Forest Service, an Govt Company of the Division of Agriculture, Surroundings and Rural Affairs (DAERA), has launched a public engagement relating to forests in Co. Down.

Calling on the farming neighborhood to answer the engagement, Planning Forester, Breandan Mulholland mentioned:

“That is the seventh session since 2017 in relation to forest plans and the response from the agricultural neighborhood has been improbable.

“We’ve acquired responses from a various vary of stakeholders together with these representing the farming trade, countryside sports activities and native communities.

“Forestry planning helps us ship many providers from our forests and woodlands, akin to timber manufacturing and seize of carbon dioxide to mitigate local weather change.

“Common critiques of forest plans be certain that they’re updated and permits us to watch our forests to allow them to proceed to fulfill the various and generally competing wants of individuals, wildlife, and wooden processing industries.”

“With an estimated forest cowl of round 8,800ha in Down, forests and woodlands are a major a part of the agricultural panorama and financial system.

“Round 40% of those forests and woodlands are non-Forest Service.

“Forest Service seeks higher involvement of individuals within the revision of its forest plans.

“Plans will contemplate Forest Service forests and make references to different woodlands. Members of the farming neighborhood can assist by telling us what’s vital to them.”

The session might be accessed by way of the ‘Citizen House’ web site.

Mulholland concluded: “Forests are an important pure useful resource which belong to us all.

“That is the final session to be held within the present evaluation of forest plans, and it’s notably vital that these residing and dealing within the rural neighborhood have their say on the event of forest plans.”

The session runs from September 23 to November 30, 2022.