‘Logging horse’ hops on board barge to head to work!
The newest form of timber transport has teamed up with the oldest. It’s all in a bid to restore a spectacular remnant of Caledonian pinewood and Scotland’s rainforest.
Logging horse ‘Tarzan’ will be commuting to work aboard a brand-new barge whose Gaelic name Each-Uisge translates as ‘Water Horse.’
The state-of-the-art modular vessel is being deployed to remove timber from a very remote area of forest on the shores of Loch Arkaig in Lochaber.
Loch Arkaig Pine Forest contains rare fragments of ancient Caledonian pinewood. Back in the 1960s it was planted through with non-native conifers. Now mature, these trees are crowding out the remaining pines – and other native trees.
A total of 70,000 tonnes of mainly Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine is being removed over a five year period so that the remaining native trees can reclaim the site with their offspring.
Part of the forest known as The Gusach is so remote that the only practical way to reach it is over the loch itself.
The modular barge has been custom-built so that a forwarder laden with logs can drive onto its deck to be ferried across the loch to the roadside on the opposite bank.
The deployment of such a barge is thought to be a UK first for timber transport over freshwater. Woodland Trust Scotland’s ambition is to ultimately power it on an EV charger like an electric car – which will be a world first.
Years of planning and preparation
‘It has taken years of planning and preparation to get our barging scheme up and running,’ says Henry Dobson, Estate Manager of Woodland Trust Scotland.
‘It is very exciting to see the first loads of timber coming off. For the last two winters, we have successfully been removing non-native timber along a forest track from the easier to reach parts of the forest.’
‘But the remoteness of The Gusach has been a huge challenge to overcome. Building a track in would have destroyed a lot of the special habitats we are here to restore in the first place. So, we decided that the only acceptable route was over the loch itself.’
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have effectively supported the purchase of the site and the ongoing restoration – with a total contribution so far of £1.8M.
‘There is such a great opportunity at Loch Arkaig to restore a fully natural native woodland and all the amazing biodiversity associated with it,’ explains Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery.
‘But it must be done while there are still some old trees around to produce offspring. It has taken considerable ingenuity to clear the non-native conifers, of which the barge is a great example. We are delighted our players are supporting this important and exciting work.’
A partnership to restore woodland
Woodland Trust Scotland bought the site in partnership with local group Arkaig Community Forest. They are restoring the woodland together – while seeking to stimulate economic activity in the community of Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes.
‘Our community has created a tree nursery supporting three part time jobs, growing locally sourced native trees such as Scots pine, oak, birch, aspen and rowan,’ says Liam McLoone, Arkaig Community Forest chairperson.
‘We have also set up a deer larder which supports two part time jobs and supplies venison for local consumption.’
‘Timber milling in the forest has potential to create even more local jobs in the future. Working together with the Woodland Trust we are maximising the benefits for nature and people.’
The Arkaig barging scheme will be watched closely by the wider forestry sector. Many non-native conifers were planted around Scotland in the sixties and seventies.
Sometimes there was no clear plan on how the mature crop could be moved to market.
The Each Uisge was fabricated at Troon in Ayrshire and is operated by JST Services (Scotland) Ltd. It weighs in at 55 tonnes and measures 21 metres (nearly 70 feet).
The modular design allows it to be taken apart and re-assembled so it can be transported with relative ease into many freshwater lochs, cutting out the need for new forest tracks. It reached Loch Arkaig from Ayrshire by lorry and travelled via Glencoe.
‘We are proud to introduce this pioneering modular barge system, which has helped unlock the timber in the Gusach at Loch Arkaig,’ says Richard Jennings, Managing Director of JST Services (Scotland) Ltd.
‘The barging not only addresses environmental concerns, by negating new road construction through important peatland, but also demonstrates our commitment to driving positive change aligned with our client’s and stakeholders’ objectives.’
‘Looking forward, we hope to review alternative fuels for the barge and will continue to lead on innovation within the sector.’
Using horsepower to protect the environment
A specialist wheeled tractor will be used to fill an attached trailer with timber before the barge transports it across the Loch.
Woodland Trust Scotland contracts Tarzan and his handler Simon Daken of Blue Green Conservation as part of the timber extraction effort at Loch Arkaig.
Modern harvesting machinery might be deployed but environmentalists see a horse as being the best way to work, especially if there are sensitive natural features. The disturbance left by a horse is ideal for trees to seed in naturally.
For the next few weeks Tarzan and Simon will take the barge in to The Gusach on Monday mornings, work and camp through the week before barging out again on Fridays.
Three forestry workers will also be living and working in The Gusach over winter, operating two harvesting machines and the forwarder.
Felling on the site is taking place over winter to avoid disturbing nesting birds and other wildlife during the breeding season. The forest is home to native species including red deer, ospreys, sea eagles, pine martens and red squirrels.
‘We are intervening to kick-start all the natural processes of the forest back up and running again. Ultimately the goal is to be able to step back, do very little and let the forest get on with things naturally,’ says Henry.
The news comes after a recent announcement that more than £1 million will be used to plant additional trees on the slopes of a Highland mountain.
Woodland Trust Scotland is to receive the money from Scottish Forestry over a five year period. It will be used to help plant an area which covers nearly 650 acres.
Ben Shieldaig in Torridon currently hosts a pine rainforest on one flank with a birch rainforest on another.
Woodland Trust Scotland is separately providing funding for additional planting in an area covering more than 200 acres.
