Ballogie Estate retains silver Wildlife Estates accreditation

Ballogie Estate on Deeside has retained its Silver Level 2 accreditation from Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES), placing the sporting estate in the top 10% of accredited landholdings anywhere in Europe. The Aberdeenshire estate is co-owned and managed by three sisters, Alice, Abby and Jenny Nicol.

What won Ballogie its accreditation?

The centrepiece of the estate’s renewed award is the restoration of the Cattie Burn, a tributary of the River Dee special area of conservation. Working with the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board, and with funding support from NatureScot and the River Dee Trust, the estate has removed two weirs, re-meandered 700m of previously straightened channel and encouraged new wetland, opening up habitat for fish that run the Dee system.

Abby Nicol, managing partner, said: “Ballogie’s Silver WES accreditation is a tremendous honour for our team. The rigorous WES assessment considered every aspect of the estate, from farming, fishing and forestry to our holiday cottages and wedding venue.”

A boost for Dee salmon

Alan Balfour, chairman of Wildlife Estates Scotland, said the estate had shown what partnership can deliver: “At a time when wild Atlantic salmon face an existential threat, Ballogie and its partners have shown what’s possible when landowners, conservation organisations and local communities unite behind a common purpose.”

There are now 55 WES-accredited holdings in Scotland covering more than 322,000ha, and Scotland ranks second among the 19 countries taking part in the wider Wildlife Estates initiative. The scheme, run with Scottish Land & Estates, independently assesses land management, conservation and sporting practice across a holding, from game and deer management to farming, forestry and tourism.

The award caps a strong month for conservation on the Dee. The River Dee Trust’s One Million Trees campaign, which aims to plant a million native trees across the catchment by 2035 to shade and cool its salmon water, won the conservation category at the Helping It Happen Awards earlier this month, its third national award, with estates and fishery boards driving habitat work the length of the river.

What happens next?

Silver Level 2 accreditation runs on a renewal cycle with continued assessment, and the Cattie Burn work will be monitored with the estate’s fishery board partners as fish recolonise the restored channel. Estates interested in accreditation can apply through Wildlife Estates Scotland via Scottish Land & Estates, whose assessors score evidence of wildlife management, habitat and community benefit before an award is made.