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Post by darchangel on Oct 29, 2009 17:20:05 GMT
I assume some of forum readers have come across the goings on up in More Abbey Wood. I just want to put something to you and see what you think.
The wood was severely disturbed during the building of the M7 bypass four or five years ago. Its is only really just recovered its former glory as an amenity for the town. Now another severe disturbance will once again disrupt a rare oasis of calm in a world gone daft.
There are a _huge_ number of beautiful old trees being cut down in the wood under the guise of "improving cultivation". The wood as it is an absolute treasure, why cant Coillte just leave it alone ?
The felling notices have been stuck up at the various entrance points to the wood for a few months so what is now occuring comes as no shock ( to me that is).
I just have a feeling there is something odd going on with the amount of trees being felled and the reasons given for the felling - something to do with allowing more light to reach the wood floor so more plants will grow. What exactly do they intend planting in place of trees that have taken 90 years to grow ? It doesnt make any sense.
The reason Im writing this post is because Ive a hunch about the motivation behind all this tree felling. I cycle up around the wood regularly in Spring/Summer and have had encounters with someone claiming to be the "Ranger". I dont know who he is but Ive only ever seen this person chopping wood with a chainsaw and filling his trailer. About a year ago a large number of trees were also cut down to facilitate some pipe or other. That wood disappeared pretty sharpish. I approached this person on one occasion as his car was blocking the path and I couldnt pass on the bike. He refused to budge and then sent one of his buddies after me (also on a bike) to warn me to be careful about who I was talking to (no joke). Ever since my radar has been up and as I said I only ever see the "Ranger" when there is wood to be chopped and carted off. Its the only visible maintenance activity Ive witnessed being taken by the authorities. They dont even clean up the rubbish that gets left behind by "overnight campers" (no money in that ;-))
Maybe Im off the beam here but I just thought Id see what yiz thought.
Cheers
Darch
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Post by sugarloves on Oct 29, 2009 22:59:16 GMT
tell the police and the council to look into this, he needs paperwork to state he can take theses trees down .. o i a tree hugger dont leave this to someone else or the place will be gone. for all you know he could be stealing right under your nose, take regs and times and get police to check, even call the local reps and talk to them, afer all thats their job to listen and act. keep us updated please.
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Post by darchangel on Nov 8, 2009 19:42:07 GMT
Two points: 1) I dont hug trees, I dont even talk to them but a wood thats taken a century to grow shouldnt be hacked down in the name of industry. According to www.coillte.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/FMPs/Kildare/kildare_05_monasterevin.pdfthe plan is to maintain the current rate of tree felling until April 2010. FELL YEAR AREA(ha) ---> Hectares not acres 2006 0.0 2007 3.6 2008 0.0 2009 25.2 --------------------> Now-Dec 2010 23.1 --------------------> 2010 That amounts to 48 hectares of clearing out of a total of ~300. Stated on page 2 of the presentation is the following: "The management focus for the forest is concerned with Amenity & BiodiversityLong Term Goal is: Timber production and Biodiversity"In other words, TIMBER PRODUCTION replaces AMENITY as a long term management goal. No surprise then that Coillte, a State sponsored organisation, are planning to squeeze the current amenity focus from MoreAbbey Wood and replace it with forestry. Public meeting notice ( for the record): www.coillte.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/FMPs/Kildare/kildare_05_monasterevin.pdfh also this link but the content does not relate to MooreAbbey/ Monasterevin even though the title does; www.coillte.ie/coillteforest/plans/forest_management_plans/progress_on_revising_our_forest_management_plans/kildare/?tx_r3co086forestsdb_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=KE05&cHash=328ebee3712) I dont want to slander anyone online, lets get that straight first. Forums like this one have been shutdown for less trivial offences like the naming and shaming of a shitty business offering shitty service. We live in a country with very strong defamation laws - that protect vested interests against wayward but sometime accurate criticism - so Ive to be careful how I word this. I dont think this is the work of one person, this is official State activity but lets say the local officers arent putting up much of a battle against what will amount to the evisceration of MoreAbbey aka Bluebell Wood as we know it. Ive been back up to the wood over the weekend and the destruction is rapid and targetted. Theres no way they need to clear this many trees to let the sunshine reach the forest floor - obviuosly, this is not the prime motivation behind knocking down the trees .Some areas have a single tree left standing in a 15 m 2 area. All the felled wood is deciduous forest - beech, elm, oak etc, very valuable hard woods. None of it is evergreens. It takes 20 - 50 years for deciduous trees to reach the MooreAbbey Wood height. So what do they plan putting in place of the felled trees ? Some of the tranquil walking tracks have been churned up by the fellers and the place looks like someone with $$$ in their eyes has squatted over it. With the knowledge gleaned from the Coillte report, my original hunch seems to be accurate. MooreAbbey wood is being transformed into a Forestry production site and the native deciduous trees that (1) are sold for a fortune and (b) take far too long to grow are being cut down in large numbers to be replaced by fast growing ever greens that are (1) cheaper to plant, (2) much faster growing and (3) turn a handy profit for Coillte. Any one else give a damn about this or are we all too distracted by the decaying cadavre of the Celtic Tiger to notice what is being done to a very precious Monasterevin amenity ? The spring time vision of a forest floor covered in bluebells under swaying deciduous forest is not one we should let go without a fight. If a government can f**k up an economy to the extent ours has done, its probably a fair conclusion the same can be done to precious amenities like Moore Abbey Wood. Darch
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Post by sugarloves on Nov 8, 2009 20:59:17 GMT
shame on them who checks the quality of the clearing they are doing, do seek advice from bridge o loughlin in kcc she a heritage officer sure she can advise , also dara weir in enviro at kcc . they may be of some help . you just never know they may just may be on your side.
