Support Needed for Upland Vegetation Management

 

The Wicklow Uplands Council Vegetation Management Group which has been in place for the past couple of years has been very active in trying to get an upland environmental scheme to encourage better use of the mountains by sheep farmers to improve the management of upland vegetation. To this end, the group contacted all the different groups who use and have an interest in the hills and met with a great response from all concerned. Open meetings were held and people were very much in favour of such a scheme.

 

The Wicklow group also met people from the Cooley Mountains in Co. Louth and the Comeragh Mountains in Co. Waterford who experience similar issues and challenges on their hill areas. Given the similarity between these eastern hill areas and the management required to maintain them, a scheme for the eastern hill region was recommended. A number of field trips also took place at Djouce, Ballybraid and the Wicklow Gap to look at tall heather, burned heather and areas where swiping had been trialled. It became evident on the field trips that there is much common ground between hill sheep farmers and upland ecologists who both want to see a mosaic of habitats of varying structure on the hills.

 

The group was disappointed not to be able to get a co-ordinating beneficiary (banker) to back its original plans for an EU LIFE application due to the ongoing financial downturn. The group subsequently sought and was approved LEADER funding from County Wicklow Partnership for a study to identify best management of upland habitats in County Wicklow. The report is due for completion in March 2013.

 

The Vegetation Management Group is determined to get support for the management of upland vegetation and to press to get a more sensible approach to heather burning including extending the permissible burning dates, rotational burning and to identify ways to encourage sheep owners to graze more stock on the hills therefore keeping the vegetation in better condition for wildlife, livestock, recreational users and all concerned.

Author: Pat Dunne, Hill Sheep Farmer & Chairman of WUC Vegetation Management Group