Public views are being sought to shape a masterplan for the Cairngorms National Park over the next five years.
Flood prevention and affordable housing will be two of the key issues considered as part of the new partnership plan.
The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) has identified nine issues on which they will consult the public as they draw up the new plan, which will become live next year.
A key issue will be considering where to invest in new facilities to attract visitors.
The plan will set the key priorities for the park, which is the UK’s largest and covers about 6% of Scotland, stretching from the Highlands in the west, eastwards to Moray and Aberdeenshire and also Perthshire in the south.
The consultation was launched yesterday by CNPA deputy convener Brian Wood and the park’s chief executive Grant Moir, along with children from Kingussie Primary School and Ruthven Barracks yesterday.
Mr Wood said: “I think the next five years are vitally important to the park.
“There’s a huge amount to be done, a lot has been done over the course of the last plan but there’s still a lot of things to be carried out.
“Things like affordable housing are huge issues in the park so there’s big challenges in the next few years and it’s important for the future of the park that we get these things right.”
He added: “Of course there is the difficult balance of providing affordable housing how we deal with second homes in the park.
“People who own second homes make a valuable contribution to the economy of the park, yet they make it difficult for young people to buy homes.”
He highlighted reducing the number of second homes in the park as a key priority – but said different parts of the huge area would have differing priorities.
He added: “I think it depends who you are and where you are in the park on what matters to different people.
“Something like flooding is clearly high on the agenda at the moment and people in areas like Ballater are naturally very concerned about whether what happened there will happen again.
“Across the park issues like affordable housing are very difficult to tackle
“That’s key to young people being able to stay in the park, being able to work in the park and put something back to the park.
“That’s key to the future really.”
The consultation will run until the end of September.
The proposed plan will go before the CNPA board following this and will be submitted to the Scottish Government for approval next year.
