Game club plans to save bog habitat

ONE of the consequences of massive development has been the destruction of boglands.

At one time, a seventh of the country was described as bogland, or peatland from which people in the countryside harvested turf as domestic fuel.

According to official records, about 80% of our boglands have disappeared for many reasons including forestry, house building, land reclamation or road construction. But, efforts are being made to try and save what’s left of this resource, which is home to a large variety of plant and animal life.

For example, Rathcormac Game and Wildlife Club, in north Cork, has launched an appeal for funds to purchase to purchase wetlands and boglands in the area.

“We want to save a little of what’s left so as to preserve a small part of our natural wildlife habitat,” explains John Howard.

While not against development, he says ‘some few acres’ in the locality are disappearing every year and they plan to purchase land that would, in modern farming terms, be considered marginal and non-productive.

“These areas will be a legacy to future generations and to all kinds of rare and endangered species. We will have an open-door policy on all our preserves and all will be welcome. They will be of great interest for educational purposes,” he points out.

Founded in 1971, the Rathcormac club has been involved in conservation for many years and some endangered species are at thriving in the area, largely due to the work of club members. Hen harriers are to seen regularly as are many hawk species, including merlin. Also in the area are barn owls as well as the long-eared owls. Some club members are planting crops specially for wildlife under the new REPS scheme.

There are also plans to sow a traditional wildflower meadow where hares will thrive in the absence of harvesting. The Rathcormac enthusiasts will also be planting beetle banks and nesting covers.

“These areas will be alive with activity in the summer months. Last year, in one of these plots we had more species of butterflies than ever. We had holly blues, clouded yellows, meadow browns, ringlets and many more of the common ones,” John Howard, who also happens to be chairman of the Cork Federation of Gun Clubs, says.

“In the beetle banks, we also had many different kinds of moths. There is a kestrel hunting mice and pygmy shrews. We will also construct some ponds in these areas and the newts and frogs that we have will flourish here. Every year the club plants at least 500 native hardwood trees and this will continue.”

At the moment, the club is trying to reintroduce the grey partridge by releasing some every year. This once common bird, along with the corncrake, could formerly be seen and heard almost in every parish in Ireland. Now they are both almost extinct. The club is limited in what it can do as it owns none of the preserved lands. In the future, however, the club will do much more on its own preserves where it will have full control.

“If we don’t act now, then who will? These beautiful areas of our parish and countryside will be lost forever,” John, who also believes there should be more EU funding for such projects, warns.

Bogs and fens are an extensive natural resource in Ireland. Despite the small size of the country, the country still has possesses 51% of the raised bogs and 50% of the blanket bogs of conservation importance remaining in Europe.

Therefore, says the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), we have a special international obligation to protect these peatlands. The IPCC has a plan for the protection of a representative sample of bogs and fens.

For centuries, bogs have been thought of only in terms of their usefulness to humans. Many countries have completely destroyed their boglands for fuel. As unspoiled bogs become harder to find, conservationists have worked to create a network of bogland nature reserves.

The raised bogs of the Midlands grew up from shallow lakes, but the blanket bog rests directly on the stumps of the pine trees of ancient woodlands, or on stonewalled pastures cleared by the Neolithic farmers of 5,000 years ago.

The unmistakable sight of bog-deal can still be seen in many of the lakes and bog-workings while archaeologists have been uncovering the walls of ancient fields, as in Ceide Fields, in Mayo. Other national treasures and ‘bog bodies’ have also been unearthed from the peatlands.