Mapping the impact of the proposed Hvalá Power Plant on the wilderness of the Drangajökull Peninsula.

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In 2013 the European Union published a register of all the protected wilderness areas in Europe. The mapping that accompanied the register uses digital maps of land use, natural vegetation and remoteness from settlements and roads to create a picture of wilderness areas across Europe. This shows that a little over 42% of the top … Read more

A Dream of a Low Carbon Future

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A new book written by James McKay (University of Leeds) and Benjamin Dickinson is being launched this weekend describing a vision of the future of Leeds and it’s Yorkshire hinterland in 2150 after 2-3 degC of climate warming and post-sea level rise. Although the message is generally positive and told through cartoons and personal narratives, the … Read more

Talk to JMT Welsh Members Gathering

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Steve Carver gave a talk on mapping wildness in Wales to the John Muir Trust Welsh Members Gathering at Plas y Brenin on Saturday 1st October 2016. The meeting was well attended with over 60 members present including many folk from relevant agencies, NGOs and other bodies.

WRi on BBC Breakfast #wildbritain

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Steve Carver, Director, appeared on BBC Breakfast today being interviewed by Graham Satchell about what wild means and where we might find wild areas in Britain using WRi’s mapping approaches.  See: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/wildbritain?source=feed_text&story_id=1416411478372986 and on twitter at: https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/772668546425978880

A missed opportunity for our National Parks

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Defra, NE, NPE and the EA have just published a new 8 point plan for England’s National Parks. See: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509916/national-parks-8-point-plan-for-england-2016-to-2020.pdf No mention of rewilding, very little mention of wildlife and wild spaces, no mention of IUCN Cat2 national parks… a missed opportunity to think outside the box of culturally limited landscapes.

Alan Watson awarded prestigious ST position in USFS

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FORT COLLINS, Colo., Mar. 16, 2016 – A panel of scientists from across the United States met in January to review the career accomplishments of Supervisory Research Social Scientist Dr. Alan Watson of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute. The panel recommended Watson be promoted to an “ST” graded position in recognition of his contributions and leadership … Read more

RSPB publish report on persecution of birds of prey in Scotland

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A report published on 17th December 2015 by the RSPB details statistics on illegal killing of birds of prey in Scotland over the period from 1994-2014. It makes for uncomfortable reading. The key statistic is perhaps this: of all the confirmed poison abuse incidents in Scotland 57% were on grouse moor estates and a further … Read more

Stronelairg wind farm decision overturned on Judicial Review

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The controversial decision by the Scottish Energy Minister to approve the application for the 67 turbine wind farm in the Monadhliath Core Area of Wild Land (CAWL) in June 2104 resulting in the subsequent remove of this area from the final Wild land map by SNH has been overturned by Lord Jones in a Judicial … Read more