Freedom of Information Request - Peat Restoration activities and impacts upon mountain hares and red listed ground nesting bird species
Date: 13 October 2025
Our ref: SIR181713/A5481339
Information Request – Peat Restoration activities and impacts upon mountain hares and red listed ground nesting bird species
Your Request
‘I am writing to you under both the Freedom of Information Scotland ACT 2002 and Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004 to seek from Nature Scot copies of all documents relating to the following:
Impacts of the conduct of peatland restoration activity upon
(a) mountain hares, including whether hares are injured or killed, and buried alive by or as a result of such peatland restoration activity, by such activity; and
(b)“Red listed” species of ground nesting birds including the Lapwing, Curlew, Skylark, Golden Plover, Nightjar Snipe, Woodcock and Hen Harrier).
And including all internal documents to NS and external communications between NS and any of its employees or officials to third parties such as the Scottish Government, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and Cairngorm National Park Authority.’
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is below.
NatureScot does not require persons or businesses conducting peatland restoration projects to submit information on the impacts of their activities upon mountain hares or ‘red listed’ species of ground nesting birds, including the Lapwing, Curlew, Skylark, Golden Plover, Nightjar Snipe, Woodcock and Hen Harrier. We also do not hold any relevant internal documents or external communications between us and any third parties, such as the Scottish Government, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and Cairngorm National Park Authority, relating to this matter. This means that EIRs Regulation 10(4)(a) (Information not held) applies to your request for the information.
Guidance on conducting peatland restoration and protected species is published on our website at:
Species Surveys Guidance and Templates for protected species and Changes to support for species protection for Peatland ACTION projects
Grant recipients of funding for peatland restoration are required to follow the guidance provided, and this legal responsibility is made clear in the terms and conditions of award:
"The applicant/agent is responsible for ensuring that there are no negative impacts on protected species and that all restoration work is carried out in compliance with the law.
You must follow best practice guidance, available on the NatureScot website, to ensure appropriate protection is in place.
All relevant protected species surveys and, if required a species licence(s), must be in place before work commences.
You must provide the following evidence prior to starting your project:
• Up-to-date constraints map showing species buffers; and
• If your project requires a species licence, you will need to provide the licence number.
If your project includes species surveys which are being funded by Peatland Action,
you must provide the following:
• Evidence of the tendering process
• Evidence of Ecologist Recognised Credentials or concise CV
• The licence number of any species licences if applicable
In addition, you must provide the following with each claim:
• Updated constraints map including species buffers
• Staff timesheet(s) or consultant invoice(s)
Upon project completion you must provide the following with your final claim and Final Report:
• Evidence of uploaded species survey results to National Biodiversity Network Gateway"
It is the grantees responsibility to retain all copies of pre-operational species survey results, with supporting spatial data, in a suitable format, and Species licence(s), as required.
To note, we carry out ecological surveys for all projects where there is a risk protected species might be on or near a site and apply best practice mitigation as necessary. However, this is preventative and is therefore outwith the scope of this request.
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
