Coillte has welcomed the announcement that funding will be provided for the process of rewetting and replanting 2,100ha of Atlantic blanket bog.

The announcement was made last week by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Dara Calleary and Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett that funding is to be provided for the Wild Atlantic Bog Woodland project as part of the government’s July Stimulus Package.

The project will see 2,100ha of Atlantic blanket bog, which is currently planted with spruce and pine forests, restored with rewetted bog and replanted with native woodlands.

‘The right tree in the right place’

CEO of Coillte Imelda Hurley said that the project is of significant importance for biodiversity in bogs.

“This project aims to sensitively remove the conifers on these sites and restore the landscape with rewetted bog and native woodlands,” Hurley said.

“The overall aim is to restore these rare habitats. It will create significant biodiversity and outdoor recreation benefits and improve the visual amenity of this iconic landscape.

It’s about the right tree in the right place for the right objective.

Coillte has previously completed three major bog restoration projects but this will be the largest undertaken to date, the firm says.

Director of Coillte Nature, the branch of Coillte dedicated to “restoration, regeneration and rehabilitation of nature”, Dr. Ciarán Fallon said that the funding will allow Coillte to create “real impact and restore a rare habitat of international importance, where the learning can be applied to develop a range of solutions for restoring western peatlands”.

Atlantic blanket bogs

Atlantic blanket bogs are found in low-lying coastal plains in mountainous areas of western counties.

They are particularly well developed in counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Clare and Sligo.