Council welcomes new heritage bill
THE passing of the Heritage Bill through both houses of the Oireachtas has been warmly welcomed by Wicklow Uplands Council, who has lobbied successive Governments for the extension of the current permissive burning season since it was shortened by six weeks in 2000.
The provisions found in the Heritage Bill will allow for the controlled burning of upland vegetation in the month of March on a two year pilot basis should circumstances such as severe weather events require an extension to the current permissive dates. At present, the burning season is out of line with the UK and Northern Ireland dates who allow for controlled burning till April 15.
Speaking abut the bill Brian Dunne, Coordinator for Wicklow Uplands Council said: ‘It must be recognised that there is a significant difference between the devastation caused by uncontrolled wildfires compared with the use of controlled rotational burning which provides forage and shelter for sheep while creating a mosaic of habitat structures, food for wildlife and a greater biodiversity in the upland region.
‘Undertaken responsibly, controlled burning is an important management tool in the future of upland habitat management and it also greatly reduces the chances of a wildfire taking hold in upland regions. Unmanaged monocultures of bracken, heather or gorse are not good for biodiversity and provide fuel for wildfires that can take hold in the dry summer months’.
Controlled burning when carried out correctly, is widely considered to be a very effective land management technique and to the benefit to both farmers and upland biodiversity. The practice is used to remove areas of older and taller vegetation and allow for the regeneration of young heather for grazing livestock.
The Uplands Council has often warned of the dangers of unmanaged and excessive vegetation in the uplands should a fire take hold. The recent prolonged dry weather conditions have seen wildfires spreading with devastating affect, which highlights the importance and need for better management practices of upland habitats.
According to Ciaran Nugent, Forestry Inspector with the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: ‘Almost 40 years of fire weather data collected and modelled by Met Eireann and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine clearly supports the position that March is the best and safest time of the year to conduct prescribed burning under Irish conditions’.
The current permissive season from September to the end of February is regarded as unworkable by many of the upland landowners.
Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle has offered his support to the bill. He said: ‘ The provisions of the bill will bring our dates into line with our neighbours in NI, Scotland and Wales, each of whom are acknowledged as having wildlife conservation at the very core of their policies. What we have witnessed happening over the past number of years, particularly since the amendments to the Wildlife Act in 2000, has been a gradual degrading of the uplands vegetation’. This development is also critical in light of the Upland Council’s new European funded ‘Sustainable Uplands Agri-environment Scheme’ (SUAS) pilot project. SUAS aims to support upland farmers in the best management of their upland habitats and the use of controlled burning will be an important feature of the project. Training and equipment will be provided to participants and all burning activities will be carried out with the use of integrated management plans.
‘ The recently commenced SUAS pilot project which offers a strategic management plan of the upland habitats and supports when required, the practice of controlled rotational burning using best practice,’ said Mr Dunne. ‘ This includes legislative notification and reporting requirements. The SUAS project is going to measure the impacts of controlled burning on the ecology and hydrology of certain sites’.