Drumtee & Clanfin
Whitelee Windfarm - Site Clearance and Bogland Restoration

On completion, Whitelee windfarm at Eaglesham will be the largest onshore windfarm in Europe . As part of this project CRE Energy undertook tree clearance on the adjacent Drumtee & Clanfin Forests, under a bog-restoration Habitat Management Plan.

RTS won the contract to deliver these works, and as Principle Contractor under the Construction and Design Regulations (CDM), RTS have been responsible for the site clearance , to aid bogland restoration , over some 375ha of coniferous woodland within the windfarm area.

Given the sensitivity of the site and the difficult ground conditions experienced a number of different methodologies were undertaken to clear the site.

Firstly, some 25,000 tonnes of rock was blasted from a local borrow pit, and over 2000m of forest access road was built over peat, to facilitate timber lorry access to the more remote parts of the forest. Conventional harvesters then cleared 175ha (40,000 tonnes) of the forest and the merchantable timber was forwarded out to the forest road where the timber was subsequently dispatched to market.

In other sections of the forest, too wet for conventional machinery, or with trees too small to be merchantable, a unique whole tree mulcher was utilised . This modified excavator based machine reduces standing trees to small chips which are quick to degrade.

In order to further speed the restoration of the bogland habitat, the branch wood from trees in the areas cleared by conventional harvesters was mulched: what we call brash-mat mulching.

The site will shortly have a number of drains blocked by low ground pressure machinery in order to complete the initial phase of the restoration process.

This technology is used wherever access is a problem for timber harvesters/forwarders or where ground conditions do not permit conventional working. RTS would be pleased to arrange a site visit for inspection where required.

Glen Devon Native Woodland Establishment

Working for the Woodland Trust Scotland , RTS are in the sixth year of an ongoing project to establish a 1300 hectare native woodland. With over one million trees planted and maintained to date, this woodland will provide a valuable habitat for wildlife and a substantial increase in native woodland cover in Scotland . RTS have been involved in all of the practical aspects of this project, including ground preparation, fencing, planting, and subsequent maintenance to ensure successful implementation of the clients objectives.

Alongside the standard forestry operations RTS have been involved in community planting open days and liaison with the Forestry Commission.

Scotland – Northern Ireland Interconnector

RTS have been associated with forestry and overhead powerlines since the late ‘80s, and were forestry consultants on ScottishPower's Anglo-Scottish Interconnector, followed by the Scotland-Northern Ireland Interconnector, which completed the final piece in the jigsaw of European Interconnectors, connecting the island of Ireland to the UK and Europe with a 275kV overhead and undersea cable.

Crossing through some 26km of forest, RTS were consultants on forest design, negotiated compensation issues with effected landowners, and were engaged as contractors to carry out the felling for survey work and timber harvesting to facilitate construction of some 204 lattice towers.

This involved the careful design and felling of some 285ha of mainly commercial forestry, on both private estates and Forestry Commission ground. With good forest landscape design, where the passage of a powerline through woodlands is unavoidable, the powerline should seem to pass through a series of irregular spaces.

Where hardwoods were in the route of the overhead line, great efforts were made to retain the trees wherever possible, and after detailed individual tree surveys had been undertaken, the affected trees were pruned, or crown reduced rather than felled.

Nevertheless over 25,000 tonnes of timber were marketed over a 15 month period. The first stage was felling out a 3 metre centre-line, to allow detailed surveying. This required a two-man team of harvester operator and surveyor. Peter McMartin tracked his harvester from Patna Forest , east of Maybole, all the way down to Arecleoch Forest at Barrhill, which involved all of the 26km of forest spread out over some 60km of the line, and took 12 months. Meanwhile harvesters were engaged to start at the northern end and follow on southwards to widen the centre-line out to carefully designed windfirm landscape boundaries, and the timber sold to board manufacturers Egger's, and sawmillers James Jones, and others en-route.

Cruach Mhor Windfarm

RTS acted as consultants to ScottishPower for compensation and clearance issues relating to the 35 turbine Cruach Mhor Windfarm. Situated in 500ha of upland forestry above Loch Fyne, this 30MW windfarm produces enough energy to power 17,000 homes.

After agreement with FC ( Scotland ) on the felling design and habitat management plans, RTS were then engaged to clear the site, which involved the felling of 90ha of trees, production of over 20,000 tonnes of merchantable timber. Harvesting was carried out using two Timberjack harvesters and forwarders.

Whole tree mulching of 290ha of immature trees was carried out using a French made Galotrax tracked mulcher, and an American Slash-buster with a boom-mounted cutting disc. Some 179ha were cleared to facilitate habitat restoration to encourage hen harriers and short eared owls.

Over a period of 24 months, and integrating clearance operations with and in advance of road building and turbine construction, much of the small roundwood was converted in to woodchips using Bryan Harper 's Morbark chipper and transported to Norbord's MDF plant at Cowie.

Throughout the project, RTS worked closely with the main contractors, Henry Boot, to achieve a cleared site to allow uninterrupted construction to be completed and achieve maximum wind energy capture.

The windfarm was opened by Lewis Macdonald MSP on 6 th July 2004.

Archerfield - Golf Course Construction

RTS were engaged to provide forestry advice to the landscape architects and course designers for The Renaissance Club At Archerfield's new course located next to Muirfield on the East Lothian coast.

Following consent RTS were engaged to undertake detailed surveys and clearance following their long-term Management Plan. This involved the felling and clearance, including destumping, of over 40ha of mixed pine and broadleaved woodland.

The first clearance of involved the harvesting of >49ha of woodland and developing a unique de-stumping methodology. Stumps were then moved to planned infill areas and using a tub-grinder comminuted to 50-100mm and the topsoil reinstated over the newly shaped profile.

The site was left cleared of all material, branches, roots, stones drains laid and ready for hand-over to the golf course contractors for final shaping and formation of bunkers, and finally, grass seeding in August 2006.

The final result transforms the work-in-progress to something rather special.

The course is now open for membership.

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