The area is part of the Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotlands, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development. The Scottish plant collector, Clara Winsome Muirhead surveyed the plant-life of the islands and published The Flora of Easdale and the Garvellachs in 1962.