Forvie National Nature Reserve Management Plan 2024 - 2034

Foreword

Forvie is one of a suite of NNRs in Scotland. Scotland’s NNRs are special places for nature, where some of the best examples of Scotland’s wildlife are managed. Every NNR is carefully managed both for nature and for people, giving visitors the opportunity to experience our rich natural heritage. Like all habitats, it will be subject to the vagaries of climate change and a challenge for the next plan period will to ensure that a healthy ecosystem is maintained on the site.

Forvie became a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1959, making it one of Scotland’s oldest NNRs. It is comprised of almost 1,000ha of internationally important coastal habitats on the coast between the North Sea and the estuary of the River Ythan. The reserve extends from the low-tide mark through a complete succession from mobile dunes, through fixed dunes and slacks to dune heath. Home to a variety of wildlife, Forvie is particularly renowned for its birds and has the largest tern and gull colony in mainland Scotland, plus a wealth of wildfowl and waders on the estuary. In the past 10 years, numbers of grey seals using the estuary as a haul-out have risen to over 3000 and this resulted in the haul-out being protected in 2017. 

Forvie welcomes around 60,000 visitors each year. To enable visitors to explore and enjoy Forvie, without damaging the sensitive habitats or disturbing species, a network of paths is maintained to allow access to both the dune heath in the north of the reserve, and the estuary and extensive dune and coastal habitats in the south. Signage and orientation is provided at each of the main access points to help visitors to explore the reserve responsibly. The visitor centre at Collieston is open throughout the year and provides information on the reserve and its wildlife. A wildlife hide at Waulkmill provides good viewing facilities for watching wildlife on the River Ythan and upper estuary. 

During the breeding season we close certain areas of the reserve to protect the breeding tern and eider colonies and are reviewing if this may also be needed to reduce disturbance to seals. We provide alternative routes for visitors and a member of staff is around to provide information on these species and why they are important. 

‘The Story of Forvie National Nature Reserve’  provides more information about Forvie and its history. The Story provides the foundation for managing the site and is recommended reading for those wishing to understand more about the management of this very special place. 

All our management plans are subject to public consultation. 

Our Vision for Forvie NNR

Forvie National Nature Reserve is a special place. Our aim is to keep it that way and improve on it if we can.  The Reserve Plan 2024 - 2034 sets out our vision for the Reserve describing how we would like the Reserve to be in 50 years’ time.  The management we carry out over the following 10 years has been framed with this current vision in mind.

Protected areas and features

The reserve has numerous designations which reflect its national and international importance, although the boundaries of the designations differ. These are:

Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a habitat designation which covers the dune and heath areas of the site.

Special Protection Area (SPA), a designation protecting the bird interest on the site.

Ramsar site - it is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, (commonly known as a Ramsar site).

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), part of the UK network of protected areas; the national SSSI designation underpins the international designations.

The features of these protected areas are listed below. A number of these overlap but with some, the designation areas are different. They are linked to Sitelink, where full information on these designations can be found.

Management for Natural Heritage 

Objective NH1: Allow the reserve and Ythan estuary to develop and evolve due to natural processes.

We will allow the coastal evolution to proceed naturally in response to sea-level rise and other effects of our changing climate. There may be instances where we look at sympathetic creation or protection of tern breeding habitat within the dunes, but this will be looked at on a case-by-case basis and would not involve large-scale works.

Any INNS will be removed from the site, or an ongoing programme of control put in place with removal as a final objective.

We will continue to monitor, and manage, if necessary, the extent of rosebay willowherb which can spread and dominate, overshadowing both vascular plants and lichens on the dunes.

Objective HN2: Continue to provide a safe nesting area for terns, gulls and eider ducks.

The terns and gulls are protected by the erection of two fences during the breeding season. One – the ‘barrier fence’ keeps visitors back beyond the disturbance distance exhibited by the birds. Meanwhile, the core breeding area is surrounded by an electrified predator-proof fence to exclude terrestrial predators (mainly foxes) from the colony. Visitors and their dogs are asked to avoid this area during the bird breeding season by the provision of specific, time-limited signage. We will continue to use this arrangement to protect the birds as it has so far proven effective.

A targeted programme of predator control will be undertaken by a contractor. This mainly focusses on removing foxes from around the southern end of the reserve but has the option of being extended to corvids should they ever become a problem.

Recreational disturbance and predation are identified within the Conservation Management Advice for the site as potential causal factors to the decline in the breeding population of Eiders which may in turn be contributing towards the decline of the wintering Eider population feature of the Special Protection Area. The measures outlined will help bolster these populations against the numerous off site pressures our seabirds are facing.

Objective NH3: Continue to monitor the habitats and species on the site and feed this data into relevant national databases.

Monitoring will be carried out in accordance with the relevant licencing systems and will be adjusted to meet any evolving needs (eg the situation with HPAI).

We will investigate to possibility of working with SEPA to resume monitoring of weed mats on the Ythan. This requires specialist skills and equipment.

Objective NH4: Protect the seal haul out at the Ythan mouth from significant disturbance by people.

