Green bridges campaign goes on line in Cairngorms
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A display including films of green bridges being successfully used by wildlife in national parks abroad proved a draw at the Cairngorms Nature Festival, partly staged at Glenmore, Aviemore.
Supporters of the A9 Green Bridges campaign have highlighted that habitat fragmentation and road deaths require mitigation and call for a range of different measures.
Now the A9 Green Bridges campaign has launched a public petition that can be signed at the Bookmark in Grantown-on-Spey. They are also preparing an online petition to urge the Government to invest in green bridges.
Earlier this year the Government indicated that green bridges allowing passage of wildlife are being considered for the wider A9 dualling programme.
Government minister Keith Brown, responding to a question from Mary Scanlon MSP, qualified this commitment by adding “where a need is identified” and indicated requests will be considered “on a location by location basis”.
The A9 Green Bridges campaign believe there is a self-evident need, and point to three recent otter road deaths and many more of mountain hares and red squirrels as evidence that problems need to be addressed. They suggest that safe opportunities for animals like deer to cross the A9 could reduce accidents, possibly saving human lives, and that too few or inadequate crossing places could have serious consequences for such rare wildlife as wildcats.
The petition reads: “We, the undersigned, call on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to invest in more green bridges as part of the A9 dualling, to allow free movement of wildlife and keep their habitats well connected, while also reducing road accidents for animals and people.”
