Agreement allows farmers to plant in protected areas to be used for conservation of hen harrier

NEW planting by farmers in areas soon to be designated for the protection of the hen harrier is to be allowed under an agreed forest management protocol.

An annual quota of new planting will be established for each of six proposed Special Protection Areas in counties Cork, Clare, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Limerick, Monaghan, Offaly and Tipperary.

The Forest Service will be responsible for processing applications and will implement the new protocol immediately. Under the new rules, the heath-bog habitat will be fully preserved.

A working group, set up by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG), agreed the protocol. Ireland is obliged under the European Union Birds Directive to designate areas important for particular types of birds as Special Protection Areas.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service, part of the DEHLG, was considering a number of areas for such designation in respect of the hen harrier.

The European Commission had expressed the gravest concern at any further planting within these areas until it was possible to fully assess the impact of forestry on the species. But the suspension of all applications to plant in these areas, pending agreement on the new management regime, caused major controversy among landowners.

The working group, on which forestry and farming interests and the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAF) were represented, spent over a year examining the issues.

It faced the challenge of how to marry to best advantage the continued development of forestry in these areas with the protection of the species.

Environment Minister Dick Roche and Forestry Minister Mary Wallace have confirmed that the group has agreed a path forward.

Mr Roche said the agreement represented a balance between good and sensible environmental practice and legitimate desire for sustainable development in these areas.

“I fully expect that the EU Commission will recognise and value the consultative approach that has taken place here and the commitment shown by the forest sector to the conservation requirements for the hen harrier,” he said.

Welcoming the agreement, IFA Farm Forestry chairman John Jackson said it would allow forestry to remain an important land use option to farmers in the areas concerned.