Five years after its purchase by IPCC and Móin Fhionnúrach Development Association, Fenor Bog is declared Waterford's First Nature Reserve. A success story and a partnership with a community group we can be proud of. |
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Location map
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In 1999 the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), jointly purchased Fenor Bog in Co. Waterford with the Móin Fhionnúrach Development Association (MFDA). Together we undertook and co-ordinated a series of studies on the bog including its vegetation and habitats, birds and invertebrates. The work was undertaken by a Dutch Researcher - Johan Poutsma (1999) - and by Waterford Naturalist - Michael O'Meara (2000). The information gained was presented in A Map and Visitor Guide for members of the public. In 2000, a French Researcher - Helene Dourcelle - drew together a management plan for the bog. In addition the MFDA began and completed (2001-2004) the construction of a 500m boardwalk on the bog made from recycled plastic. MFDA fund raised for the boardwalk and it was made to their own design. In 2004, A Teachers Resource Pack to Fenor Bog was produced by Mrs Rita Byrne a local school teacher and the secretary of the MFDA.
Fenor Bog was declared a National Nature Reserve by Mr Martin Cullen T. D., Minister for the Environment on the 28th May 2004. The Minister praised the "dedication and commitment (of all involved) in the preservation of our natural heritage, handed down to us by generations past for us to pass onto those who have yet to come". Not only were IPCC and MFDA-owned lands included in the reserve order but two families - the Curran's and the Queally's included a buffer zone of their lands surrounding the bog as part of the nature reserve. IPCC's Director Martin Kelly who attended the launch paid tribute to these families for their action.
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Vegetation map
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Main Features
- County: Waterford
- Area: 32 acres
- Bogland Type: Regenerating valley fen
- Natural Heritage Area Number: 1697
- Year Purchased by IPCC and MFDA: 1999
- Year Declared National Nature Reserve: 2004
- Research Undertaken: Vegetation Survey (1999); Fauna Survey (2000); Management Plan (2000); Hydrology and Water Quality Survey (2004)
- Publications: Map and Visitor Guide (1999); Teachers Resource Pack (2004)
- How to get there: Fenor Bog in Co. Waterford is located 16 km south-southwest of Waterford City in the village of Fenor. It is just 5 km west of the holiday resort of Tramore on the Dungarvan Road.
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The IPCC can accept no liability for injury to persons visiting the site.
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A section of the new boardwalk
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Further Information on the Reserve
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council, in association with the Moin Fhionnurach Development Association purchased 32 acres of Fenor Bog, near Tramore in Co Waterford in June 1999. The funds to purchase the bog were kindly donated by many Friends of the Bog and local supporters. Their help made the purchase possible. Now that the site is purchased it needs expert care to secure its future.
As the first step in developing a management plan for the fen the IPCC and Móin Fhionnúrach Development Association undertook a vegetation survey report of Fenor Bog, Co. Waterford during the summer of 1999. The work was undertaken by a Johann Poutsma, a researcher from the International Agricultural College in Larenstein, the Netherlands.
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Purple Loosestrife
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On the basis of this report IPCC & MFDA called on the Department of the Environment and Local Government to declare Fenor Bog a National Nature Reserve. This status was achieved in 2004. The group will also be undertaking management work to ensure that the value of the bog to wildlife is maintained and enhanced.
Fenor Bog is 13 ha in extent, lies 30 meters above the sea level, and is surrounded by low hills (122 m above sea level). It was formerly a raised bog, that was cut away by hand until the 1920's. The turf removed was of high quality, black, hard and dense. It is likely that most of the acid peat was removed to reveal the alkaline peat of the fen stage in the development of Fenor Bog. On this peat, over the years fen vegetation has regenerated under the influence of ground water
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The central section
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The 1999 survey found:
- 118 plant and 110 animal species on Fenor Bog.
- The Orange Tip Butterfly was discovered on Fenor Bog, for the first time in 10 years.
- Nine vegetation types were recorded on the bog and included: Wet herb vegetation, Tussock vegetation, Acid bog vegetation, Bramble vegetation, Fen carr woodland, Drainage ditch vegetation, Gorse vegetation, Swamp grassland vegetation and Pasture.
- The most widespread vegetation type on the fen was Tussock vegetation with the Greater Tussock Sedge (Carex paniculata) and Common Rush (Juncus effusus), covering 55% of the fen area.
- The most biologically diverse vegetation type was the wet herb vegetation, dominated by Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile), Bottle Sedge (Carex rostrata) and Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata). This covered 30% of the fen.
- Marsh St John's-wort (Hypericum elodes) occurred abundantly in the wet herb vegetation.
- Acid bog vegetation was confined to the southern margin of Fenor Bog and covered a maximum 5% of the surface area.
- Fen carr woodland with Alder (Alnus glutinosa) and Willow species (Salix species) covered 10% of the site.
- A conservation evaluation of Fenor Bog rated it highly on biological diversity, rarity and potential value.
- 27 Recorded Monuments of archaeological interest occurred within the vicinity of Fenor Bog including earthworks, ring forts, a standing stone and tombs.
- Three sensitive areas of importance for the conservation of flora have been identified on Fenor Bog and need special protection to maintain the biological diversity of the site. These are located on the southern margin of the fen.
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Location map
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The survey was funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Praeger Fund of the Royal Irish Academy. This project was the National Winner of the Ford European Conservation Awards in 1999.
The conservational evaluation of Fenor Bog rates it highly on biological diversity, rarity and potential value. Fenor Bog contains no rare species, but it scores highly on the criterion rarity because this is the only fen of its kind in the south-east of Ireland. Besides Fenor Bog there are twelve Natural Heritage Areas (NHA) in Co. Waterford, which are all peatlands and nine of them are fens.
AUTHOR:
Article reproduced from the website of the Irish Peatland
Conservation Council (link provided below).
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