JMT Supports Hill Tracks Petition

The John Muir Trust is calling on walkers and climbers to support a petition which calls for tighter controls on hill tracks which cross wilderness land in Scotland.

At the moment, tracks for vehicles can be cut by landowners without any planning permission being needed even in designated areas like the Cairngorms National Park. The result can be unsightly visual scars in some of the most beautiful parts of the country.

Helen McDade, Head of Policy for the John Muir Trust said: “Uncontrolled and badly constructed tracks are one of the biggest threats to the country’s wild land. It is vital the planning system is strengthened to ensure these tracks are constructed only where they are necessary, and in a way that is sensitive to the environment."

Back in 2007, a report commissioned in 2007 by the Scottish Executive recommended an extensive overhaul of the uncontrolled construction of hill tracks through wild land, but since then no action has been taken.

You can find the petition at the Hill Tracks Campaign web site: www.hilltrackscampaign.org.uk