Coillte praised for Sligo’s forestry walks but questions raised over reliance on non-native Sitka trees

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The March meeting of Sligo County Council heard calls for Coillte to furnish the local authority with an update on their planting strategy for Sligo throughout the year and to also include a review of planting activities in 2025.

In her motion Cllr Ann Higgins called for the report to include the following information: “The number of trees cut and planted in Sligo in 2025, by volume, acreage, location and type (including native Irish trees); confirmation of how many trees were cut down/planted in 2025 in Hazelwood and what percentage of the overall forest does this represent; update on biodiversity works at Hazelwood and identify and new areas or locations proposed for planting in 2026.”

Addressing the meeting on behalf of her motion Cllr Higgins referred to the large volume of sitka spruce planted throughout the country noting, “It produces dead zones.”

Cllr Higgins acknowledged sitka spruce is “perfect for commercial forestry,” but stressed, “We should be planting natural, native forests.”

Cllr Higgins referred to Hazelwood, which was the twelfth most popular Coillte site in 2024 in terms of visitor numbers, noting, “It has areas dominated by native species. Native trees are rooted in folklore and mythology.”

Supporting the motion Cllr Michael Clarke said, “The biggest draw back is once you plant it (sitka) you can never bring it back into agricultural use. We should be planting hardwoods, the eco-system is a lot better. I know of a lot of forestries for sale that are worth nothing.

"The ash and oak blend in better. The policy behind Coillte is money, money, money.”

Cllr Marie Casserly praised the work being carried out by Coillte when she said, “It is important to commend the work relating to the walks that Coillte have contributed to. It adds to the offering that we have. It is important to give credit where it is due. A lot of farmers see timber like a crop and they harvest it. We need this timber for house building, that’s the flipside.”

Cllr Fergal Nealon also expressed his support for the motion when he said, “The sitka spruce creates dead forests, they don't play well with the natural habitat that we have. I was at the Hare’s Corner in Mitchell Curley Park, it was fantastic to see that initiative.”

Cllr Liam Brennan also offered his support for the motion saying, “Even this morning I got a call of a power outage due to a tree planted in a boggy area falling on a power line. The native tree is not as fast growing or profitable as sitka. I would ask for a more balanced approach to how trees are planted."

The debate concluded with Cllr Donal Gilroy commenting, “It would be nice to get those figures off Coillte.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.