Robin Page writes, or rants, about forests, grey squirrels and conservation charities in the Mail on Sunday. As usual with Robin, everybody is doing everything wrong in a rather unspecified and vague way - but he's very cross about it.
For a more thoughtful piece, which you won't find on line, try the Sunday Express and Stuart Winter's regular Birdman column. Stuart is right to point out that our woodland wildlife is not in great shape - he knows his stuff. He likes our idea of a Forest and Wildlife Service - of which more tomorrow - and seems to think that Caroline Spelman has wildlife's interests at heart.
The Sunday Times (remember you have to pay to see this) seems to think that red squirrels care who owns the woods they live in. Since their main threat is from the non-native grey squirrel, which carries a disease to which red squirrels are particularly susceptible, it isn't immediately clear to me why red squirrels are signing up to keeping all forests in state ownership. And, of course, red squirrels have declined in numbers and range throughout the period since 1919 when the Forestry Commission was created. It would be a bit tricky to say that our squirrels are safe in FC's hands. Although if they had been a Forest and Wildlife Service rather than a state timber company then maybe things would have been better. Just maybe.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
If you want a longer rant he offers to sell you his book,perhaps someone get you it as a present for xmas Mark.
Of course the Red Squirrels want a state owned forest to live in. In a private forest their main predator in England [Pine Martins extinct in England thanks to shooting in private woodland] the Goshawk would be totally wiped out. Predator/ prey relationships are so important. Ask Red Squirrels with pox who would remove them to stop the disease spreading.
However all this forestry business many work out, including the distinct possibility that the FC and Natural England come under the "same roof" I think it is important that the FC section, or whatever they end up being called, is given a strong push into being more wildlife and biodiversity friendly from now on. As you point out Mark, their past record has not been great in this respect, (although recently, maybe, they have been a little more responsive in that direction). Their new remit, assuming there is one, should therefore have written into it the need to ensure biodiversity is given a much, much higher priority.
redkite