Good and bad news on forestry

THE announcement that Coillte, in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, is to develop 4,000 hectares of forestry in north Mayo as a wilderness area for conservation and amenity use is very good news.

The land is on the eastern boundary of our newest National Park, around Ballycroy, which was established in 1998.

The National Park consists of one of the largest areas of unspoilt blanket bog left in western Europe and is also important for the conservation of salmon and sea trout because it contains most of the Owenduff river catchment. What amounts to an expansion of it, which will include much of Nephin Beg mountain, is welcome. Public consultations with local residents and land owners in the Keenagh area are underway.