THE quango in charge of environmental conservation in Scotland has been accused of "killing off" 300-year-old beech trees in a tourist beauty spot.
Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, the owner of Luss Estates, has accused Scottish Natural Heritage of "wanton vandalism" after hundreds of native beech trees on Inchtavannach Island, on Loch Lomond, were poisoned.
Many were more than 300 years old.
Estate bosses are now calling on the public body to cover the cost of restoration work.
Sir Malcolm said: "I am outraged and shocked at this act of wanton vandalism, and the resulting blight on the landscape of Inchtavannach Island. It will take years and indeed generations for the canopy to recover and this beautiful view to be restored. I simply cannot understand why the supposed guardian of our natural heritage has killed off these wonderful trees for no apparent reason."
He has written to SNH chief executive, Susan Davies, to demand an explanation.
In 2013 SNH entered into an agreement with the tenant of Inchtavannach Island to remove rhododendron from the island. The agreement also provided for the mature beech trees to be felled gradually over a five year period, but the decision was taken by SNH to inject them with poison instead because was deemed "more cost effective".
Luss Estates say this has created a "dead canopy" which will shed branches and endanger visitors.
Chairman of the Community Council, Ian MacEachern said: "To say we are annoyed is an understatement. The mature beech trees on Inchtavannach added greatly to the visual impact of Loch Lomond, for residents and visitors, particularly in the autumn. This act of vandalism is a travesty and tragically cannot be restored in our lifetime."
Luss Estates has asked SNH to explain why it did not fell the trees.
Simon Miller, chief executive of Luss Estates, added: "We want to know what measures SNH proposes to undertake to replace the tree cover on the island, having killed such a large number of mature native beech trees. We are assessing the scale of the destruction, valuing the trees killed and instructing a tree surveyor to assess the public liability risks and remedial costs.We expect SNH to foot the bill for this work."
Luss Estates is a 40,000 acre, commercially-managed estate which has belonged to the Colquhoun family for 800 years.
In a statement, SNH said: "Inchtavannach is internationally important for its oak woodland but the condition of the woodland has been affected by a lack of regeneration, a lack of dead wood and the spread of non-native plants.
"We have worked with Luss Estates and the tenant over a number of years to improve the condition of the woodland and our latest five year management agreement with the tenant in August 2013 included measures to remove non-native beech and rhododendron from the island.
"We consulted the estate about this agreement. As this work progressed, we agreed with the tenant and contractor that it would be more cost effective to control the beech by injecting the stems rather than felling.
"We didn't appreciate the impact that this would have on the landscape of the island and we are now in discussion with the Estate and tenant regarding felling of the dead trees to reduce this impact."
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