Lack of Information on Fens Highlighted

On the 11 October the Irish Peat Society held its Annual Meeting in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The theme of this years meeting was an examination of many aspects of the distribution, hydrology, ecology and conservation of Irish Fens. Patrick Crushell and Peter Foss presented a paper entitled “Fen Surveys in Ireland – progress towards establishing national inventory of fens in Ireland”. This paper highlighted the lack of a national survey of fen habitats in Ireland, with next to no progress made on this front since 2009, resulting in poor data on our knowledge of their distribution and extent. As a results it is not possible to properly evaluate and protect the fen resource. This presents difficulties for decision making relating to land-use management and planning relating to the protection of fens, and assessing their conservation status and future prospects in Ireland. The authors called for a national fen survey to be initiated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service without further delay.