Most Wicklow Mountains protected habitats in ‘bad’ or ‘inadequate’ condition as State steps up restoration drive

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

Two new determinations from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage underline the urgency of repairing Wicklow’s uplands, with officials approving woodland restoration at Glensoulan and rhododendron removal at Glenasmole, as essential conservation works that must proceed without delay.

Issued under Regulation 42A by the Department’s Ecological Assessment Unit (EAU) on July 7, the documents set out how decades of grazing, erosion and invasive species have pushed many of the Wicklow Mountains’ protected habitats into poor condition, and why active intervention is now unavoidable rather than optional.

The determinations also land at a moment when Wicklow County Council is under increasing pressure to strengthen its role in environmental management, climate action and upland protection. The council’s climate action plan (2024–2029) commits to restoring degraded landscapes across the county, improving biodiversity and supporting National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) led conservation work.

These new projects therefore sit squarely within the council’s broader responsibilities for land stewardship, community engagement and sustainable development across the county.

Wicklow County Council staff with elected members, the Biodiversity Working Group and the Climate, Environment, Biodiversity, Recreation and Amenity Strategic Policy Committee at the launch of the Biodiversity Action Plan. © Michael Kelly

Regulation 42A is the legal mechanism that allows the department to decide whether a proposed activity inside a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protection Area (SPA) requires a full appropriate assessment (AA). Officials must examine whether a project is likely to have a significant effect on the site.

If the activity is directly connected with, or necessary to the site’s management, and poses no risk to conservation objectives, the department can issue a determination allowing it to proceed without a full assessment. In both Wicklow cases, the EAU concluded that the works are essential conservation measures, meaning they can be fast tracked.

The first determination concerns a plan to restore native woodland along upland gullies on the Wicklow Way. The timeline is highly detailed with a final assessment in October and November. Years of heavy grazing have prevented old oak and birch trees from regenerating, leaving slopes unstable and stream banks exposed.

These trees are vital for stabilising soils, improving water quality and supporting wildlife, including merlin, a protected bird of prey dependent on healthy upland habitat.

The project will involve fencing small areas to exclude deer, planting locally sourced saplings in suitable gullies, and working with volunteers and landowners to monitor progress.

According to the determination, the work “directly supports the conservation objectives” of the Wicklow Mountains SAC and SPA, meaning it is considered part of the site’s management and does not require a full AA.

The second determination deals with the removal of rhododendron ponticum at Glenasmole, where the invasive shrub has spread through heath, bog and woodland edges. This project also includes a defined schedule, beginning with a public information session, followed by contractor and volunteer training, and then phased removal throughout the summer months.

A single rhododendron flower can produce as many as 7,000 small, wind-borne seeds.

The EAU describes how rhododendron forms dense thickets that block light, prevent native trees from growing and spread rapidly through seed. It also highlights the risk of the plant harbouring diseases that threaten oak and other species.

Contractors and trained volunteers will use NPWS approved methods, cutting stems and applying small amounts of herbicide directly to the plant, with follow-up checks to ensure native vegetation can return. As with the Glensoulan project, the EAU concludes that rhododendron removal is a necessary conservation measure and can proceed without a full AA screening.

What stands out in both documents is the wider picture they paint of the Wicklow Mountains.

The SAC contains 12 protected upland habitats, most assessed as being in bad or inadequate condition. Blanket bogs, wet heaths, dry heaths, alpine heaths and old oak woods are all under pressure from grazing, drainage, erosion and invasive species.

Without active restoration, these habitats will continue to decline, affecting water quality, biodiversity and the character of the uplands themselves.

This deterioration has direct implications for Wicklow County Council, which is responsible for local development planning, climate adaptation, recreation management and community engagement across the county.

The council’s corporate plan (2024–2029) identifies upland conservation, biodiversity protection and sustainable tourism as core priorities.

The new determinations therefore reinforce the need for coordinated action between NPWS, the department and the council, particularly as Wicklow’s uplands are central to the county’s identity, economy and environmental resilience.

Together, the two documents provide a clear snapshot of the challenges facing the Wicklow Mountains and the measures now being taken to address them. They highlight the scale of habitat decline, the need for active restoration and the growing momentum behind efforts to repair the uplands.

A seperate peatland restoration project in the Wicklow Mountains was fast tracked under Regulation 42A earlier this year, reflecting the State’s growing urgency in tackling severe ecological decline across the uplands.

The project focuses on rewetting and repairing degraded blanket bog, one of Ireland’s most threatened habitats, using a mix of hydrological interventions, drain blocking and vegetation recovery techniques designed to stabilise peat, improve water retention and boost carbon storage.