The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
A terrible beauty is born
ALIEN Invasive species that were brought to Ireland for their beauty wreak havoc on our native wildlife. In response to this calamity the SOL (Save our Laune) group was set up in early 2016. It developed out of the Kerry Japanese Knotweed Survey and Awareness Group which had mapped that invasive plant on over 1,700km of roads and lanes on the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas and held presentations around the county to highlight the problem.
It was while mapping the roads that we became aware of stands of Japanese knotweed on the rivers. We did a pilot survey of knotweed on the River Laune and the following year we concentrated our surveying to the waterways flowing into the Laune.
We contacted the Laune anglers, Inland Fisheries, NPWS, Tidy Towns, Astellas Pharmaceuticals and a botanist and they all gave us the benefit of their extensive local knowledge, ranging from the best waders to identifying a further eight species.
Lo and behold
Japanese knotweed is only one of the big offenders, which also include Himalayan
Balsam growing the entire length of the Maine and
Shanowen rivers without a break.
This has serious implications for bank erosion, flooding and silt clogging up the salmon beds. It absolutely needs to be tackled now.
A long section of the Deenagh is impassable due to Rhododendron and the forestry around the lakes of Killarney. Rhododendron provides no benefit to our ecosystem and devastates our native forestry.
One plant ignored by all, due to its beautiful show in late summer, is Montbretia. It is in my opinion the worst of all the invasives along the rivers. It spreads up along the banks choking out native plants necessary for the health of the river and all that lives in it. In British ecological circles Montbretia in the west of Ireland is cited as an example of the catastrophic effect Alien invasive plant species can have on wildlife, whilst we in Kerry seem blissfully unaware of the damage it is doing.
In an effort to highlight our rivers and their importance, last year we held a celebration of the River Laune in Killorglin with all interested groups taking part. The stands featured all the groups mentioned above with Teagasc, Astellas, Duhallow, IFA, Crag Cave raptor birds, a butterfly and moth expert, scouts, Tidy Towns and the hedgehog sanctuary all taking part. We ran locally made environmental films and storytelling.
Our volunteers include skilled ecologists, a botanist, an accountant/tour operator, experienced canoeists and a retired radiologist with an average age of 56.
Our volunteers, through Kerry Volunteer have been wonderful. Such is the concern of two volunteers – Helen and Lisa – they waived their travel expenses so that more surveying could be done. Our tour operator loaned us a camper van for the National Ploughing Championship, which was a great success in raising awareness.
Some of the invasive plants such as Skunk cabbage could be eradicated relatively quickly and cheaply as they have not yet spread too much. However, others such as Japanese knotweed, Rhododendron and Montbretia will need years of concerted effort and expense. Himalayan Balsam is easily pulled up before it goes to seed but for the Maine and Shanowen rivers this would mean large groups of people willing to get out and deal with it. Every year these plants are ignored the problem becomes greater.
We’re hoping to get funding to train people who can manage invasive species on the rivers. It is a long term project and one that would need to be held in perpetuity.
We give presentations to schools and community groups and have stands at local fairs around the county to educate the public. Our website www.saveourlaune.org also has maps where the spread of each invasive species can be seen.