Background The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is the largest species of grouse in the world and in Scotland, the species is facing extinction for a second time. It first disappeared in 1785 but was re-introduced from Sweden in 1837 as a game bird. By the 1970s the populations numbered around 20,000 birds. Since then, however, its decline has been dramatic with population numbers dropping to around 1,000 birds. Key threats include mortality through collisions with deer fences, predation of chicks, lack of suitable foraging sites for newly-hatched chicks and, above all, the severe fragmentation and reduced quality of the capercaillie's prime woodland habitats. A number of emergency conservation efforts have been carried out in recent years but these were neither large scale nor wide spread and remained predominantly localised programmes. Objectives This LIFE project took a more strategic approach than previous efforts, targeting Scotland’s six main metapopulations of western capercaillie (hosting 60% of the total population) and covered activities in 8 SPAs, as well as 37 other importnat sites. The overall target was to increase the population to 5000 birds by 2010. Collaberation with relevant stakeholders was considered essential for the project’s long term success and a strong partnership of private, public and voluntray sector members was formed to drive the project. This included over 30 local land owners. A series of management actions were carried out and these practical conservation measures were complemented by an awareness raising programme regarding good conservation practice, which was boosted by experineces from Swedish and other transnational partners. Results Highland Birchwoods’ project met and exceeded all of its objectives, making important contributions to the Biodiversity Action Plan for capercaillie in Scotland. Survey results published during the project indicated that the population decline has been halted and the number of capercaillie had increased to some 2000 birds. Other project achievements include the following results: Management planning work funded to help implement work across over 25,000 ha of forest; Coordination of a large and diverse group of stakeholders; Production of baseline surveys, management plans and monitoring regimes on over 6,000 ha; Purchase and management of 655 ha of SPA for capercaillie habitat; 97 ha of heather burning and 170 ha of heather swiping to improve brood rearing habitat; Brash piling over 181 ha to improve the provision of ground cover; Removal of non-native species to improve capercaillie habitat across over 700 ha; Reduction of the risk posed by 40 km of deer fencing by the marking or removal of fencing; Predator control around brood sites across almost 34,000 ha of forest; Management of the impact of grazing on capercaillie habitat through the installation of grazing fences or the repair of existing fences; Capercaillie friendly silvicultural regimes initiated on over 900 ha, including 374 ha of variable density thinning in plantations and glades created within 45 ha of forest; Production of several high-quality technical reports, including a best practice manual; A wide ranging dissemination programme, culminating in a high-profile two-day conference in November 2006; and Ongoing population monitoring surveys across around 35,000 ha of forest. Innovative management methods were tested during the LIFE project, such as under-canopy heather burning and swiping, which involved developing new equipment and techniques suited to a range of site conditions. Other useful demonstration lessons included: The importance of establishing and maintaining a complete network of stakeholders; The value of an up-to-date and trustworthy monitoring programme for the key species, to steer conservation responses; Management of the national population as a whole, rather than concentrating on selected metapopulations; The importance of protecting and creating brood habitats over a wide area, allowing breeding in some areas when others are adversely affected; Wide-scale and targeted predator control; The importance of disseminating information about capercaillie ecology to all stakeholders; and Sharing of knowledge through project events. Although the decline of the capercaillie population has ceased during the lifetime of the project, the beneficiary acknowledges that direct cause and effect is difficult to prove and longer term monitoring will be required. Highland Birchwoods look forward to the next National Capercaillie Survey, planned for 2009, which they believe will help to reveal further the positive impact of their efforts towards the LIFE project’s overall objective of increasing Scotland’s capercaillie population to 5000 birds by 2010.