The vision for Roamers Wood is rooted in ecological restoration within the picturesque landscape of West Linton. Creating community woodlands enriches biodiversity, fosters environmental stewardship, and enhances mental and physical well-being through recreation.

Roamers Wood is beginning to accomplish this vision by providing wildlife-friendly habitats, introducing fruit-bearing trees and shrubs (for people and wildlife), undertaking carbon capture, creating walking trails and a beautiful natural habitat for community gatherings, and running educational initiatives for school and youth groups.

However—as other woodland projects in Scotland testify—creating places where nature thrives and local communities flourish encounters a significant hurdle: deer. We all love seeing deer and wish to share our space with them…so as custodians of Roamers Wood, Sustainable West Linton & District (SWLD) turned to the experts to take advice on how best to manage this issue.

Roe deer are a natural part of the biodiversity in Scotland, but in the absence of their natural predators such as lynx and wolves, they can reach local densities which impact other components of the natural environment. In particular, through their browsing, too many deer in an area can prevent young trees from establishing. There are now more deer in Scotland than at any point in the last 2000 years. Deer managers and the Scottish Government are agreed on the need to manage deer if woodland restoration is to take place.

SWLD’s deer management strategy is three-fold:

1. use tree-guard tubes (recycled from other woodlands) to confer some protection to very young trees;
2. expect loss due to some deer browsing, so plant excess trees to compensate;
3. control deer numbers when necessary, to allow 1 and 2 to be effective.

As a newly-established woodland, Roamers Wood is in a vulnerable state which makes deer control necessary and this has been undertaken by an experienced, qualified and competent deerstalker. Through feedback from the wider West Linton community, SWLD recognises the need to share more information around this subject, so the following Q&A page answers questions that have been asked. SWLD apologises for not making this information available earlier.

As you will appreciate, the Roamers Wood website is under development and its launch brought forward to facilitate this need to share information. Please bear with us and do come back soon to view all the other news, information and activities SWLD would like to share with you.

In facing the challenges of deer management, SWLD recognises this is an emotive issue on which there is a range of views in the community.

Deer damage to young woodlands is a challenge faced by woodland owners and managers across the country, and SWLD is building on case studies and best practice developed over many years—best practice which has informed government guidelines. It is clear from this combined experience that a successful deer management strategy in Roamers Wood is essential to allow our community to realise the potential of Roamers Wood as a place for biodiversity to thrive and for our community to enjoy for generations to come.

• Why are deer managed?
  Deer have an amazing capacity to multiply. Roe deer usually have twins every year, so populations can escalate. This population growth can lead to increasing levels of damage to trees and in some cases, completely suppress woodland establishment.
  Deer can impact severely on trees, especially tender young trees. Their browsing prevents new growth. When male deer rub trees with their antlers while shedding their velvet and when marking their territory, bark is scratched causing deformation and potentially death of the tree.
  At Roamers Wood, SWLD have chosen to establish many species of tree with high biodiversity value, some of which are particularly susceptible to deer damage, so mitigating actions are necessary to keep tree loss at an acceptable level.
  In Scotland, it is recognised that we need to expand our forests and woodlands if we are to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, create recreational sites and encourage rural employment; but it is simply not possible to do this if the high density of deer is not tackled. For example, the Borders Forest Trust project at Carrifran found that as few as eight roe deer browsed and badly damaged all recently planted trees over a 40 hectare area. This is a very low density of deer and yet they had a significant impact.
  The Scottish Natural Heritage publication Code of Practice on Deer Management explains the duties and responsibilities relating to our land.
• When is culling carried out?
  Male deer can legitimately be culled all year round. Females are not culled between the end of March and late October because they may have dependent offspring.
  Culling in Scotland usually occurs one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset. Where required, NatureScot may issue authorisation which allows culling to take place during the night.
  The stalker at Roamers Wood is qualified and experienced, follows Best Practice and is on NatureScot’s Fit and Competent register. Night-vision scopes are now commonplace kit, and the stalker can easily identify any heat source from around 800 meters and abandons any stalk if members of the public are in the vicinity.
  Carcasses enter the food chain as a healthy and sustainable source of meat.
  The Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 sets out the way deer management is conducted in Scotland.
• Why not erect a deer fence?
  The perimeter of Roamers Wood is more than 1.5km and would cost around £25,000 to fence, which is beyond the reach of a non-commercial woodland project.
  In addition to their cost, fences have other drawbacks. Fences prevent easy access for people to recreational areas; gates are accidentally left open; and they are often viewed as unsightly in a natural landscape. Furthermore, fences need continual maintenance—they can last as little as 10 years—and result in lots of metal to dispose of at the end of their lives. Deer also hurt themselves attempting to cross fences, bird collisions occur, and they prevent free movement of other animals such as hare, whose populations are not flourishing.
  Even when fences are erected, they are not a complete solution. There is a diverse structure to a woodland which requires multiple levels of understorey in order to be maximally beneficial to wildlife. When fences are removed, deer move in and can quickly undo years of hard work by preventing the growth of understorey layers.
  Neither do fences fix the issue of high deer density, they just reduce deer habitat/space. Where fences are used, deer can be pushed onto neighbours’ land, moving the issue next door. In the spirit of the Deer Code, landowners should manage the deer that enter their woodlands, which also helps protect new woodlands nearby.
• Don’t tubes protect trees from deer?
  Tree-guards (tubes) provide some protection but are not a complete solution because deer can browse up to two metres off the ground by standing on their back legs. Guards are generally 1.2m high or less which means deer can browse trees when they reach the top of tubes. Taller guards are not practical because they are increasingly more vulnerable to being blown over (which is a particular problem in exposed sites such as Roamers Wood), damaging the saplings. Also, tall guards cause trees to grow without a strong enough root system so they are unable to support themselves properly when the guards are removed.
  Some trees naturally branch low down, as is the case for all the fruit trees in Roamers Wood. It is not possible to put guards on these low-level branches. Additionally, it is impractical to guard self-seeded saplings so where deer browse is too great, a woodland will not regenerate or develop an understorey which is an essential component of a biodiverse woodland. Guards also involve installing a lot of plastic which is not ideal in a natural environment.
• What other options are there for protecting trees?
  There are few natural predators of deer in Scotland—foxes and badgers have been known to occasionally catch very young roe deer kids—and cars are sometimes mentioned as fulfilling this role. Road traffic accidents are not a humane way to manage deer numbers, are not effective (only affecting deer directly adjacent to roads and predominantly killing immature deer), and are a danger to people.
  There are a few tree-paint solution deterrents—which do not always work—and whilst they may protect the trees, they do not protect the other vegetation which is an important component of a woodland. Like fences, these deterrents require continual upkeep and so are too expensive and time consuming for non-commercial woodlands
• How much deer damage is there in Roamers Wood?
  Recent observations and studies have revealed a minimum of five roe deer present in Roamers Wood every night, with 15 to 20 in the surrounding area. The risk that deer damage poses to a woodland varies according to its location, but by bordering the Pentland Hills, Roamers Wood is easily accessible to a large population of deer.
  In Scotland, the data show that just one deer in an area the size of Roamers Wood (which is 5.5 hectares) can prevent all tree growth. For there to be an acceptable level of damage to newly-planted trees, the density of deer must be significantly less.
  The deer are coming into Roamers Wood when it is dark and have, for example, recently eaten all the newly-planted holly trees. In addition, the hazel trees coming into leaf have been badly damaged, along with the fruit trees and shrubs. Of the trees that have grown out of their guards, more than half have had their leading shoot damaged. This has all occurred in a single season, and the damage will be cumulative over the years of early growth, so the scale and impact of deer damage quickly increases.
  Losing their leading shoot and most leaves, can kill newly-planted trees and those that survive cannot grow into normal-sized trees. This is because frequent browsing forces trees to grow as bushes, unable to grow above browse height.
  Roamers Wood is not a commercial woodland so the aim of culling is not to eradicate deer but to keep damage low enough to allow enough trees to grow, to establish the woodland. Once established, Roamers Wood will provide a better habitat for deer than it does now.
  
