22 October 2009

By Donal Gormley, Countryside Management Delivery Branch, DARD.

With winter approaching, it is now time to house livestock or move them to lowland areas.

As part of the Northern Ireland Countryside Management Scheme (NICMS) management plan all livestock must be removed from this moorland from the 1 November until 28/29 February.

Glenmornan hill sheep farmer Mr Michael Bradley joined the (NICMS) in 2009 and has over 40ha of moorland blanket bog on his farm. Michael is planning to take all his sheep off the moorland and move them onto grassland on lower ground.

Heather moorland such as blanket bog is an extremely valuable habitat for various plants, invertebrates, birds and mammals. The closed grazing period gives heather a chance to recover thereby reducing the incidence of the less palatable tussock and mat grasses.

For further information about heather management please contact Countryside Management Delivery Branch staff based at your local DARD office.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. All media enquiries to DARD Press Office, tel: 028 9052 4619.

2. A copy of the photo that issued with this article is available on request from the Press Office.