Rangers plea to help beat messy campers
Perthshire’s woes with dirty campers could be alleviated if countryside rangers were operating.
That was the view of Victor Clements, chair of Aberfeldy Community Council.
In recent weeks the Tay, Rannoch and Tummel camping management zone action group on Facebook has been swamped with complaints and images of abandoned camping equipment, human waste, glass and plastic rubbish, all left behind when large camping groups move on after a party weekend.
The private group page has 650 members.
This week Victor Clements sought to revive an idea he investigated a decade ago: the council and landowners paying for countryside rangers to watch over the loch shore.
“Things are clearly a lot worse than they have been in the past,” Victor said.
“I think there is a strategic angle to this. Highland Perthshire occupies much of the area between two national parks and we are the bit in the middle. Both the parks have a rangering capacity for dealing with this sort of thing but our capacity here is less and it is more fragmented.
“There was always a danger that the by-laws on Loch Lomond would displace antisocial behaviour elsewhere, perhaps to somewhere that people regarded as a softer touch such as here.
“We could potentially put together a bid for having a stronger rangering presence here, almost certainly delivering some biodiversity/ educational outputs as well.
“I suspect a lot of landowners might well chip in.
“I was making this argument 10 years ago but it never quite caught hold. Bridging the gap between the two national parks is something that would appeal to a lot of funders and I am sure it could be made to work.”
Highland ward councillor Xander McDade said: “All three local councillors have been working on this issue for some time and in the last week we have made significant headway.
“Perth and Kinross Council has drafted a paper on a number of options and is due to consult on these with stakeholders including the community.
“The council is taking the issue seriously because of the pressure all three local councillors have applied together. This is not a party political issue for us and we have all been pulling in the same direction on it.”
At Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park more than 20 people were charged in relation to irresponsible camping and environmental damage last weekend, the first weekend after travel restrictions were lifted.