Coillte to clear 154 hectares of forest over five years

UP to 154 hectares of forest owned by Coillte in South-East Clare will be cut over the next five years, according to the company’s Forest Management Plan.
This compares to the felling of an estimated 198 hectares from 2006 to 2010 and 107 from 2016 to 2020, before tree-cutting increases 15-fold to a total of 1,767 hectares post 2020.
The Violet Hill Forest Management Plan predicts that about 45 hectares of forest will be felled annually, about 3% of the overall stocked area, which extends to 2,750 hectares in total.
Violet Hill is surrounded by Broadford, O’Briensbridge, Parteen, Cratloe, Sixmilebridge, Quin and Kilkishen. There are over 30 lakes in the area, with the Blackwater, Owenagarney, Ahaclare and Broadford rivers. The area of the forest is 2,750 hectares of which 72% is spruce and pine, 18% broadleaf and 10% is diverse conifer.
Significant operations in areas designated as Special Areas of Conservation and National Heritage Areas have to be carried out in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Cratloe Wood, which is visited annually by 60,000 to 80,000 walkers, is one of the very popular amenity areas within the forest, while part of the East Clare Way goes through the Kilbane, Knockshanvo and Cullaun parts of the forest.
Dumping is a constant concern and it has become expensive for the company to maintain the area litter free.
There is a long history of Woodland Oak in this forest most notably in the Cratloe, Broadford, Dromoland, Cullaun, Leitrim, Cooleycasey and Castlecrine areas. Cratloe’s association with oak dates back many centuries and it is recorded that the House of Parliament in London was roofed with Cratloe Oak.
Like all of Coillte’s forests, Violet Hill is being managed under the principles of sustainable forest management and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
The principle management aim is the production of timber on the more productive areas, while enhancing existing biodiversity areas and increase the area under broadleaf.
Coillte district manager, Daniel O’Brien, told The Clare Champion the company had received its certification for Violet Hill from the FSC following an audit conducted by the Soil Association of Britain.
The audit is examined under 10 principles to ensure the company is complying will all Irish laws and regulations and FSC goals. These include compliance with all Irish laws; tenure and user rights and responsibilities; indigenous people’s rights to take food from the forest; community relationship and workers’ rights; benefits from the forest; environmental impact; management plan; monitoring and assessments of this plan; maintenance of high conservation value areas and management of the first nine principles.
The areas for clear-felling are planned over a five-year period. According to the management plan, thinnings, whereby a portion of trees are removed at successive stages prior to clearfell, will only be done on the drier, more wind-firm areas. The timber from the clearfells is delivered to sawmills, while the thinnings are supplied to pulp mills and fencing post manufacturers.
The replanting of felled areas will normally be done in the year following clear-felling in order to reduce or eliminate the use of chemicals to prevent competing vegetation on young plants.
Diverse conifers and broadleaves will be increased where the soil type would sustain these species. In general at reforestation stage, the species mix will be spruce/pine more than 65% and diverse conifer, broadleaves and open space less than 35%.
The plan notes that thinning is a desirable practice when aiming to grow quality timber. The maximum level of thinning would mark a significant increase over previous years and is purely an indicative figure.
These figures indicate that 308 hectares may be thinned in Cratloe; 212 in Snaty; 132 in Knockshanvo; 115 in Derrynaveagh and 77 in Callaun.