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Cromarty Firth, Ness, Beauly and Kyle of Sutherland

Welcome to the Scottish Highlands with some of our most remote and picturesque catchments

The Rivers

The Cromarty Firth, Ness, Beauly and Kyle of Sutherland river catchments are located in Inverness-shire, Easter Ross and Sutherland, in the north of our project area. The catchments cover a large area of the Scottish Highlands and together these form one of the largest areas in the project.

The majority of land use in the region consists of sporting estates, rough grazing, open moorland, commercial forestry and native woodlands, with some agricultural areas in the lowlands, particularly around the coast. As well as the numerous rivers and lochs, there are vast areas of coastline and estuarine habitat across the catchments including the Beauly, Moray, Cromarty and Dornoch Firths.

This area is important for nature conservation, famous for its scenery and has many designated and protected sites. Glen Affric, Glen Strathfarrar and the Dornoch Firth are all designated as National Scenic Areas (NSA) for their exceptional scenery; Glen Affric is also designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and Special Protection Area (SPA) and contains the third largest remnant of the Caledonian Forest.

The River Oykel and River Moriston are both designated Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) for Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussel while the Firths have numerous designations for birds, marine mammals, wetland habitats and marine habitats.

There are three project partners in this area: the Beauly Fishery Board, the Cromarty Firth Fishery Board, and the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board.

The Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly Rivers

The Ness Catchment

The Ness catchment is the largest in the North Highlands and drains an area of 2,103 km² (812 square miles). The upper reaches extend almost to the west coast; the land then drains east and north through the Great Glen. There are several key rivers and water bodies within the catchment which all drain into Loch Ness. The River Ness then begins at Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, and flows about 10 km (6 miles) towards Inverness before meeting the sea in the Moray Firth.

The Beauly Catchment

The Beauly catchment is the second largest north of the Great Glen and drains an area of around 1,000 km² (386 square miles), with tributaries extending almost to the west coast. The catchment includes the Rivers Farrar, Glass, Cannich, Affric and Beauly; notable lochs include Monar, Mullardoch, Affric and Beinn a' Mheadhoin. The River Beauly itself is about 25 km (16 miles) long and begins near Struy, at the confluence of the Glass and Farrar, and flows east past Beauly town to the Beauly Firth.

Cromarty Firth District

The Cromarty Firth lies to the north of Inverness between the Black Isle and the Tarbat peninsula. The district encompasses all rivers and burns flowing into the Firth, including the Rivers Conon, Alness, Allt Graad (Glass), Balnagowan, Sgitheach and Peffrey. The River Conon, which meets the Cromarty Firth at Dingwall, is the principle river and the largest catchment north of the Great Glen. The Conon drains an area of around 1,168 km² (451 square miles), extending west almost to Kinlochewe and north to Beinn Dearg.

Kyle of Sutherland

The Kyle of Sutherland catchments are located in Easter Ross and Sutherland, to the north of the Cromarty Firth District. The principle rivers in the Kyle catchments include the Carron, Shin, Cassley, Oykel and Evelix, as well as the Dornoch Firth and associated coastal burns. Altogether these rivers drain an area of 1,636 km² (632 square miles).

Our invasive plant control project does not extend to these catchments. However, we do maintain a small mink monitoring and trapping network in the area, which is managed by the Project Officer for Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly and supported by the Kyle of Sutherland Fishery Board and Trust. This network extends a little north of the Kyle; currently to the River Brora catchment.

Early intervention

Compared to other parts of the project area, invasive non-native plants are relatively limited in their distribution within the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly catchments. Our key target species – giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and American skunk cabbage – are present but in lower abundances and fewer location than catchments to the east and south.

This provides an opportunity to tackle infestations at relatively early stages of establishment while distributions and abundances are still limited. Our work here will prevent these invasive plants spreading further in the Scottish Highlands and causing ecological impacts within these catchments.

Our activities

Click the expandable sections to find out more about our plant control activities; information on American mink is listed below.

