Coillte has received the green light to remove 847ac of a conifer plantation in Galway for the purposes of peatland restoration and to plant native trees.
Galway County Council granted planning permission for the major project at Derryclare in Connemara.
Over the next 10 years, Coillte will carry out a number of measures to restore and rehabilitate almost 700ac of Atlantic blanket bog and heathland that is currently planted with lodgepole pine and conifer forests and managed for productive forestry.
Just over 150ac of land planted with conifers will be converted to native woodland. The main peatland restoration measures will include tree removal, drain blocking (manual and mechanical) and surface smoothing.
Drain blocking
Drain blocking is planned for all existing artificial drainage and artificial land drains currently existing within the peatland restoration areas in order to restore the high water table which is necessary for blanket bog growth, according to planning documents seen by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Deer fencing will be erected to protect the proposed native woodland.
Coillte has welcomed the decision by Galway County Council to grant planning permission for the project.
“Our immediate next step is to review the planning permission in detail, including the conditions set out by the council, and incorporate them into our plan,” a spokesperson for Coillte said.
“This innovative, large-scale project will see 340ha of peatland forests redesigned for climate and ecological benefits over a 10-year period. Key objectives of the project include peatland rehabilitation, promoting regrowth of bog and heath and creating new native woodlands, which will collectively reduce carbon emissions.
“[This] announcement marks a significant and positive step forward in the delivery of Coillte’s strategic ambition to redesign 30,000ha of peatland forests by 2050.
"The works at Derryclare will include tree removal, drain blocking and the control of invasive species and it is expected to inform future Coillte peatland redesign projects across Ireland.”
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Wild deer and ‘trespassing sheep’ fenced out of Galway nature reserve
Coillte has received the green light to remove 847ac of a conifer plantation in Galway for the purposes of peatland restoration and to plant native trees.
Galway County Council granted planning permission for the major project at Derryclare in Connemara.
Over the next 10 years, Coillte will carry out a number of measures to restore and rehabilitate almost 700ac of Atlantic blanket bog and heathland that is currently planted with lodgepole pine and conifer forests and managed for productive forestry.
Just over 150ac of land planted with conifers will be converted to native woodland. The main peatland restoration measures will include tree removal, drain blocking (manual and mechanical) and surface smoothing.
Drain blocking
Drain blocking is planned for all existing artificial drainage and artificial land drains currently existing within the peatland restoration areas in order to restore the high water table which is necessary for blanket bog growth, according to planning documents seen by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Deer fencing will be erected to protect the proposed native woodland.
Coillte has welcomed the decision by Galway County Council to grant planning permission for the project.
“Our immediate next step is to review the planning permission in detail, including the conditions set out by the council, and incorporate them into our plan,” a spokesperson for Coillte said.
“This innovative, large-scale project will see 340ha of peatland forests redesigned for climate and ecological benefits over a 10-year period. Key objectives of the project include peatland rehabilitation, promoting regrowth of bog and heath and creating new native woodlands, which will collectively reduce carbon emissions.
“[This] announcement marks a significant and positive step forward in the delivery of Coillte’s strategic ambition to redesign 30,000ha of peatland forests by 2050.
"The works at Derryclare will include tree removal, drain blocking and the control of invasive species and it is expected to inform future Coillte peatland redesign projects across Ireland.”
Read more
Wild deer and ‘trespassing sheep’ fenced out of Galway nature reserve
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