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Scottish Coastal Forum: Current ICZM initiatives: Spring 2004
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Findhorn Bay
© Moray Council |
Managing Findhorn Bay - Moray
The tidal estuary of the River Findhorn has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve since 1998. The Bay has extensive mud and sand flats at low tide and provides bird-feeding grounds of national importance; it is fringed by salt marshes and sand dune systems. The Management Plan for the 2,300 hectare Reserve is run by the local community, the landowners and the Council, and it attempts to resolve the conflicting interests of water sports, wild fowling, bird watching and visitor pressure in the attractive little Conservation village of Findhorn. The Plan pursues an educational approach to access through Walking Guides and village trails, and emphasises the fragility of the eco-systems, particularly in the marshes and dunes.
The Bay is neighbour to the huge RAF base at Kinloss, and the MOD is a partner to the Management Plan.
A system of "Permit" control of wildfowling is currently being pursued by the Council and the Management Committee, through a Management Scheme with accompanying by-laws.
Doug Hawkes,
Ranger Nature Reserves.
Tel 01343 557048.
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