island is the subject of an ambitious 25-year vision which aims to protect and promote its rich heritage and wildlife.

The historic island’s status as a national nature reserve is at the heart of a consultation launched by Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and Scottish Natural Heritage.

They have compiled detailed proposals of how they envisage the island – which lies close to Balmaha – will look in a quarter of a century.

And they plan to spend the next six years – until 2015 – laying the foundations which will ensure a viable and vibrant future for the island, once regarded as sacred.

The vision for Inchcailloch in 2034 is of an island with native woodland of a range of ages, with glades and dead wood incorporated into its regeneration.

Accessible visitor facilities will maximise the number of people able to discover the island’s varied wildlife, however its flora and fauna will be closely monitored to ensure minimum impact. The local community will also play a major role in the island’s management.

Those behind the scheme are set to embark on a range of projects dealing with the management of natural and cultural heritage, of people and of property.

These will include schemes promoting natural regeneration, an holistic visitor experience promoting learning and experience of natural heritage, and the provision of a high quality infrastructure to ensure that people of all abilities have an opportunity to visit.

Inchcailloch, which attracts thousands of visitors each year, became part of the Loch Lomond NNR in 1962 and was originally designated for its nationally important oak woodland and breeding birds.

Its woodland is of international importance and has been designated as part of the larger Loch Lomond Woods Special Area for conservation, which also has otters – known to frequent the island – as a qualifying feature.

It is also within the Loch Lomond Ramsar site, which relates to the loch’s population of Greenland white-fronted geese, although the birds do not use Inchcailloch.

The 1.34m long island is also home to the woodland beetle, and the Dor beetle which, thanks to its voracious appetite, keeps Inchcailloch clear of deer droppings.

It also has a famous burial ground, fascinating agricultural past and a spectacular 85m summit viewpoint.

Inchcailloch – which means the Island of the Old Woman – is one of the most accessible of the loch’s islands, which makes proposals for its future safeguarding all the more crucial.

The consultation document, which is open for comment till January 9, says the plans must be viewed in the wider context of East Loch Lomond which experiences “intense visitor pressure”.

The report continues: “The Inchcailloch proposals will need to be considered as part of a larger East Loch Lomond project that seeks to bring together representatives from various organisations, residents and other community based groups in an effort to develop and implement management proposals that conserve the special qualities of the area.”

The consultation document can be viewed at www.lochlomond-trossachs.org.