Tree planting in Coire na Ciste in the Cairngorms. Is it necessary? No, the forest is already returning.

Coire na Ciste is a long narrow V-shaped corrie on the north side of Cairn Gorm. Until 2005 it was part of the Cairngorm ski area and had chairlifts, drag lifts and a lodge. The runs down its steep sides were some of the most challenging at the resort. I can remember coming down it as a novice Nordic skier in the 1980s and swearing never to do so again I found it so terrifying!

In 2005 the Coire na Ciste facilities were closed. The resort wanted to funnel everyone onto the new funicular railway in Coire Cas. For twelve years the ski infrastructure was left to decay, making the corrie an eyesore. A Save the Ciste campaign was run by local skiers who wanted the lifts reopened. However in 2017 the lift towers felled and most of the structures removed, though some snow fences still remain and the boarded-up lodge is still there. The fences should be removed and the lodge demolished.

I walked up the corrie in 2017 while the demolition work was on going and wrote about it in this post. I noted then that “In places there is already some natural tree regeneration”.  Since then it’s become a peaceful place, very different to the theme park type playground just over the hill in Coire Cas. I often take the path up the ridge on the east side of the corrie to the quiet northern side of Cairn Gorm .

Recently it was announced that a high-altitude woodland is to be created in Coire na Ciste with about 30,000 native trees, including dwarf birch and montane willow, planted at around 600 metres. (BBC report, April 15). The Spey Catchment Initiative is leading the scheme, with funding from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and support from Cairngorm Mountain, which runs the ski resort, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which owns the land.

Is this necessary? I don’t think so. Woodland is already restoring itself in the corrie. I went to have a look at how its doing after hearing about the planting plan. Rather than take the ridge path I followed an old less-used path up the centre of the corrie next to the Allt na Ciste. I then wandered over to Cnap Coire na Spreidhe, a subsidiary top of  Cairn Gorm, before descending via the ridge path. What I found was that the regeneration has progressed more than I had realised. All the photos in this piece were taken on that walk and show that a new woodland is well underway without any management or interference.

The young trees are mostly Scots pine with some rowan  and also juniper and broom bushes. I didn’t see any dwarf birch or montane willow but I wasn’t carefully scouring the ground and these are easy to miss. However as the pines are growing up to 800 metres I would think that the place for a montane woodland is above that height.

Natural regeneration is always preferable to planting and it’s flourishing in Coire na Ciste. Spending time and money planting trees here would be a waste of time and money and could well disturb the trees already there. The forest should be left to grow and expand at its own rate and in its own time.