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The Ythan Project
River Restoration Actions
The Ythan river has been extensively modified over time, and much of this modification has reduced the diversity of wildlife habitats in the river. The project therefore undertook river restoration work around the catchment, which helped to increase the diversity of wildlife habitats on the river. The sites and types of these projects were decided in conjunction with local people.River restoration work in 2002
The work undertaken in the summer of 2002 was decided in consultation with local anglers. A workshop was held for anglers in April 2002 and those present were asked to pick their priority sites from a listing of eight possible sites. The two preferred sites were the creation of a gravel spawning bed for sea trout in the Youlie burn near Tarves, and the removal of some conifer trees from the edge of the Kelly burn at Haddo.
Work was undertaken on these two sites over the summer of 2002. Local volunteers were involved in the work at both sites, although contractors undertook some of the larger scale work.
During the heavy rainfall of autumn 2002, flooding damaged the spawning bed, but it was repaired in spring 2003, so the photo below shows the spawning bed in the summer of 2003. We’re now waiting to see if the fish use it for spawning.
The site at Haddo was replanted with clumps of broadleaved trees, and the two photos below show how it has been improved by removing the dense conifer plantation and replacing it with what would be there naturally.During the heavy rainfall of autumn 2002, flooding damaged the spawning bed, but it was repaired in spring 2003, so the photo below shows the spawning bed in the summer of 2003. The site will be monitored by the Fishery Board for the next few years to see if sea trout are using it for spawning.
The site at Haddo was replanted with clumps of broadleaved trees, and the two photos below show how it has been improved by removing the dense conifer plantation and replacing it with what would be there naturally.
River restoration work 2003
To select the river restoration sites in 2003 we repeated the process we trialled in 2002, only on a larger scale. This time we held two workshops, one for anglers and one for the general public and we asked people to pick six sites out of a total of 12 potential sites.
Of the sites selected we were able to work at 4 during the summer of 2003, and further information on the four sites is given below:
The creation of a wetland area next to the river at Ythanwells – this will be a haven for wildlife and reminds us that the river is just as important even when its only a small trickle up by its source. The wetland was excavated and then volunteers helped replant it with a range of wetland plants. The photo shows the wetland in November 2004.
• Fencing and bank restoration at Chapelhaugh near Methlick – this site had cattle grazing on it for many years and where they had been crossing the burn they had caused the banks to crumble. In the summer of 2003 we fenced off the banks and used branches from felled conifer trees to hold the bank material in place whilst the natural vegetation grew back. The photos show the site before and after the work.
• Kelly lake fish pass – the Kelly lake at Haddo Country Park is created by damming the Kelly burn, but fish still need to travel into and across the lake as part of their annual migration. This fish pass was upgraded to give them an additional step to use to cross the dam. The photo below shows the fish pass in late summer 2003.
• Fyvie castle tree thinning – whilst some overhanging trees on a riverbank are a good thing, you can sometimes get too much of a good thing, which is what had happened at Fyvie Castle, where sycamores and rhododendrons were overshadowing the river. By thinning out some of the trees we’ve let in more light, to create the conditions of ‘dappled light and shade’ which fish prefer.In 2004, we had a relatively short list of possible sites to work out as we had to complete certain types of sites as part of the conditions of our European funding. We decided that asking people to select sites from a very small list wouldn’t be very productive, so instead sent round a list of proposed sites to all those who had taken part in previous consultations. The sites completed in 2004 were as follows:
Fish pass on the Bronie burn at Cairnfechel near Udny Green – this site was acting as a blockage and stopping migrating fish travelling up the burn, so we installed another fish pass, which acts as a series of steps to enable the fish to cross the blockage.
Fish pass in Methlick – this burn was also blocked by debris from an old mill, so a fish pass was installed to allow migrating fish to travel up the burn
Flow diversification on the Keithfield burn – the aim at this site was to use small boulders to create eddies in the flow of water, which would speed up the rate of flow and create greater habitat diversity for insects and fish in the water, as well as helping to clean the river gravels
Removal of Japanese Knotweed at Fyvie – this is an invasive weed which is not native to Britain, but which quickly spreads along rivers. We treated it with chemical sprays to remove it from the Ythan before it gets a foothold.
Installation of bat and bird boxes – 50 bat and bird boxes were bought by the project and installed at locations near burns and the river all around the catchment.
River restoration work at Gight
The project’s biggest river restoration site was at Gight Woods a Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) plantation on the side of the river near Methlick. This site was specified at the start of the project, because so many local people had already suggested work at the site. This site was planted with Norway spruce conifer trees in the 1960s when planting guidelines were very different from today. Trees were planted to the very edge of the water (see before photo), which caused a lot of shading of the river water as the trees grew. Having conifer trees this close to the water makes the riverbanks unstable as well as making the water so dark that it becomes unattractive for fish and other river wildlife.FCS agreed to remove these trees from a 30 metre wide strip of land next to the water’s edge for about 1.5 kilometres of riverbank. The trees were removed in 2003 and the site has been left to return to its natural state, which would be a mix of open areas and broad-leaved woodland. To encourage it on its way a few native broadleaved trees (such as willow, alder, wych elm) were planted in the cleared area. We also asked local people to suggest possible footpath routes through the site and we hope that FCS will develop these paths in the next few years.
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