Coillte has withdrawn plans for a forestry plantation spanning more than 54 acres (just over 22 hectares) in West Limerick.
The application was for Cragg, Abbeyfeale and was opposed by a West Limerick and North Kerry anglers’ group.
The state-owned commercial forestry business had applied to plant a mixture of confer trees such as Sitka spruce, as well as broadleaf trees such as alder, oak, birch, willow, holly and hazel.
Coillte says the application also included open spaces to enhance biodiversity.
Mountcollins and Brosna Anglers’ Association had objected to the licence application on a number of grounds including that the area proposed is part of the feeding grounds of the hen harrier, that such forestry would negatively impact on water quality in the nearby River Feale and that there is also a children’s burial ground on the land.
Coillte says its application was approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, but that this was subsequently appealed.
Coillte says it made the decision to withdraw the application in order to consider its options regarding the project.
It says it’s fully committed to the sustainable management of its entire forest estate and manages its forests to develop multiple benefits for wood, nature, people and climate.
