One of the largest nature conservation projects ever carried out is being planned in the far north by the RSPB.
The project will help restore damage caused by thousands of acres of conifer forests which were used for tax breaks by celebrities in the 1980s.
Sir Terry Wogan and snooker champion Steve Davis were among the stars who signed up for the scheme.
Now work is under way on a £9million lottery application to restore a huge chunk of the globally recognised Flow Country. The RSPB wants to use the money to repair seven square miles of bog, including the restoration of 2,471 acres of forest.
The scheme will be a continuation of a conservation programme started back in the 1990s when the importance of the Flow Country was first recognised.
Dr Pete Mayhew, senior conservation manager with RSPB north, said forestation and drainage threatens to dry the peat out, releasing several years worth of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
He said: “Restoration is absolutely crucial. It is the continuance of what has been going on for 20 to 30 years – so there is history there – but this new phase is on a different scale.
“The Heritage Lottery Fund application for £9million is one of the largest nature conservation applications there has ever been.
“The 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) of restoration is on a scale no one has ever done before. The scope of the partnership and the range of people is on a scale not been done before.”
The Flow Country is a huge tract of blanket bog covering more than 1.2 acres. It is arguably one of the largest habitats of its kind in the world, representing around 5% of all peatlands, and is rich in wildlife and plants. The waterlogged soil, which is more than 98ft deep in places, locks up huge amounts of carbon and combats climate change.
The area became threatened in the 1980s with the planting of nearly 150,000 acres of conifer forests.
Dr Mayhew said: “There is a recognition this is a very special place and over the coming decades we should restore as much as possible.
“We are not saying there is no place for trees in the Flow Country and other land uses. We are saying that trees should go in the right place.
“It’s on the list for potential World Heritage status. Not many natural habits have that status.”