Biodiversity-Strategy-January-2023

33 Furthermore, it is our aim to assist in protecting, increasing and maintaining native woodland and tree cover in our District, through partnership working, promotion of woodland creation schemes to landowners and the farming community, protecting existing woodlands and Ancient Woodland Sites on our estate, and raising awareness to others. We are currently and will continue to work with organisations such as the Woodland Trust, to identify sites in our District that are appropriate for native tree planting, availing from schemes such as the ‘More Woods More Good’ scheme and where possible, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) woodland grants. We will also promote the growing of local provenance native trees to meet the growing demand and seek to support initiatives that align with this. The Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark will have an additional role to play, given their long established and on-going partnership with Forest Service NI. Council shall continue to work in partnership to promote the sustainable management of all Geopark sites, including woodland creation, protection of existing woodlands and ancient woodland sites, and education and awareness raising where appropriate. We will follow the Right Tree in the Right Place principle, evaluating each site and situation to determine the most appropriate tree species to be planted for biodiversity, amenity and climate action reasons. We will also seek to ensure other priority and important habitats such as species rich grassland, peatlands and heathlands are not used for new woodland planting in Council estate. Ecclesville Demesne In 2022, Council will embark with a plan to gradually change coniferous forest at Ecclesville Demesne, Fintona, to mainly native deciduous woodland, whilst protecting existing natural heritage features in the Demesne, including raths, mature and veteran trees, ancient woodland and protected species. This scheme, when complete, will add significantly to our native tree planting efforts and help to meet our commitments to Nature Positive 2030 and climate action in the District. Ash Dieback Chalara dieback of ash, also known as Chalara or ash dieback, is a disease of ash trees caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus . It is now widespread and causing many ash trees to lose their leaves and eventually die. Landowners including Council now have a responsibility to monitor ash trees on land they manage for potential heightened health and safety implications that dead or dying trees can pose, especially those positioned close to or near roads and public spaces. It is not known yet what the full impact of ash dieback will be in Northern Ireland. Evidence from continental Europe suggests that older, mature ash trees can survive infection and continue to provide their landscape and wildlife benefits for some time. The best hope for the long-term future of Northern Ireland’s ash trees lies in identifying the genetic factors which enable some ash trees to tolerate or resist infection and using these to breed new generations of tolerant ash trees for the future. Scientists (including Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute) and regulators (e.g. DAERA) are working closely to screen indigenous ash trees for tolerance to the pathogen to help create and maintain diverse and resilient woodlands in the future. 9.2 Theme 2: Trees and Woodlands