Product Description
Book Description
The National Trust for Scotland is one of the largest landowners in Scotland owning 300 square miles, or 1% of its countryside. Most people are aware that the Trust has ownership of and responsibility for--"on behalf of the nation"--many fine houses, castles and gardens. Few, however, are aware that, within its general purpose written into the 1935 Act establishing the Trust, it has responsibility also "...as regards lands for the preservation of their natural aspect and features and animals and plant life..." Half of the Trust land is designated for its natural heritage in one form or another, several properties are National Nature Reserves, one is a Council of Europe Diploma site and another is a World Heritage site for its natural heritage--the highest accolade that can be bestowed. This book is for the general public and members of the National Trust for Scotland who have an interest in, but a lack of knowledge of the natural heritage and its management on Trust properties. It is for those particularly, who are unaware of the rationale behind the aims of management, also, for those who have only a limited knowledge of many contemporary natural heritage management principles and issues in Scotland, within which Trust properties are managed. At present there is no single, accessible source which meets this role: site leaflets being very brief documents and management plans being rather inaccessible.
Synopsis
The National Trust for Scotland is one of the largest landowners in Scotland, owning one per cent of its countryside. Half of the Trust land is designated for its natural heritage in one form or another, one being a World Heritage site - the highest accolade that can be bestowed. This comprehensive title looks at the Trust's credentials for natural heritage management and examines the properties it owns. Could or should the Trust expend its resources equally across its natural heritage responsibilities? How does it fulfill its role as landlord and as part of the local community? These questions and others are answered in this book. The opening chapter briefly discusses the history of the Trust and discusses some of the general countryside management issues of the day with which the Trust has to grapple. There then follows chapters on ten properties which look critically and intimately at their management. The final chapter sums up where the Trust stands today as a natural heritage manager for Scotland and suggests that there is an opportunity ahead for radical change.