Himalayan balsam is present in the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly catchments but has not yet become an extensive and widespread problem. Volunteers make significant contributions to control work, in addition to the project team and fishery boards and trusts.

On the River Beauly, the source of Himalayan balsam is just upstream of Kilmorack on the main stem of the river, with the worst of the infestation around Beauly town. A local community group, the Beauly Balsam Bashers, work together to manage the problem with help from Beauly Fishery Board and the project team. The infestation is controlled from source to sea.

In the Cromarty Firth catchments, there is an infestation on the River Conon. The upstream source is at the confluence of the Orrin and the Conon; we are currently treating from here down to Conon Bridge. A separate, minor infestation around Evanton is controlled by the project team.

In the Ness catchment there are infestations around Invergarry (River Garry) and Invermoriston (small burns) which are controlled annually. A large infestation at Drumnadrochit (Rivers Enrick and Coiltie) is controlled in collaboration with the Woodland Trust; this site is not yet fully under management. A separate outbreak on burns around Avoch village is controlled by an independent volunteer group in the local community.

Japanese knotweed is an emerging problem throughout the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly catchments. Infestations are mostly small but widely dispersed.

We are controlling infestations from source to sea in all three catchments but still find new sites each year to add to the control programme. We are working with volunteers, land owners and land managers.

Sightings by members of the public are very important to identify new infestations. Please notify us if you see this species present anywhere in the area.

American skunk cabbage is present in scattered locations in the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly catchments. It is an emerging problem and has not yet spread extensively along rivers banks but infestations can be found in patches.

We are controlling notable infestations in Conon Bridge and Maryburgh, on Loch Dochfour, and in scattered sites across the River Beauly catchment. Control work is completed by the project team, volunteers, fishery board staff, land managers and land owners.

We believe we are controlling the full extent of the infestations. Please notify us if you see this species present anywhere in the area.

Giant hogweed is present on a few coastal burns in the Cromarty Firth (Balnagown River, Kilmuir Bay) and Ness (Culloden area) catchments. As it is a relatively limited problem, control work is completed by the project team, volunteers, and fishery board staff. All known sites are under management.

Please notify us if you see this species present anywhere in the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly River catchments.

Himalayan knotweed is a very localised problem in the Cromarty Firth catchment near Dingwall. We believe we have contained and controlled the full extent of the infestation and are near eradication. Please notify us if you see this species present anywhere in the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly River catchments.

American mink

The Cromarty Firth, Ness, Beauly and Kyle of Sutherland river catchments are located in the north of our project area and present varied habitat types for mink which can be challenging to monitor and trap within.

There are extensive mountainous and upland areas with mixed habitat compositions (open hills, moorlands, and forests); agricultural areas near the coast, particularly on the Black Isle and Tarbat peninsula; and an extensive coastline with vast areas of estuarine habitat.

Throughout Phase 2 (2023-2026) of the Initiative we have been expanding our mink monitoring and trapping network in this area. Currently (summer 2025) we have 100 active mink rafts and traps across the four catchments with a network of 53 dedicated volunteers monitoring these.

Meet your local Project Officer

Trudi Clarke

Trudi co-ordinates the plant control project and oversees the mink network across the Cromarty Firth, Ness and Beauly river catchments, including all associated tributaries and coastlines. Trudi also covers the Kyle of Sutherland area for our mink control project. She first started with the Initiative in 2023 and is based with the Cromarty Firth Fishery Board. 

If you are a landowner, land manager, community group or local organisation in the area and would like to get involved in the project, please get in touch.

07498889443 Trudi.Clarke@cromartyboard.com

Volunteering opportunities

Find out more about volunteering opportunities available in the Cromarty Firth, Ness, Beauly and Kyle of Sutherland catchments. You can also visit our Volunteering page to find out about opportunities available across the project and for further details on these activities.

Sign up to volunteer

If you are interested in volunteering please complete the online registration form. Your local contact will then be in touch.

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