Background Since the start of the nineteenth century the extent of primary, active, lowland raised bog in the UK decreased from 95,000 ha to 8,100 ha, a decline of 85%. Two thirds of the remaining area is found in Scotland, and, despite the scale of destruction, Scotland still holds a significant proportion of raised bogs in good condition. The project focused on 45% of the existing resource in the UK within eleven SCIs (12 individual sites). All of the sites - whether large or small, private or public – had been subject to human intervention at some stage through peat cutting, drainage works, tree planting, scrub encroachment and grazing pressure. This is because raised bogs have traditionally been viewed as unproductive areas suitable only for ‘improvement’ through drainage and reclamation. They have little intrinsic economic value, especially since their use for domestic peat has all but disappeared. Objectives The objective of the project was to bring 1256 ha of active raised bog back up to a favourable condition by reducing existing or potential threats within the eleven sites and to increase the area of raised bog by a further 315 ha through the clearance of trees, scrub and heather. This was undertaken by a partnership of organisations involving the Forestry Commission for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The human dimension would also be addressed with a variety of measures to increase local interest and access to the eleven sites in order to raise awareness of the conservation value of raised bogs. A number of local open days were to be held, fact sheets produced and a conference organised to disseminate the results and best practice experiences of the project to other site managers for this habitat. Finally the local economy would benefit a little too through the use of local contractors to undertake the clearance work. Specific objectives were: To safeguard an active raised bog area of 1256 ha by reducing existing or potential threats that might adversely affect this area of active raised bog habitat, To increase the area of active raised bog by 315 ha by clearing trees, scrub and heather from raised bog sites, To create suitable conditions that will encourage the natural regeneration of additional degraded raised bog, To devise, implement and monitor a range of site management techniques aimed at improving the conservation management of a cSAC area of 3700 ha of active raised bog in Scotland, To promote good practice for the management of active raised bog habitats through demonstration, e.g. for example through holding a conference for other site managers and hosting a project website, To promote good practice for management of this habitat on other sites, To raise awareness nationally, regionally and within local communities about the international importance of active raised mires, To optimise the socio-economic return to local communities through site works, and, through the provision of appropriate access and awareness-raising activities, ensure that the sites are better integrated into the local community. Results The project was undertaken by the ‘Scottish Raised Bog Partnership’, a partnership between Forest Enterprise (Forestry Commission Scotland), Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Measured against the original objectives and targets, the project has been a success: it achieved the removal of 430ha of trees, clearance of 253ha of encroaching scrub, installation of 2,153 dams into ditches, erection of 12,101m of fencing and removal of 3.6ha of rank heather. On-going monitoring will be important to be able to assess in time whether the interventions have achieved their desired affects on site quality. Restoration work was completed successfully at eleven sites (10 cSACs); Bankhead Moss, Braehead Moss, Carsegowan Moss, Coalburn Moss, Cranley Moss, Dykeneuk Moss, Flanders Moss, Moine Mhor, Longbridge Muir, Kirkconnell Flow and Threepwood Moss. Site-based threats were addressed by clearing encroaching scrub, removing non native forest plantations, blocking ditches and controlling grazing. Work at the twelfth project site, Turclossie Moss, was hampered by the death of the owner and negotiations with the new owner could not be concluded within the lifetime of the project. The project encouraged closer working relationships between NGOs and government agencies and demonstrated good practice in its management works. The experience and results of the project are transferable to other sites within the UK and other Member States. A number of local open days were held on sites, information sheets were produced and an international conference organised to disseminate the results of the project to other site managers and stakeholders. Interpretive actions aimed at the wider public and communities included newsletters, interpretation panels and articles in local newspapers and magazines. Most site-based actions went according to plan and were overseen by the respective site managers from the partner organisations. Local Operational Planning Teams (LOPTs –a common approach in many UK projects) were set up to provide additional support, input and management infrastructure to the local operations. The role of the project steering group was more to oversee the overall project and support the project management team. The key outputs of the project were in the delivery of conservation actions on site, particularly the large-scale tree removal works on the Solway Mosses. As a second LIFE-Nature project on these habitats it has consolidated the achievements of the earlier work and ensured that the conservation value of the sites is becoming more recognised at both the national and local levels. The project actions, however, cannot by themselves guarantee success, hence the importance of ongoing monitoring. In many mire restoration projects the most that can be expected from intervention is to reverse a negative trend. Removing the apparent problem (trees or heather) alone does not necessarily address the main cause, which is usually disturbance to hydrological functioning. The interim conclusion from the heather baling work was that this approach encourages greater floristic diversity. On sites with relatively old stands of dominant heather this new approach may be a viable alternative to grazing or burning. Its use, however, may be restricted to flat, cut-over surfaces. Natural raised mire surfaces would have an important micro-topography which could be damaged by the technique. Where dams were installed there was an immediate effect of raising water levels, well demonstrated at Flanders Moss and Moine Mhor. Sphagnum cuspidatum is the first coloniser of the open water. The water table within the immediate vicinity of the ditch (typically 10m) is affected quickly, but it may take considerably longer to see the effects of ditch blocking across the wider site. The large-scale restoration projects at Longbridge and Kirkconnell build on previous projects (e.g. LIFE92NAT/UK/013400 and LIFE98NAT/UK/005432) and help to maintain momentum and build confidence in the restoration techniques. The changes at Longbridge Muir and Kirkconnell Flow are immediate. The removal of tree cover reduces interception/evaporation losses by c.30%; in addition removal of tree cover increases light to the benefit of sphagnum species. Innovative work at Longbridge Muir and Kirkconnell Flow on the development of harvesting tracks has meant that standard machinery can be used – minimising the need for expensive specialist equipment and costly alternative harvesting techniques. The encroachment of birch and pine onto raised bogs is an ongoing problem in the UK and anecdotal evidence (backed up from analysis of aerial photographs) suggests the rate of encroachment has accelerated within the last 10-15 years. The project explored alternative solutions to birch control, usually achieved by cutting and chemical treatment, via its experimental grazing programme. Results of the grazing experiment at Flanders Moss have been encouraging and the wider implications for management of the habitat may be significant. The approach is certainly more cost effective than standard scrub clearance techniques. The interpretation work on and around the sites has been valuable, particularly by raising awareness amongst the respective local communities. Perceptions of peatlands are usually negative but the newsletters and open days went a long way towards countering this perception. The project supported a network of site managers. The project partners, as part of their exit strategy discussions, recommended that a regular meeting of site managers take place, where generic problems and site progress can be discussed. Existing conservation/land management organisations will esnure the future management of each one of the project sites. All the sites will be monitored by Scottish Natural Heritage as part of their site condition monitoring programme and this will indicate whether the sites are in, or moving towards, favourable conservation status.