• Aren’t the thousands of trees planted in Roamers enough for deer and a woodland?
  There are now over 5000 tree saplings, most around 30cm high, in the 5.5 hectare area of Roamers Wood. Recommendations from the government and conservation organisations, such as The Woodland Trust, advise planting 1000 - 2500 trees per hectare. This is because it is recognised that the shape of the trees will be improved by the presence of adjacent neighbouring trees and that a percentage will be killed by forces beyond our control such as drought, competition with grass and disease.
• How long until the trees can take care of themselves?
  It is hoped that trees will be tall enough in a decade or so but this is dependent on enough trees getting enough initial protection to establish and grow properly during this time. It is usually only feasible to replace lost trees in the first five years of a woodland, before there is too much competition and shade for new trees to establish.
• Are deer damaging other local woodland as well?
  Once a woodland has reached the level of maturity where there is natural regeneration, then the woodland becomes self-sustaining, provided deer browse is maintained at what might be called "natural levels"—that level which would exist if there were natural predators. If deer numbers are excessive then there is insufficient natural regeneration to sustain the woodland. In the Woodland Trust woods known as The Catwalk, there is very little regeneration taking place, even in areas where the canopy is open.
• How can the community contribute views on deer management?
  While the majority accept culling is an unfortunate necessity, SWLD recognise this is an emotive issue. Please use the comments form at the bottom of the page if you would like to get in touch with SWLD about deer management at Roamers Wood, or follow the links below for comments and queries relating to deer management policies.
  It is with regret that having considered all the options, deer culling must continue in Roamers Wood (alongside using tree-guards and re-planting) due to the increasingly high deer densities in this area. Culling will be carried out by a qualified, experienced, and registered stalker, and a night licence will be sought to minimise disturbance.
• Is more information available?
  Yes. The deer legislation has been reviewed four times recently. Best Practice and the Code of Practice on Deer Management are all under constant review.
  Here is a selection of the wealth of policy guidance, data and advice that SWLD has consulted:.
  British Deer Society (Why manage deer?)
  Borders Forest Trust (Establishing woodland at Carrifran)
  John Muir Trust (Deer management FAQ)
  NatureScot, Scotland's Nature Agency (Deer management in Scotland - Frequently Asked Questions)
  NatureScot, Scotland's Nature Agency (Code of Practice on Deer Management)
  Lowland Deer Network Scotland (Deer on your Doorstep)
  Scottish Government (Managing Scotland's deer numbers)
  UK Government (Deer (Scotland) Act 1996)