Commonage Assessments Completed in ACRES Leinster
The Leinster team with the support of their colleagues in ACRES Breifne and ACRES Munster South Connacht have completed the assessment of Commonages in the ACRES Leinster CP area. There are 244 commonages in the ACRES Leinster CP area with a combined area of 33,251 ha, 199 of them were assessed by the team, 45 small commonages (<10 ha) will be assessed by farm advisors later.
Drones were used to create digital models and habitat maps for the Blackstairs and the Cooley peninsula along with large parts of the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains. This information and that gathered by the teams during the walkover assessments will help us to advise farmers on management or actions that can increase their score and grow their payments.
We are very appreciative of the help provided to our teams by many local farmers. A big thank you is also due to the local NPWS staff for their assistance in the survey of commonages within the Wicklow National Park and for guidance on avoiding disturbance to Peregrines and other wildlife. A big thank you is also due to the Defence Forces, particularly the Aer Corps in Baldonnel and the local military personnel in Coolmoney Camp for their assistance in the survey in the Glen of Imaal.
