Fen restoration project planned for six Offaly sites
The National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) is now inviting tenders for the provision of scientific, technical and management services for the delivery of a fen restoration project at 36 sites across the Midlands.
The project will include six sites in Offaly: Fin Lough Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Island Fen SAC, Lisduff Fen SAC, Ballaghanoher, Killaun, and Annaghmore Lough Fen National Heritage Area.
The project is one component of a wetlands restoration scheme in Ireland’s Just Transition Fund (JTF) territory.
Named the Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration Scheme, it supports a set of actions for wetlands restoration in a distinct area comprising all of counties Offaly, Westmeath, Roscommon, Longford, and Laois, as well as parts of Galway, Kildare and Tipperary. Tóchar commenced in spring 2024 and will run to end December 2026. It is managed by a small multi-disciplinary project team based in Birr, Offaly.
Fens are wetlands with permanently high water level at or just below its surface. They are less acidic than bogs, and are fed by minerally-rich water that supports a wide range of vegetation and wildlife. They are found across Ireland, but are most common in the midlands and west.
In the Just Transition Territory, fen sites have been surveyed as part of a pilot fen survey and a national survey, with findings indicating that many are in unfavourable-inadequate and unfavourable-bad condition.
According to the call for tenders for the fen restoration project, this services contract will run for two years, commencing in January 2025 with completion in December 2026.
The objects of the project are to provide fen preservation or conservation plans for the 36 sites, implement the restoration measures/actions on the sites and build capacity in and visibility of fen restoration techniques.
The successful tenderer will be required to agree data requirements and the proposed methodologies with Tóchar and the NPWS.
The tenderer will then coordinate the development of the plans for the 36 sites, staggered across three phases.
For each site, the tenderer will identify and prioritise conservation areas, apply for the necessary permits for the preservation work, and monitor the efficacy of the actions taken. It will also prepare site reports and data submissions, communicate progress in writing on project tasks, actions and deliverables on a quarterly basis, and provide brief monthly updates to Tóchar.
According to the call for tenders, the restoration plans should be aligned with those already carried out for the NPWS on raised bogs, which involved drain blocking, forestry/tree clearance, the installation of marginal dams, high bog excavation/re-profiling, inoculation with peat mosses, and bunding on high or cutover bog.
The deadline for submission of tenders for the fen restoration project is 4pm on December 20.