This plan is under early revision, you can view the existing plan here.

The Land Management Unit covers 6959ha, and is located 11km north of Dumfries. 

The A701 passes close to the eastern side of the Ae forest.  This forest is surrounded by a mix of pasture and patches of conifer plantations to the east, and rough grazing hill land to the west.  Harestanes windfarm is situated in the northern half of the forest and has been operational since 2014.  This forest is connected to Beattock forest in the north.  It is part of Scotland’s National forests and land, owned by Scottish Ministers on behalf of the people of Scotland and managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS).

Forestry and Land Scotland is currently revising this land management plan, that will define the management prescription for the next ten year period (2026-36), and presents the vision for the long-term management of the forest block.  Draft versions of the plan will be published here and we invite comments and feedback from the public on all of our proposals.

Documents and maps

• Map 1 - location
• Map 2 - current tree species
• Map 3 - key features

Community Consultation

It is important that the local community and external stakeholders are involved in consultation during the development of the plan.  This is a requirement of the land management planning process and also a good opportunity for the public to ask questions about the LMP and find out more about our work. 

Timeline

• Initial surveys – autumn 2025
• Stakeholder consultation – autumn 2025
• Development of the final plan – spring 2026
• Submission to Scottish Forestry - summer 2026