River Ruel habitat improvement project (2017-2026)

AFT have been working to improve fish habitat in the River Ruel since 2017 by improving the quality and quantity of bankside and instream cover for fish through a range of techniques.

The sandy loose soils in the Cowal region of Argyll make the very susceptible to erosion and collapse when the bankside armouring of trees are lost. Bank erosion on the River Ruel, an important salmon and sea trout fishery, has left the river ever wider and the water ever shallower reducing the quality of salmonid fish habitat.

Collapsed riverbanks are a common feature of the River Ruel

The loss of bankside trees leaves the water exposed to over-warming due to lack of shade and reduce bankside cover for fish. While retaining useful fallen timber in the river, AFT have worked with landowners and the River Ruel Improvement Association with financial support from the Salmon Scotland's Wild Fishery Fund, and the Cruach Mhor Wind Farm Fund, the work of reducing severe erosion by revegetating the riverbanks has been developed. A mix of green bank revetment and coarse wood placement has been used as a first step in the process where recycled Christmas trees and forestry brash have been pinned to the foot of the riverbank using untreated larch posts driven into the bed of the river.

Green bank revetment installation on a collapsed bank

The bank is regraded using a track machine and willow pegs and whips planted to begin the process of bank revegetation. This work begins the process of bank stabilisation and buys time for existing and newly planted trees to colonise more of the bank. New fencing has also been installed along 500 m of riverbank in 2025 and 250 new trees planted with guards. More work to repair riverbanks, fencing and tree planting are being planned for 2026.

New fencing of a restored riverbank