Garadhban Land Management Plan

Following concept consultation and analysis, the Garadhban Land Management Plan (LMP) was formally approved by Perth and Argyll Conservancy in February 2026 and is scheduled for renewal by February 2036.

The plan area covers over 441 hectares, located to the north of Drymen, to the south-east of Loch Lomond. Around 81% of the area is forested with under 45% of this canopy being comprised of Sitka Spruce, and the rest being a mix of diverse productive conifer and broadleaf species.

Garadhban is a historic plantation forest, having been first planted with the aim of producing timber. Recognising this history, the main objective of this LMP renewal is to maintain a significant proportion of the area as productive conifer. Rather than planting a single species of tree and felling all at the same time however, there is an opportunity to take smaller amounts of timber more frequently, whilst maintaining canopy cover across the forest area. Such a change in management principles could have significant benefits to both public users, and the environment. This is an important consideration for the plan as the forest is an important recreation asset for many nearby residents, as well as being a part of the West Highland Way.

Land Management Plans are in the process of becoming known as Long Term Plans, a change needed as a result of changes taking place in legislation.

The Land Reform Act introduces an alternative use for the term Land Management Plan which relates specifically to the forthcoming obligations set out under this banner. These terms are used interchangeably on our website, but both currently reference our plans developed in line with the UK Forestry Standard.

• continue to manage a significant proportion of the forest as productive conifer
• remove areas of concern to tree health
• increase woodland resilience to mitigate future climate risk and enhance biodiversity
• improve herbivore management capacity to enable use of natural regeneration as a reliable restocking method 
• improve infrastructure for operational access
• enhance and increase Black Grouse habitat

The Loch Lomond Forests Land Management Plan was approved on 2 February 2026, following publication on the Scottish Forestry Public Register in November 2025. Prior to this, we carried out stakeholder engagement on the draft proposals was carried out in February 2025.