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Grassroots
Countryside Alliance Ireland
Irish Red Grouse
Association-
Destined to benefit from
CAP Reform
With the foresight of the Countryside Alliance Ireland
Board, the Irish Red Grouse Association (IRGA) was
established in 2010 and together with the support of the
pointer and setter clubs and the Irish Hawking Association
this registered charitable Conservation Trust has rekindled
a love for this iconic Irish Grouse species which is totally
dependant on heather for its survival. Over forty Grouse
conservation projects were quickly established with
another twenty at various stages of initiation.
The prime objective of the IRGA is the conservation of
the Red Grouse by empowering local conservation groups
with management plans and subsidising predator control
equipment. In recognising that the control of predation
levels is critical for the propagation of grouse and other
moorland birds, the projects are indebted to the local
gun club members for the effective year round control of
predation on the moors.
Another objective of the IRGA is to monitor grouse
population and the input of the gundog trialling clubs
with biannual counts is establishing that grouse numbers
are stabilising with the leading projects showing sizable
increases.
From the onset the IRGA has enjoyed tremendous support
and goodwill of the local hill farmers, who have managed
the moors for generations and it is fitting that farmers are
getting due recognition for their input under the current
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). While farmers work
through the completion of their applications for the new
2015 CAP Schemes, it is rewarding to see a payment of
€120 per hectare for commonage management under the
Green Low Carbon Agri Environment Scheme (GLAS),
which will compensate farmers for managing heather by
rotational burning for the benefit of grouse and sustainable
sheep numbers.
Once the Land Eligibility Rules are established and
the Commonage Management Plans are implemented
a successful future is envisaged for the Red Grouse as
the heather moors will be managed on a planned basis
for sheep farming and grouse. The realignment of the
moorland burning calendar with the UK will enable
farmers to manage the vegetation for the benefit of all
moorland breeding birds.
The IRGA organise seminars and demonstration
days annually for moorland management and grouse
propagation and the expertise of the UK’s Heather Trust
and Game Conservancy is availed of as required.
This busy organisation is open for new conservation
projects – for more information check out the IRGA
facebook page.
-Jim Fitzharris
,
IRGA