People and the countryside

Some of these influences have been beneficial, such as the introduction of hedgerows which have provided a unique habitat for animal and bird species, or sheep on the Downs, which have arrested the development of scrubland.

Other changes were perhaps not so welcome, such as the extinction of species such as elk, bears, wolves and beavers.

In recent years, conservation groups have been working on proposals to reintroduce wolves and beavers to northern Scotland, the only area of the UK thought suitable.

Now the dream is to become reality after the Scottish environment minister gave his support for beavers to be reintroduced on a trial basis in the spring of next year.

The plan is to capture a small population of beavers in Norway this autumn and after a suitable period of quarantine, they will be released to five lochs in Argyll next year.

Interestingly, this will be the first planned reintroduction of any native mammal into the wild.

The trial is set to last for five years and conservationists hope that the reintroduction will have positive benefits for the wider environment rather than simply having the animals being part of the landscape.

If the trial is a success, focus will then undoubtedly shift to the reintroduction of wolves.

This is likely to be a more challenging proposition given their reputation.

Some conservationists suggest that the reintroduction of wolves could be more beneficial since they could provide the natural predator that red deer have not had for hundreds of years.

Deer numbers have grown substantially over the last few decades, putting pressure on heathland habitats.

Whether wolves will keep deer numbers in check or help themselves to sheep (which presumably are easier to catch) will no doubt be one of the arguments raised against reintroduction.

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