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Post by kway on Nov 9, 2009 12:11:25 GMT
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Post by onion11 on Nov 9, 2009 20:18:56 GMT
I hug trees!!
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Post by April on Nov 9, 2009 21:00:33 GMT
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Post by Queenie on Nov 9, 2009 21:51:48 GMT
Ah, sure they're all nutters over there!
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Post by April on Nov 9, 2009 22:10:40 GMT
remember not so long ago the protests down in the glen of the downs, wicklow.....
the road still went ahead!!!
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Post by darchangel on Nov 10, 2009 16:29:23 GMT
As I said before Im no tree hugger but thanks all the same for throwing an emotional wet blanket over a serious issue. How 21st Century of you kittens.
Onion: perhaps some tree hugging lessons will reduce my delusional rantings to a manageable appearance on u-toob explaining why Id prefer the wood to be left alone. Could be a generational thing where the virtual world has become more real than the real world.
April: Moreabbey wood has already had a motorway - a four lane highway - driven through its rear end back in 2003/2004. The wood was reduced in size by 20%. IMO, it has taken the last 5 years to recover and it is now being diced up again for what ?
All the other woods around South Kildare/West Wicklow are 99% evergreen and boring as a boring thing dipped in boring sauce.
Glen of the Downs, Co Wicklow, UK is another story. As for Americans, well, lets not go there. They have their own issues.
So does anyone actually give a rubbish ?
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Post by Queenie on Nov 10, 2009 17:36:23 GMT
Have you petitioned anyone. Have you written to TDs, minister for the environment or whoever is responsible high up. Sniping at us won't help, even just telling us won't help much. Have you been on any radio shows about it. Have you tried to bring it to a wider audience. Forums probably aren't the best places to do it as the press only pick up on stupid things rather than things that really matter and have an impact. Why do you say 'Glen of the Down, Co Wicklow, UK.? Get a petition going darchangel and deliver it to the appropriate people, ask for answers. Embarrass people, find out EU policy and if it embarrasses some 'important people' here, publish it. Make yourself heard.
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Post by sugarloves on Nov 10, 2009 19:52:56 GMT
just what i said loc only you did it better now get up off the chair and do it, and there is no shame in hugging a tree, try it next ime you in the woods all alone i think it gives you a sence of power well thats what i get.... then again i am on drugs well so the boss says....
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Post by sugarloves on Nov 16, 2009 20:13:51 GMT
whats the update on this.
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Post by April on Nov 16, 2009 20:34:22 GMT
darchangel, don't know why you are sniping at me.... i was in sympathy with you and giving the glen of the downs as an example..... if you really are serious about it you need to get up and be heard as localy rightly says...start a save the trees group for MooreAbbey..... easy to bitch and moan... harder to take the time to actually get up and do something about it as each and everyone of us knows....at least if you do something well if it does work out well done you have achieved something you set out to do and and if it doesn't well at least you tried.......
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Post by darchangel on Mar 1, 2011 19:01:11 GMT
Up in Moore Abbey Wood at the weekend to find our usual path blocked by massive tree trunks abutted at both ends by planks of wood that made them look suspiciously like jumping fences.
Returned to the car park and spotted a freshly pinned notice next to the signs saying "Post No Bills" and "No Horse Riding"
"Hunt 27th February . Apologies for the inconvenience"
So a Hunt as in Big Horses which are (apparently) strictly banned from the pathways in wood because of the damage they do, the rubbish they leave behind, the danger they cause to walkers. All fair and square.
So when did Coillte start bending the rules to accommodate the horsey brigade ?
Anyone participate or know ?
Also lucky enough to walk up Drogheda Street early Monday morning with my dog. There was more horse rubbish on the pavement than I cared to walk in. Even my dog looked a bit queasy. Its funny how dog walkers are expected to pick up after their dogs where the horsey brigade get to leave ginormous piles of poo lying on the pavement like some sort of calling card.
CLEAN UP YOUR HORSE CRAP PUHLEESE ;-)
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