Nominee Summary
Atlantic Salmon Trust’s Watershed Connections Project is building a UK-wide network of catchment-scale restoration partnerships, including projects in Scotland on the River Dee, the Isle of Lewis and a new project on Speyside. Watershed Connections turns science and evidence into practical conservation action: restoring river habitats, improving water quality, building climate resilience and conserving and restoring one of Scotland’s most iconic and endangered species — the wild Atlantic salmon. By working with landowners, estates, river trusts, local businesses and communities, Watershed Connections is delivering conservation at the scale needed to protect salmon and enhance wider biodiversity for future generations.
What was the motivation?
Wild Atlantic salmon are part of Scotland’s heritage: The Torridon Stone features a Pictish carving of Atlantic salmon from 500 AD; a law in 1424 meant anyone convicted on three occasions for killing salmon outside the permitted season faced the death penalty; and in 1924, a much celebrated, 28 kg salmon was caught on the river Deveron. More recently, the salmon featured on a coin to celebrate King Charles' coronation, and it is currently in the running to feature on UK banknotes. Wild Atlantic salmon are also a keystone species. Their decline reflects wider pressures on Scotland’s ecosystem, including climate change, habitat degradation, loss of riparian woodland and pollution. Measures designed for salmon benefit sea trout, invertebrates, birds, mammals, wetlands and wider biodiversity. With the motivation to conserve Scotland’s heritage and ecosystem, the aim of Watershed Connections is simple: to take practical action to ensure that Atlantic salmon are safeguarded for future generations. Watershed Connections was developed to share and apply the knowledge from AST’s Core Rivers and research programmes. The project is based on the principle that salmon recovery cannot be achieved by isolated interventions. It requires healthy whole catchments: cold, clean water; access to spawning habitat; shaded riparian zones; and resilience to droughts, floods and rising temperatures. The programme is business-like and practical, we identify pressures, build partnerships, audit catchments, prioritise action, secure investment and deliver long-term restoration with measurable outcomes. By using Atlantic salmon as a flagship for wider ecosystem recovery, efficient and effective action is taken.
The impact of their work
Watershed Connections has rapidly grown from a concept into an active network of restoration partnerships covering more than 4,600km². Scottish projects include Save the Spring on the River Dee and Linking the Lochs on the Isle of Lewis, with a new project starting in 2026 on Speyside. This scale is significant: it moves conservation beyond small, site-by-site activity and into landscape-scale delivery across whole river systems. The project’s impact lies in its combination of science, partnership and implementation. On the Isle of Lewis, the Linking the Lochs partnership is undertaking a comprehensive catchment audit across 35,000 acres, including drone surveys, soil sampling, grazing reports, woodland consultancy, biodiversity baselining and GIS mapping. This provides the evidence base for long-term habitat improvement and environmental monitoring. On the River Dee, Save the Spring brings AST together with local delivery partners to support salmon recovery through catchment restoration and innovation in fisheries management. Watershed Connections has also strengthened the conservation case for land managers by showing how river restoration can deliver multiple benefits: improved habitat for salmon and sea trout, healthier freshwater ecosystems, climate adaptation, natural flood management, biodiversity gain and stronger rural partnerships. Support for projects through mechanisms such as Scotland’s Nature Restoration Fund demonstrates external confidence in the approach.
Including the community
Community involvement is central to Watershed Connections. AST’s approach is to build locally led partnerships that reflect the needs, knowledge and ambitions of each catchment. Watershed Connections projects partner with landowners, estates, fishery boards, river trusts, ghillies, local businesses, contractors, volunteers and community organisations to design projects that are practical, deliverable and locally supported. In Linking the Lochs, community engagement is an explicit part of the programme, involving local people and businesses throughout the project’s life. This is important as long-term salmon recovery depends on land-use decisions taken across the whole catchment, from grazing and woodland management to peatland, forestry and river habitats. The Save the Spring project is a 20-year partnership between the River Dee Trust, Dee District Salmon Fishery Board and AST, supported by the University of Stirling and UHI Inverness. The programme is focused on restoring and futureproofing the upper Dee catchment. AST and its partners have shown how conservation can unite estates, local communities, funders and river managers around a shared objective: protecting an iconic species while improving the wider environment. AST promotes the importance of its conservation work through its ever-growing salmon community, both nationally and internationally. We explain why wild salmon matter, why healthy rivers matter, and why restoration must happen at pace and scale. By presenting salmon as both an iconic species and an indicator of wider river health, Watershed Connections helps communities see conservation not as a niche local interest, but as an investment in resilient landscapes, rural livelihoods and Scotland’s heritage.