The changeable nature of the dunes here makes it challenging to erect signage or fencing, so a lot of our emphasis will be on having well-advertised, easily accessible pre-visit information. Some signage will be needed and the LAG itself and the wording of the signage will be agreed with the Local Access Authority in advance. The guidance and signage will be targeted to specific times (i.e. when there are pups or when the seal numbers peak in early spring) and will be removed outwith these times. 

Objective NH5: To better understand the adaptation of Forvie NNR to the effects of changes in the climate. 

We will be open to opportunities to host research projects on the reserve that can contribute towards our understanding of the effects of climate change and how to help the reserve adapt to them. These projects will largely be driven by research or educational establishments, with NatureScot contributing time or resources where possible. 

Objective NH6: Forvie NNR is a key part of a wider nature network which connects nature-rich sites, restoration areas, and other environmental projects through a series of areas of suitable habitat, habitat corridors and stepping-stones.

Future opportunities may arise to purchase land adjacent to the reserve. If resources were available for this, we would be interested in potentially expanding the reserve if the land could lend itself to significant biodiversity improvements and/or to enhancing the resilience of the existing reserve to effects of climate change.

Objective NH7:Ensure that Forvie NNR is climate resilient and will play its part to halt the biodiversity crisis.

Past land use on the site involved the installation of drains and ‘moor grips’ to try and dry the ground for sporting or agricultural use. As these become naturally ‘vegetated up’, slowing water drainage, it may be that some areas of the site will become wetter. Given the importance of the ‘sponge effect’ of wetlands for biodiversity, carbon capture and ameliorating floods and droughts, this process will be allowed to continue.

Management for People 

Objective VM1: Provide a high-quality visitor experience for around 60,000 visitors annually and strive to make this experience as accessible as possible.

As with much of Scotland’s countryside, Forvie has seen its visitor numbers increase year-on-year, with around 60,000 to 70,000 people visiting the site every year. We aim to provide a high-quality visitor experience while safeguarding the habitats and species on the reserve. A good-quality path network helps safeguard habitats whilst also improving visitor experience. Pre-visit information can inform people of the ways they can visit the reserve sustainably and this, combined with entry signage, informs people about how to visit the reserve enjoyably and responsibly.

We carry out a programme of events to inform and educate people about the reserve- and nature in general – and facilitate as many educations visits as resources allow. Regular accessibility audits will help to ensure we are doing as much as possible to make the reserve accessible to all.

Objective VM2:  To promote responsible access to the reserve while protecting the natural heritage of the site.

Nature reserves are places for people and wildlife. They showcase some of Scotland’s most pristine habitats and dynamic species while also being a place people feel welcome to visit. Unfortunately, wildlife may be disturbed by irresponsible access or even just the presence of people and our visitor management is aimed at reducing this through educating people on how to access the countryside responsibly. Our local access guidance is targeted and time-limited, which helps people understand that it is done for a specific reason and pre-visit information can help manage expectations before they arrive. Once they have arrived, a combination of face-to-face engagement and clear directional and behavioural signage should advise visitors on how to enjoy the reserve responsibly. 

Objective VM3:  To engage the local communities and support volunteering.

Volunteers are vital to our work on the reserve. We will continue to work with our pool of medium to long-term volunteers and offer opportunities for group volunteering days. When needed, we will look to expand our pool of volunteers to help with as wide a variety or task as possible. 

Management for Property

Objective PM1:To manage the reserve property responsibly following best practice.

Much of our management for property involves the general, ongoing maintenance of the site. 

Planning and reporting 

Objective PR1: Planning & reporting: Ensure management planning is adaptive and effective.

The reserve plan provides valuable continuity; however it is only part of the process and will be monitored and reviewed on an on-going basis with formal milestones at regular intervals. 

An interim review will be completed mid-plan unless there are significant changes that require an earlier review. We will review the plan in the final year to inform preparation of the next management plan.

We will continue to deliver our activities as efficiently as possible maximising the benefit of public funds. Where appropriate we will seek to access external funding and support for our programme of work.

We recognise the importance of community empowerment and providing the support to communities of place and of interest to allow them to participate in decisions and will engage with them on issues which affect them throughout the period of the plan.

Summary

Habitat management at Forvie will focus on allowing natural processes to continue, while conducting ongoing monitoring to check if any management may be required.

We will continue to maintain the predator-proof fence around the gull and tern colony and investigate if any other management options are required or desirable here – i.e. if any nesting habitat creation is required. Ongoing monitoring will be fed into national databases monitoring seabirds around the UK.

Monitoring of the seal haul-out will continue and we will tailor our access messaging to best protect the seals if the Ythan Mouth becomes a pupping site.

We will look at different ways we can manage and improve our path network, in view of a changing climate.

We will continue to engage with visitors and the wider communities to encourage responsible access to the reserve, resulting in protection of the wildlife and greater enjoyment for visitors. 

We will continue to run events and support visits from a range of community and education groups. Volunteers are essential to the reserve and we will continue to support volunteering and provide opportunities to get involved with the management of the reserve.

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