• Grosvenor’s Reay Forest Estate, located in Sutherland in the north west Highlands, has been awarded the highest score in Europe of any organisation accredited by Wildlife Estates, receiving an overall rating of 91.75%.
• The estate is also the first organisation in the UK to receive a gold accreditation.
• The award was made possible thanks to several ambitious landscape-scale projects across the estate promoting nature recovery and climate resilience.

Grosvenor’s Reay Forest Estate has been awarded the highest score of any organisation in Europe that is accredited by Wildlife Estates, a respected international body that recognises exemplary land management and conservation practices.

As part of its assessment, the Reay Forest Estate is also the first organisation in the UK to receive a gold accreditation. 

Wildlife Estates is a network of more than 580 estates that operate across 19 countries in Europe, collectively managing more than two million hectares of land. For more than 20 years, it has worked to promote sustainable land management and conservation that delivers an economic, social and environmental benefit. 

Revered for the beauty of its untouched landscapes, Reay Forest is considered one of Europe’s last remaining wildlands – areas that are largely unaffected by development – and is managed to protect, enhance and restore its sensitive natural environment.  

Assessors described Reay Forest as “one of the leading examples in Scotland when it comes to species and habitat monitoring, enhancing biodiversity and delivering on landscape-scale projects”.

The estate has been accredited with an overall score of 91.75%, the highest ever given by Wildlife Estates. It didn’t receive a higher score only because the assessors deemed that some projects were still ongoing and that it was too early to obtain more comprehensive evidence of their positive impact. 

This exceptional assessment was made possible thanks to Grosvenor’s investment in several ambitious initiatives, each meeting the highest standards of science-based reporting:

Natural capital baselining 

o    Over the past year, alongside Grosvenor’s two other rural estates, the Reay Forest Estate has undergone the most accurate information gathering on record of its soils, water and all the living things in its environment, enabling the organisation to make more informed decisions to promote nature recovery and climate resilience.

o    Alongside existing data, the estate’s expert teams are working with specialist consultants and partner organisations to undertake an extensive ground truthing exercise. A series of science-led surveys have been carried out across the rural estates including using lasers to scan from the air to create 3D models of the land that are accurate to 5cm, soil organic carbon sampling – measuring the soil’s ability to store carbon and water – as well as an innovative pilot investigating whether environmental DNA in soils can be used as an early indicator of ecological biodiversity and therefore soil health.

Wild Atlantic salmon conservation 

o    Working in partnership with conservation charity the Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST), the Reay Forest Estate is delivering one of the UK’s most extensive landscape-scale, ecosystem-wide, conservation projects with the goal of restoring critically endangered wild Atlantic salmon populations. 

o    It is hoped the project will restore 118km2 of the landscape – an area the size of urban Manchester – and plant up to a million trees, enhancing biodiversity and benefitting the whole ecosystem. 

o    The effectiveness of these management actions is being continually assessed using robust science and the latest monitoring techniques, with the knowledge gained benefiting other river systems throughout the world. One of the largest fish telemetry systems in Scotland was installed, featuring both Passive Integrated Transponder tag arrays and an Adaptive Resolution Imaging Software (ARIS) fish counter – which uses high-definition sonar to record images of passing fish – improving understanding of salmon populations and the impact of targeted interventions.

Deer management

o    The estate carefully manages its deer population using a science-led approach with the aim of supporting measurable improvements in biodiversity and habitat. The Reay Forest estate undertakes extensive habitat impact monitoring that is carried out in conjunction with regular population counts to help inform the management of this important resource and establish sustainable deer densities. 

The estate has been accredited by Wildlife Estates Scotland since 2014 when it was part of the pilot scheme in the country, demonstrating its long-term commitment to the highest standards of land management and conservation. 

The award was presented to a delegation from the estate by Jim Fairlie, MSP, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair, Scone Palace, on Friday 4 July. 

The Duke of Westminster said: “I'm incredibly proud of the team at Reay Forest. This award is a fantastic endorsement of their hard work, care and commitment to the land. It reflects the investment we’ve made over many years to protect and enhance this special place, from restoring the River Laxford to understanding the estate’s natural capital in greater depth. We’re seeing real results not just for nature, but for the local community and rural economy too. Keeping the land in its natural state, while helping it thrive for the future, is at the heart of everything we do at Reay."

Ben Mardall, Estate Manager, Grosvenor’s Reay Forest Estate said: “Everything we do at Reay Forest is focused on our long-term commitment to delivering a lasting economic, social and environmental benefit in our communities and safeguarding the estate’s unique and sensitive environmental habitats. While we’ve always believed that this was the right approach, it’s wonderful to have all of our people’s hard work independently endorsed by Wildlife Estates. Everyone at Grosvenor is absolutely delighted to receive both the gold award and to have been awarded the highest score of any accredited estate in Europe.”

Neil Gunn, Project Manager, Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES), said: “WES accreditation provides confidence that land is being managed responsibly and sustainably with biodiversity and best practice at the heart of all management systems. This is a truly excellent result that reflects the hard work undertaken at Reay Forest to ensure the organisation is delivering for conservation and biodiversity. The landscape scale conservation and restoration being undertaken at Reay Forest is vital in helping to combat biodiversity decline and address climate change challenges.”