Funding cuts and job losses means countryside rangers are at risk of becoming an endangered species, finds Sandra Dick

The bracken on Mull has turned rusty brown, the golden eagle chick which hatched near the island’s Craignure Golf Course has grown plump and the red deer rut will soon reach its noisy, haunting peak.

Autumn has brought its rich palette of shades to the Inner Hebrides. But while nature’s glory is all around, it’s being overshadowed by dark clouds hanging over the future of the islands’ ranger service.

Moray Finch of Mull and Iona Community Trust, which oversees the service, says one of the two rangers has been in the job for 20 years. During that time, he says, they have devoted countless hours to the islands’ nature, shared their knowledge with schoolchildren and curious visitors, acted as go-between for landowners and land-users, organised beach cleans, helped with archaeological digs and bird watches, and kept a ground-level eye on wildlife, plants, paths and waters.

Yet, in a move which has raised eyebrows at a time when protecting Scotland’s natural environment has been placed high on the national agenda, Mull and Iona’s countryside rangers – and scores of others around the country – are seeing their grant support slashed, leaving jobs and the future of the service in jeopardy.

From January, Scottish Natural Heritage will slash its grant aid to services in some of Scotland’s most fragile areas – including Mull and Iona.

Forestry and Land Scotland, meanwhile, has also indicated it will remove all of its support for Mull and Iona’s rangers service from next April.

Elsewhere, countryside rangers funded by local authorities and

arms-length trusts have also seen jobs and funding cut.

In Mull and Iona – and on Skye where the two rangers left their posts in 2017 meaning there is nobody to serve an island in the grip of a tourism boom – concern is growing that a vital component of rural life is being lost at a time of increasing pressure from visitors seeking to connect with the islands’ natural beauty.

A one-day conference to discuss the situation on Skye was held yesterday, when residents and businesses heard how the loss of the two rangers there has created a “serious gap” in the management of visitors, with much of the work falling on the shoulders of voluntary groups, accommodation providers and shop keepers.

Meanwhile, in Mull, suggestions the rangers seek “project funding” from a wide range of sources – including the NHS for its ranger-led walks for dementia patients and schools – to plug the financial gap has raised concerns that time will be spent seeking funds rather than tackling countryside issues.

“This a Scotland-wide issue, and it’s affecting us quite seriously,” said Finch, general manager of the trust. “There was one point earlier this year when I feared that along with celebrating 20 years’ employment for one of the rangers, I’d also be having to warn them of the chance of redundancy.

“We will just have to knuckle down and go for different project funding but I suspect 15% of the job will be taken up preparing funding applications.”

He added: “I think it will make the visitor experience poorer. There’s a heck of a lot of benefits derived from the rangers service and if it does go it will be very hard to deal with it.”

The Mull and Iona service faced a 50% cut in funding from SNH. However, last week – as a Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee heard a Scottish Countryside Rangers Association call for action to support Scotland’s rangers – there were hopes of a temporary reprieve.

A spokesperson for SNH said: “We are aware of concerns raised by the Mull and Iona Ranger Service about the impact of this reduction on them. We are currently reviewing the specific issues raised in this case and are optimistic that these can be resolved to ensure the continuity of this service for the next two years.”

However, the organisation confirmed its funding for the 15 ranger services which it currently supports around the country will drop in January from £219,000 annually to £290,000 over two years – equivalent to an annual cut of £74,000. The number of services it funds will decrease to 13, after two – based within a private estate – did not accept a funding offer.

It added that funding will also be reduced to cover a maximum of one full-time equivalent ranger per service.

The spokesperson added: “We will be working closely with all affected services to support them through this transition and help them identify alternative sources of funding.”

The move has sparked concerns that ranger services will have to introduce charges to previously free countryside ranger events to help close any funding gap, potentially excluding less well-off groups.

Bob Reid of SCRA said that would be at odds with the original ethos of the ranger service: “The ranger service in Scotland has a national and international status. Denmark copied our system of rangers and we were the only ranger service in the world to have the image of people on our badge.

“I feel sad that ranger services are in this position. There’s a climate emergency, and rangers are the eyes and ears of the countryside.”

A survey by SCRA last year showed 140 ranger jobs have been lost over a decade, representing a 40% collapse in numbers. Around half were within local authorities after ring-fenced funding, initially provided by Scottish Natural Heritage, was stopped in 2008. It was then issued as part of the council block grant, while SNH funding is provided for NGOs, community and private organisations.

However, many authorities went on to restructure their departments, often placing countryside rangers within an “environmental” group dominated by key services such as recycling and waste collection.

Rangers’ representatives and supporters argue the full extent of their multi-layered role – which can span wildlife fire prevention to education and conservation work – has become under-appreciated.

There are further claims that increased pressure caused by workload and concerns over solitary working has led some countryside rangers to report mental health problems.

The SCRA petition calls for a national strategy for countryside rangers and points out that there are currently more than 60 different organisations employing rangers – including local authorities, trusts and private estates – all of which work independently.

SCRA chairman George Potts said: “Given the wide scope of what we do, whether it’s school groups, health groups, nature conservation, it’s easy for us to fall off the end of the equation.

“When you are working in small groups of three or four people, losing a post or two has a big impact.

“Workload stays the same, but customer expectation has grown, and it is putting a huge strain on people.”

He told last week’s Petitions Committee: “We are finding rangers are having mental health issues because of the increased pressure.

“A lot of them are being moved back to being a single person service and there are health and safety issues related to that.

“I spoke to one young ranger who works in an urban area of Lanarkshire. She has to go to work in nature reserves and has to take a volunteer with her to feel safe enough to carry out her job.”

The Petitions Committee resolved to raise the issues facing the ranger service with the Scottish Government. A Cosla spokesperson said: “Cosla recognises the important job performed by countryside rangers. We have agreed to work with SNH and countryside rangers to support the review of the 2008 ranger policy statement.

“We will also look for opportunities to raise the profile of the countryside ranger service within local government, including highlighting the role which they play and the benefit which rangers can deliver for communities.”

Forestry and Land Scotland provided an annual £12,000 grant for Mull and Iona’s ranger service, along with a £5,000 contribution towards its vehicle costs. The funding is due to cease in April.

A spokesman for Forestry and Land Scotland said: “We have worked in partnership with the Mull and Iona Community Trust (MICT) for a number of years and on a number of projects that have benefited residents and visitors.

“Our principal involvement was with the Mull Eagle Watch, which was a good match with our conservation objectives.

“Established over 10 years ago, it aimed to protect the two pairs of eagles on the island from disturbance and to provide an opportunity for the general public and tourists to view them.

“However, since then the eagles have flourished (there are now 18 pairs on Mull), MICT has flourished and we no longer manage the forest and land that the project is on.

“This combination of factors means that we have taken a step back and MICT is reviewing its capacity to take responsibility for planning and delivering the Ranger Service in future.

“We will continue to work with Mull and Iona Community Trust to help them explore and develop other opportunities and will reviewing how we manage these changes throughout the year.”